If you’re looking for a movie to watch on Netflix tonight, consider one that features graphic, unsimulated sex scenes and was banned in its country of origin.
Indeed, a film that was deemed too explicit for cinemas can now be easily streamed, if that’s something that interests you.
This 2010 Indian film, directed by Qaushiq Mukherjee, also known as ‘Q’, aims to be an abstract piece with sexual content integrated into its narrative.
Naturally, depictions of sex in cinema often stir mixed reactions.
Even the most daring filmmakers might hesitate to include unsimulated sex scenes, but Mukherjee did not shy away from doing just that.
It’s easy to see why the film caused a stir. Typically, even in the most convincing sex scenes, the actors aren’t actually engaging in sexual activity.
Filmmakers usually employ creative camera techniques to simulate these moments. This film, however, takes a different approach.
The movie is titled Gandu, which translates to ‘a******e’, and is now available to stream on Netflix.
The plot centers around a teenage rapper who resorts to stealing from his mother’s lover to support his drug habit while trying to break into the music scene.
The film features numerous explicit sex scenes between Gandu’s mother (Kamalika Banerjee) and her lover Dasbabu (Silajit Majumder), which the main character Gandu (Anubrata Basu) happens to walk in on.
If that’s not explicit enough, one of the film’s most controversial scenes features Basu with a fully erect penis during a sex scene with co-star Rii Sen, which, according to Q, involved actual sex.
Adding to the complexity, Sen was in a relationship with Q at the time of filming.
She told Open magazine: “There were physical workshops that helped us shed our inhibitions and become real. If someone were to touch my boobs, it’s natural that I’d be aroused.
“But it is the aftermath that is important. How do you feel after such a shoot? I wasn’t shattered or anything after I shot Gandu.
“I was shooting lovemaking scenes with my co-actor that were being shot by my boyfriend. Now, how weird is that?”
Given these factors, it’s understandable why the film was considered taboo. In India, it wasn’t screened until July 2021 at the Osian Film Festival.
Despite the controversies, critics have generally received the film well. Gandu has a respectable score of 68 percent on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.