I sat through Sajiv Murti (1935) and my ears are still ringing

Is this worth your afternoon?

If you enjoy movies that feel like they were rescued from the bottom of a very dusty trunk, then yes. Sajiv Murti is for the history nerds and the people who don't mind a bit of crackle in their audio.

If you want something fast-paced or with clean sound, you will probably hate this. It is slow. It is loud in all the wrong places. But it has a soul that you don't see much anymore.

I found myself staring at the background of the sets more than the actors sometimes. The way they built these rooms in 1935 has this weird, flat look that reminds me of The Outlaw's Revenge, even though the genres are worlds apart.

The story is about a sculptor. He is obsessed. Obsessed with his work. It's the kind of movie where the title—which means 'Living Statue'—tells you exactly what's going to happen, but the movie still takes its sweet time getting there.

Nirmal Kumari plays the lead and she has this way of looking at the camera that makes you feel like she's judging you for watching. Her eyes are huge. Like, really huge. She doesn't have to do much, but when she moves, the whole frame feels different.

Bhai Chhaila is the one who really threw me off. He has this energy that is way too high for a movie this slow. He's constantly gesturing with his hands like he's trying to swat a fly that only he can see. It's distracting but also kind of the best part?

There is a scene about twenty minutes in where a character is just sitting by a window. The light is coming in all wrong and half their face is in total darkness. I don't think it was intentional. It feels like the lighting guy just forgot to turn on a lamp, but it makes the moment feel strangely private and real.

The sound is... well, it's 1935. You have to lean in. It’s like listening to a secret through a wall. Sometimes the music starts and it’s so loud you can’t hear what anyone is saying. S.F. Hasnain seems to really love his songs, even when they don't really fit the mood of the scene.

I noticed a dog in the background of one of the street scenes. It just sits there for three minutes. Nobody acknowledges the dog. It’s the most natural thing in the whole movie.

The dialogue is thick. People don't just say 'hello.' They give a whole speech about the sun and the moon. It’s a bit like the theatrical vibe in The Age for Love, where everyone is a bit too dramatic for their own good.

One reaction shot of Ashalata Biswas lingers for so long I thought the film had jammed. She just stares. And stares. It becomes funny, then it becomes uncomfortable, then it becomes art. I think.

The movie gets way more interesting when it stops trying to be a serious drama. There’s a bit with a servant that is clearly supposed to be funny, and even though the jokes are eighty years old, the timing still works. Physical comedy doesn't age as much as the talky bits do.

I kept thinking about Inspiration while watching this. There’s that same sense of 'we are still figuring out how sound works' hanging over everything. It’s clunky. The camera doesn't move much. It’s like the tripod was glued to the floor.

The middle section drags. It drags so much I actually got up to make tea and didn't feel like I missed a single plot point. They talk about the statue. They talk about the gods. They talk about their feelings. It’s a lot of talking for a movie called Sajiv Murti.

But then, the ending happens. I won't spoil it, but it has this weird, ghostly quality. The shadows get longer. The music gets more high-pitched. It stops being a social drama and turns into something almost like a dream.

I wish the subtitles were better on the copy I saw. Half the time they just said [Music] while people were clearly having a heated argument about their inheritance or something. It adds to the mystery, I guess.

Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it better than Leaping Love? Maybe. It’s certainly more ambitious in its weirdness. It’s the kind of film that makes you appreciate how far we’ve come, but also makes you miss when movies were this unpredictable and messy.

The costumes are incredible, though. Vijay Kumar wears this outfit that looks like it weighs fifty pounds. He moves like a man who is very tired of his own clothes. I felt for him.

So yeah. Watch it if you’re in the mood for something that feels like a ghost story told by your great-grandfather. Just don't expect it to make sense the whole time. It’s more of a vibe than a movie.

• The statue looks a bit like it's made of cardboard.
• The singing is actually pretty catchy if you like old harmoniums.
• Watch out for the scene with the fountain; the water sound is louder than the actors.

Anyway, it’s a weird little piece of history. I’m glad I saw it, but I don't think I’ll be watching it again anytime soon. It’s a one-time experience that sticks in your brain like a strange dream you had after eating too much spicy food late at night.