Cinestaan Curates: Luka Bhaku portrays the horrific in our society

Luka Bhaku (Hide And Seek), Deepjoti Deka’s Assamese-language short film takes us into the evil lurking behind the corner in our seemingly innocent, protected societies.

The short film unfolds over one evening when a group of children are playing games. A young girl wishes to play hide and seek but her friends continue playing another game. When they finally decide to play hide and seek, something unexpected and terrible happens.

With a duration of almost nine minutes, the short film creates ordinary life in a village where children roam carefree, unaware that danger can pounce on them from anywhere. Drawing us slowly into the atmosphere of the village, Deka effectively creates a slow-paced, close-knit life. The realistic acting of the children enables us to see that they are stubborn and fierce but also scared and innocent, all of which makes them deeply vulnerable.

There are small details that give hints about what is to come and although the threat is palpable from the beginning in the film; when it is realized, Deka makes us feel the horror and the disgust at innocence ruined.

Luka Bhaku is free to watch on MovieSaints.