The Terrorist (1998)

***

In the jungles of Southern India, where Tamil rebels pit teenage girls strapped with machine guns against the repressive Indian army, being tapped by your commanders to play the role of suicide bomber is an esteemed honor. With 30 successful combat missions under her belt, 19 year old Malli proudly accepts the assignment of killing India’s prime minister knowing full well that she will also be blasted to smithereens in the process. She’s trained her whole life to be a devastating guerilla and lives by the words of her martyred father: “Oh, comrade, be vigilant, you can sleep after death, until then fight on.”

Malli’s journey from the militarized zone to the big city where she plans to intercept the prime minister is wrought with emotional turmoil, enough to make her cast doubts over her ability to carry out her mission. The personalities and more-peaceful sensibilities she meets along the way leave profound impressions upon Malli as her entire world slows to the pitter patter of a fading rainstorm. Can she bring herself to strike that final bolt of lightening, the one that delivers shockwaves with its revolutionary fury?

Actress Ayesha Dharkar, who plays Malli, effectively contrasts a soldier’s robotic resolution with the tender longings of a young woman yet to experience all that life and love have to offer. It’s that psychological push and pull that takes The Terrorist beyond just a film worthwhile for its exotic locales. Make no mistake, the places and especially the people in this film are astoundingly beautiful. They just happen to be in a fight with their lives for their freedom is all.