Cargo Movie Review: A profound journey through Life, Death and Afterlife

Movie: Cargo (Hindi)

Cast: Vikrant Massey, Shweta Tripathi

Rating: 4/5

The movie begins by taking us into a futuristic world in 2027 when two different species are residing on earth – the humans (Manushya) and the demons (rakshas). It shows how a treaty has been signed between the humans and demons where every human is recycled after death and transitioned into their next life. This is done in various spacecraft called Pushpaks orbiting the earth by the demons (Rakshas). In one such Pushpak spacecraft 634-A is our protagonist Prahastha who works for the Post Death Transition Services (PDTS) and transitions dead bodies into their next lives. This whole setup is heavily influenced by Indian mythology as Prahastha was the chief commander of the king of rakshasas - Ravana in Ramayan, while Pushpak was the name of the flying chariot used by Ravana.

 

The movie starts with an advertisement for International Loneliness Detective - Ramachandra Negi who gives a hotline number 1800 for lonely human beings who want company. This foreshadows the lonely life of Prahastha in his spaceship where he has been transferring dead people to their new life (reincarnation) for the last 75 years. For him, the people coming to his spaceship are just 'cargo' that need to be moved into their next life. Even a dead magician KC Sarkar (definitely inspired by the famous magician PC Sarkar) and his antics do not amuse him. Prahastha is shown to be only in contact with two people - Nitigya Sir and Chaitanya. The non-aging features of the characters are not explained in the movie, but people with cognizance of Indian mythology know that rakshasas are regarded as immortals who have special powers. In mythology, we have seen how rakshasas had modern technologies like aircraft (Vimanas) and that has been incorporated in this story. While Prahastha goes through the daily newspaper and watches the news on the TV, it is shown how the rakshasas are marginalized in the society and the humans make a mockery of their weird superpowers. In some instances, they are also shown protesting on the roads.

Prahastha's routine is disrupted when a new assistant cum trainee Yuvishka is sent to his station to assist him. Prahastha’s ignorance of the present world is shown when he judges her ability to work as she is a woman while in the present world women have become more able than men in every field (slow clap for gender equality). The generation gap is further emphasized by the attitude of both towards social media. Yuvishka's character turns out to be incomplete contrast to Prahastha and they both struggle to work as a team. The arrival of her in the spaceship exposes the outdated views and ideas of Prahashtha and he realizes that he is a misfit in the current generation. 

In the due course, we encounter multiple cargos and we see how humans always have so many unfulfilled things before they die and are always filled with regret. The movie also shows that material belongings have no value after death, but they do tell a story about everyone. This movie explores the concept of life and death on multiple levels.

The different types of death of individuals on earth and their different reactions to their death in the spaceship show the diverse nature of humans. It also presents a very bold premise where there is no concept of heaven and hell and hence many dead humans who arrive in the spaceship regret leading a moral and idealistic life in hope that they will reach heaven after death.

Yuvishka being a more emotional and soft character gets affected by the encounter of different types of dead people and by the whole process of the Post Death Transition.

This movie is more about how the arrival and presence of Yuvishka has an impact on the character of Prahastha and helps him get closure. Both of them find their true identities and realize that you need to be mentally strong and optimistic to realize those identities. The singular song of the movie which runs on the background is a very rhythmic and catchy "Forget me not". This song throws open the biggest question - do we really forget an individual when it leaves the earth for the process to rebirth? It also explores the prospect whether it is possible to have rebirth and be the same person all over again and whether two individuals can find each other again in the next life too. The movie gives a positive message that for humans and rakshasas nothing is lost forever and memories of an individual is indeed immortal and something to cherish for.

The director and writing by Arati Kadav gives Bollywood an unique Sci-fi movie with multiple subliminal levels. She makes use of minimal budget and gives us a gem of a movie about every living being on Earth. She blends mythology, reality and the unreal aspect of the story beautifully and she is in complete command of the movie. Her handling of the character of Prahastha and Yuvishka is understated and keeps the movie real and authentic. Her writing creates a unique philosophical dark comedy film which touches on simple question about life on earth and the meaning of each life. In the middle, some parts did feel unnecessary and repetitive which slows the movie down a bit.

The cinematography by Kaushal Shah makes use of the limited set space and keeps you engaged throughout the movie with use of different shade of reflective light inside the spaceship.

The performance of Vikrant Massey as Prahastha is so subtle and strong that you immediately connect to him emotionally. He is definitely one of the most brilliant and underrated actors right now. Shweta Tripathi as Yuvishka gives the perfect support to Vikrant and they both create such a beautiful relationship on screen which is innocent and genuine. They both humanize their characters and keep us invested and engaged throughout the movie.

This movie is about irrespective of how everyone is born, every living being on earth is more than just a cargo.