'Guilty' director wants everyone to relate to film

MUMBAI: What happens when a person is accused of a sexual assault allegation as severe as rape? Is he being framed or is he really guilty? This is what Ruchi Narain's latest directorial "Guilty" deals with.

"It's the story of a sexual assault allegation. The story is set in a college. A girl accuses a guy of sexual assault, of rape. The story is told from the point of view of his girlfriend, played by Kiara Advani. I wanted to tell the story from her point of view because she has to take into account this allegation but at the same time she knows her boyfriend. That's how the whole story turns out," Ruchi told IANS while talking about the movie, which was released on Netflix a while back.

We often read in newspapers or watch on crime-based TV shows how an innocent person's life gets ruined if he is falsely accused of sexual assault. Does "Guilty" explore that angle? The filmmaker replied: "Honestly, you will have to watch it to find out. Of course, we have explored that angle as well because that is one of the major scares especially for men that they will be falsely accused. But to know the answer whether it is a false allegation or a genuine case of sexual assault, you have to watch the film."

Ruchi further said that even though the story is set in a college and revolves around young people, there is no fixed age group for the audience and anyone can watch it.

"I feel anyone can relate to it. The story is set in a college. It's about young people. But these are issues which affect each and every person, be it young or old, man or woman. All of us have dealt with or questioned this kind of things happening around us all the time. Because there are so many points of view in the story, my endeavour is to make everyone relate to it in someway. That's why I have structured it like this," she said.

The film features Kiara Advani, Akansha Ranjan Kapur, Taher Shabbir and Gurfateh Singh Pirzada in key roles.