Eeb Allay Ooo!

A young man gets a job scaring hordes of monkeys away from New Delhi’s government buildings in Prateek Vats’ notable first feature. (Hollywood Reporter)

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SYNOPSIS

Anjani a young migrant battles hordes of monkeys as a contractual  monkey repeller, a newly created government job to tackle the monkey menace in the heart  of Delhi. His job profile entails mimicking aggressive langurs. The original and extremely effective employees for the task were recently let off on account of animal rights. The sacred pests shred Anjani's dignity and courage in quick succession and make such a  mockery of his professional ineptitude that an early dis­ charge seems imminent. But when admon­ished by his pregnant sister, Anjani grits his teeth and decides to counter the monkey business with monkey business of his own.

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DIRECTOR’S NOTE

The biggest democracy in the world is employing exploitative contractual labor to secure the highest offices of her democracy from the nuisance created by a holy animal. The inherent absurdity of this situ­ation is what drew me into this film.

For me it sums up the prevalent situation in my country - a nation state propped up on the dehumanized, quite literally in this case the labor of its citizens.

Eeb Allay Ooo! is a response to the immediate world around us - a world which is hard to make sense of - a world where being a monkey is far more liberating than being human. While outwardly a satire, I hope my film is true to these internal complexities. The nar­rative of the film is shaped by extensive use of non­ fiction elements. incorporating non-professional actors alongside trained actors.

Verite footage is mixed with crafted mis-en-scene to weave a reveal­ing account seeped in reality, which is as stark as it is absurd.

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