Longing and the Voyeur

There is one theme that I found particularly prevalent in the film, and that I suppose is characteristic, or at least a natural result, of narrative cinema: voyeurism and longing. Throughout India Song there is a play on the voyeur that really caught my attention. In different instances throughout the entirety of the film, a third person creates a tension in the environment, mainly sexual, which really stands out. To name a one of these instances in which this voyeurism is particularly striking, there is the moment when after the woman, lying on the floor, is joined by one man, is minutes later joined by a third man, who sits there, touching simply rubbing his chest. After this scene, comes a shot of the Frenchman in the doorway looking into the three of them, followed by a sequence of a shot of the woman sitting up, the Frenchman looking in from outside, and the woman sitting up again. If the three people laying down exemplify the voyeuristic quality of this film, as do the innumerable instances when one dancer is replaced by another who walks in, then the shots of the Frenchman exemplify the sense of longing that is omnipresent in the film. The screaming bits of the soundtrack also provide further evidence of the longing. Other evidence of the longing is present in small movements and actions of the woman. The way she clenches her hand on the back of one dancer, or presses her cheeks against another, or places her face centimeters away from the face of another, without touching, builds up an incredible longing, a powerful desire, which isn't consummated until the final kiss of the film. The notable muteness of the actors, in contrast to the conscience-like stream of narration, is also part of the sense of longing, because it builds a sentiment of frustration and wanting; a sense of being trapped, speaking inside one's head, but unable to communicate outside of it. The longing is further emphasized by the frequently repetitive introduction of a third person in the background, the woman's gazing into the audience or blindly outside of the frame, and the shots of the façades that always include something between the camera and the house, namely trees or fences.