Gaami (2024)

Shankar lives among the Aghoris of Varanasi, an outcast because of a strange condition: any human touch sends him into agony. When he learns that a rare mushroom that blooms only once in decades high in the Himalayas might cure him, he sets off with a doctor, Jahnavi, on a punishing trek into snow and danger. Running alongside his journey are two other stories, of a young devadasi in a village and of a boy held captive in a secret facility, whose connection to Shankar becomes clear only gradually. Gaami was a long-gestating independent project, partly crowdfunded and shot over several years, and it impressed audiences in 2024 with visuals far beyond its budget and its unusual structure. Vishwak Sen's restrained lead performance is a departure from his usual roles.