Cargo was more than a Screen Gem

by Brooklyn Murphy 

It was Dec 20th, 2019 when the Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival (MiSciFi) received the feature film CARGO. It was directed and written by Arati Kadav, we were thrilled, not only because it was a world premiere, but it was from India. After viewing, it was clear that this imaginative off the wall film would be a winner of the festival. Full of twists, turns, and thought evoking power.

From the opening of the film, we don’t see any Sci-Fi CGI effects, no spaceships drifting through space but rather an ad coming from Earth for the ‘Loneliness Detective’ played brilliantly by writer/actor Biswapati Sarkar known for the TV Series Permanent Roommates. It was a fresh unique twist on the deeper feelings most humans face without expressing it. We realized that we had a film that was made from ‘thinking outside of the box’.  

The film engages on a deeper level inviting us to examine where we go after we die. The amusing people who are the cargo show up on the spaceship to be examined. The story revolves around Vikrant Massey. Massey, an actor/producer known for A Death in the Gunj, is solemn and seemingly happy living aboard this ship, processing the cargo for passage to what lies beyond.  

The flashbacks of the situations of the soon-to-be-dead people also invoke thoughts of how close we really are to death but in a very comical way. In some ways, CARGO could be considered a dark comedy.

The spaceship is full of imaginative props used as monitors and clever superpowers people possess, such as having the ability to make yourself disappear but only at 80%. It is inspiring to see how much one can achieve when stretching the imagination.

This film is entertaining on so many levels. It engages the soul and the mind making us laugh and think.

 It will leave you laughing and reminiscing after the film has ended and make you watch it again.

The story is brilliantly written by former Software Engineer Arati Kadav, who had a strong urge to make a Sci-Fi film. This film is an inspiration to many future filmmakers with a dream. Its imaginative foundation creates something that will leave you from laughter to sadness and surprise, leaving you perhaps to examine life and death in a different light. A film worth watching more than once.

Below is the festival interview with Arati Kadav and cast member Nandu Madhav.  Co-hosted by Troy P. Bernier, Praveen Yalamanchi, and Justine Warrington.