CARGO Rare Indian space-set movie is a missed opportunity

INDIAN cinema has largely steered clear of films set in outer space, so there hasn’t really been anything like this recent Netflix release, which attempts to introduce a curve ball into the genre.

The story revolves around a spaceship receiving recently deceased people from earth to prepare them for reincarnation. One worker tasked with doing the job has been there alone for a long time and seemingly enjoys the solitude of space, but then a rule-breaking female assistant determined to be famous disrupts his life and attempts to change the way he has been doing things.

This low-budget drama is a perfect illustration of how a great idea can quickly fall apart if the screenplay is weak. The flawed story starts off on an intriguing premise, and then disintegrates because so many elements just don’t make any sense. The story establishes that everyone is aware that their deceased loved ones are temporarily on spaceships circling the earth and that reincarnation is real, but it doesn’t seem to raise any questions; for instance, they don’t really have heavy traffic considering how many die every day. Then in an attempt to be cool, they have ancient TVs as communication devices but they don’t confront many issues, such as the cycle of life and death.

If the audience suspends their disbelief (a lot) and look at the film as exploration of faith or corporatisation of death, they may find something to like. But it’s really difficult to get beyond all the many faults, basic set and very slow pace.

There are some solid performances and lead star Vikrant Massey is particularly good, but that isn’t enough to prevent this from being a frustrating watch, which many may switch off before it ends.

Cargo is a missed opportunity and sees a strong premise lose its way. That is why it isn’t really worth finding on the streaming site.