Spoilers ahead…
Few actors are as good as Irrfan at portraying fundamental decency. We saw that quality in ‘The Namesake’. We saw that quality in ‘The Lunchbox’. And we see it here.
Anup Singh’s previous film was the Partition-era saga Qissa, and the story revolved around a girl whose father decides to raise her as a boy. At one point, after years of wearing male attire (including a turban), when the girl wears “girl clothes”, she says she feels like there are scorpions crawling all over her body. The director’s new film carries that metaphor forward. One, there’s the title: The Song of Scorpions. But more importantly, there’s that constant feeling that the film itself gives you – the feeling of scorpions all over your body. Under the placid surface, your skin crawls, and you never know when the sting will come. I haven’t seen Anup’s first film, Ekti Nadir Naam, but based on Qissa and The Song of Scorpions, he likes to narrate deceptively simple fables that are really about madnesses and obsessions. By definition, a fable is a simple creation, but Anup Singh clutters things up with queasy psychological complexities.
You can read the rest of the review here:
https://www.galatta.com/hindi/movie/review/the-song-of-scorpions/
And you can watch the video review here:
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Baradwaj Rangan 
musical v
May 1, 2023
What a review! It is like reading a great story than reading a mere review. I dont know how the film maybe, but your review is simply awesome. Worthy for the great Irrfan’s swan song. The desert stood before me, the characters acted before me while I was going through your review.
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Anu Warrier
May 1, 2023
It’s been playing the festival circuit and I’ve been meaning to watch it ever since, but years passed and I forgot if this film had even been released. Thanks for the review – it appears to be a fitting swan song for Irfan. (And a reminder of what a colossus we have lost.)
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Rahini David
May 2, 2023
As always, a review is better when BR likes a movie rather than when he doesn’t. A great review.
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