Supernatural shepherds of the Himalayas. Creatures guarding its grounds. Visions, apparitions, mysterious disappearances, ailments, and bizarre aggressions. The horror stories photographer Neerav Uprati (Sumeet Thakur) reads in a Reddit community reek of conspiracy . He is about to throw himself into a world of of alternative facts and realities, it seems.

As the movie opens, we see Neerav as a child, collecting valuable scraps and metals in a heavily polluted landfill. He joins forces with a woman called Kamli (Indira Tiwari). Together they steal some money and a camera from an old man running a cinema. Her older brother Mugda warns him not to get too close to his sister. He takes off with the valuables on his own, building a life as a photographer in a better neighbourhood.

Guilt and the shadows of the past don’t set you free, they pull you down instead. On the surface, Neerav seems happy with his new partner Anvi (Chitrangada Satarupa), a new montage suggests. One always has to dig a bit deeper, distrust one’s own eyes, consider the reality presented as elusive. It is a lingering yearning for absolution that drives Neerav forward.

People have been hearing a hum in a secluded part of the mountain range, a place called Sektor K. They later either disappearing or go crazy. Soon enough, Neerav is scrolling through the eyewitness reports, videos and folktales on Reddit. His sponsor and landfill owner, Martin (Surjyakar) asks him to photograph the tragedy. Close-ups of ittle children, toxic fumes, and the wasteland of trash piling up. “Propaganda”, Neerav says. “It’s for a charity”, Martin replies. The movie is ambiguous and vague about the next developments.

Antar understands how to build up the eerie encounter Neerav is about to have in the Himalayan forests. Travelling with officer Dileep (Ravi Dudjea), they encounter the inexplicable. Somehow making it out alive, he returns home to his job and to his partner Anvi. The ghosts of what he saw drive a wedge between the two lovers. And so Neerav’s life begins to fall into shambles. He is being haunted by visions, memories and guilt. The line between reality and imagination becomes blurry.

The memory of the encounter in the forest continues to flow like an undercurrent. The once idealistic man gives in to cynicism, and his demons begin to take over. Neerav accepts Martin’s offer. He eventually reconnects with some old childhood friends, and multiple tragedies strike.

Antar creates a slow burn yet unflinching horror movie. Presented in eerie, shaky, distorted camerawork and underscored by the unsettling strings, Srishti is a film that will hook you, even if the storyline is a little confusing at times.

Srishti sees its world premiere at the 33rd edition of the Raindance Film Festival, which takes place between June 18th and 27th.