Saba Karim Khan and Sarmad Khoosat’s Dealing in Desire is a layered cinematic exploration of systematic marginalisation, duality of human nature and the taboos which societies often repress.

Drawing on the inter-textual resonance of Saadat Hasan Manto’s short story Hatak and Saba Karim Khan’s poem of the same name as the film, the project employs réécriture and inter-medial adaptation to not only create a dialogue but also build bridges between past and present. This linking of narratives not only preserves Manto’s critique of the society’s ills but also demonstrates its timeless relevance, suggesting that the structures of prejudice, taboo and desire remain persistent in societies.

What caught my attention was the way the film opens: with striking visual economy. There is a dingy apartment, dimly lit and suffocating, where the woman at its centre resides. Her scratched red nail paint was striking to look at: a subtle yet powerful emblem of both urgency and decay. I found the visual to be contradictory to the idea of desire, perhaps because I did not want to imagine it in business terms.

What makes Dealing in Desire particularly engaging is its ability to operate on multiple levels. It combines verbal cues with gestures, spatial design and auditory reflexes to create an engrossing experience. The narrative situates the audience within the discomfort of contradictions, to make them feel the uneasiness of their reality.

The mise-en-scène borrows heavily from Manto’s narrative. Make-up tools scattered by the bedside, positioned for instant use, underscore the precarious economy of survival in which appearance must be promptly curated.

Believe/ Exist/ Survive — Saba Karim Khan

Interestingly, she keeps lifting her gaze toward the mirror fixed on the ceiling. In that upward look lies a haunting ambiguity. It is as though she is daring to confront the society, staring unflinchingly into its distorted reflection, demanding that it acknowledge the weight of its double standards.

At the same time, her eyes could just as easily be reaching beyond the room, stretching upward to the heavens in a silent plea, asking the ultimate questions about purpose, justice and the meaning of her existence.

The moment is deeply unsettling. It is as if she is caught between defiance and despair, between resistance and resignation. It evokes the impression of a woman desperately looking for someone who might acknowledge her agony and battles. The desire for acknowledgment becomes symbolic of the human longing for recognition, to be seen and to be affirmed amid silent suffering.

One of the most effective motifs in the film is the parallel between food and desire. The visual association of hunger with longing speaks to gluttony. It aids in framing desire not as a refined aesthetic pursuit but as primal, unrelenting and beastly appetite. It is noticeable by the howling and barking of dogs in the background.

Dealing in Desire is more than a short film and an adaptation. It renders visible the continuity of social critique across generations, reminding us that, while times change, the universality of human duplicity and desire remains disturbingly constant.

The film holds a mirror to the hypocrisy of a society that is quick to condemn yet equally eager to consume. This duplicity exposes the fragility of the social façades. In doing so, the film gestures toward humanity’s brutal impulses.

(Manto)

Khoosat’s direction sharpens this critique through layered symbolism. An insect, desperately fluttering its wings in one sequence, becomes a chilling image of both entrapment and survival. It acts out as an allegory for those rendered voiceless yet struggling against odds.

“I try to keep body and soul together but to breathe?”

— Saba Karim Khan

The audience is compelled to confront not only the vulnerability of the marginalised but also the horrid nature of those who desire, exploit and discard.

What makes Dealing in Desire particularly engaging is its ability to operate on multiple levels. It combines verbal cues with gestures, spatial design and auditory reflexes to create an engrossing experience. The narrative situates the audience within the discomfort of contradictions to make them feel the uneasiness of their reality. The film is not only about taboos or marginalisation but also about resilience, the capacity to endure, even when survival itself feels like an act of defiance.

The film is not only about taboos or marginalisation, but also about resilience, the capacity to endure, even when survival itself feels like an act of defiance.

“Words can be more inspiring and stimulating than pictures… Saba’s poignant and abstract piece sparked a multitude of visual and sonic possibilities,” says Sarmad Khoosat.

Ultimately, Dealing in Desire is more than a short film and an adaptation. It renders visible the continuity of social critique across generations, reminding us that, while times change, the universality of human duplicity and desire remains disturbingly constant.

Released on: August 15

Written by: Saba Karim Khan

Directed by: Sarmad Khoosat

Produced by: Sundus Hashmi

The reviewer is pursuing her post-grad in education at the University of Sussex