The title seems to promise a politically charged thriller, but The Terrorist is something else entirely. Malli is chosen from an elite group of teenage terrorists to be a "thinking bomb" that will dispatch a never-seen VIP. But she becomes increasingly disturbed by memories of violence and images of isolation and powerlessness. It is her physical and spiritual journey-a struggle between the value of life and the satisfaction of commitment-in the week leading up to the act that drives the plot. As button-pushing time approaches, whether she does or doesn't is no longer the point. As La Femme Malli sans gadgets or posturing, Ayesha Dhardkar plays her part with a combination of natural beauty and mature nuance.

• Written by Sivan, Ravi Deshpande, Vijay Deveshwar. Photographed by Sivan. With Ayesha Dhardkar, Vishnu Vardhan, Bhanu Prakash, K. Krishna. (95 mins)