Made for just Rs 7 crore. Earned Rs 2,160 crore worldwide. ‘Obsession’ is the small film that became a global monster — and once you watch it, you’ll understand exactly why
Let me be upfront about something. I walked into the theatre weeks after everyone else had already watched, discussed, and moved on from Obsession. I had no idea what it was about. I had deliberately avoided trailers, reviews, and WhatsApp forwards. All I knew was that this little film had done something extraordinary.
It was reportedly made on a shoestring budget of just USD 750,000 — roughly Rs 7 crore. Yet it went on to earn more than USD 225 million worldwide. At today’s exchange rates, that is Rs 2,160 crore.
For context: many big-budget Indian blockbusters with star-studded casts, lavish sets, and massive promotional budgets would weep at those numbers.
So yes. I was curious.
The First Fifteen Minutes Will Confuse You
My first impression was rather unusual. For the opening few minutes, the film felt almost like an extended YouTube short film. The characters, the dialogue, the ambient sound design and the overall presentation seemed far removed from the polished cinematic experience we normally associate with theatres.
I will be honest — I almost lost faith. I sat there wondering if the hype had been wildly exaggerated.
And then, quietly, something shifted.
Within about fifteen minutes, the film pulled me into its world. Its atmosphere, mood, and unsettling tone gradually took over. The kind of takeover you do not notice until you realise your popcorn has gone cold and you have not moved in forty minutes.
What Is It Actually About?
As the title suggests, Obsession revolves around the extreme and disturbing fixation of a woman named Nikky on her colleague, Bear. The reasons behind this obsession are tied to the film’s mysterious “One Wish Willow” element.
I will not say more than that. This is genuinely one of those films where knowing less is the entire point. Go in blind. Trust the discomfort.
What impressed most was the intensity of certain scenes. Some shots are staged and executed with such disturbing effectiveness that they continue to linger long after the credits roll. They follow you out of the theatre and, in some cases, even into your sleep.
That last part is not a metaphor. You have been warned.
The Bit That Will Spark Debates in Your Friend Group
Here is where it gets interesting — and a little controversial.
After watching Obsession, I found myself feeling a little sorry for husbands who have to deal with overly possessive, perpetually shouting wives who insist on running every aspect of their lives. As a woman, I should perhaps be taking Nikky’s side. Instead, the film left me sympathising with the poor men who find themselves trapped in relationships where obsession masquerades as affection.
Now before you type an angry comment — hear me out.
Obsession explores this theme through a fictional lens, using the mysterious “One Wish Willow” and its supernatural undertones rather than portraying an ordinary husband-wife or boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. That imaginative element is precisely what makes the film’s unsettling premise all the more intriguing.
The film is not making a statement about real relationships. It is doing something far more uncomfortable — holding a funhouse mirror up to the possessive impulses that exist in all of us, and asking: at what point does love become a cage?
Should You Watch It?
If you want a safe, comfortable, feel-good film — absolutely not.
If you want something that will sit in the back of your head for days, make you rethink a few things, and give you excellent material for a very animated conversation over dinner — yes. A thousand times yes.
Obsession is proof that a great idea, executed with conviction, does not need a hundred crore budget. It just needs the courage to be genuinely, uncomfortably honest about something most films are too polished to touch.
Rs 7 crore in. Rs 2,160 crore out.
And every rupee of that, earned.
