Any film about senior citizens boarding in India is bound to invite comparisons with John Madden's The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. But 25-year-old Shubhashish Bhutiani's bittersweet debut has more in common with Ismaël Ferroukhi's Le Grand Voyage and Alexander Payne's Nebraska, as it follows a dutiful son's efforts to indulge an ailing father by accompanying him on a valedictory journey.
A highly impressive debut.
Having focused on death in his acclaimed shorts, The Star and Kush, Bhutiani got the idea for his first feature while backpacking around India. There he learned about Varanasi's ‘bhawan’ guest houses, where dying believers come to seek the spiritual liberation of ‘mukti’. But there’s nothing maudlin about Dayanand Kumar’s (Lalit Behl) odyssey, as he discovers life beside the Ganges to be very much to his liking, especially after he hooks up with a sprightly widow (played by his real-life wife, Navnindra Behl), who shares his passion for the TV show ‘Flying Saucer’. Strait-laced son Rajiv (Adil Hussain) finds the experience less rewarding, however, as he is forever getting phone grief from both work and wife Lata (Geetanjali Kulkarni), who accuses him of having a relaxing vacation while she deals with daughter Sunita’s (Palomi Ghosh) revolt against her arranged marriage.
Similar social issues crop up without undue fanfare throughout the picture, as Bhutiani observes countless little clashes between tradition and modernity with droll detachment. Lata, for example, uses her mobile to film her grandfather's dedication of a cow at the start of his pilgrimage, while he teaches her how to ride his scooter, treats her to marijuana-laced lassi and encourages her to get a job and follow her heart rather than her parents' wishes. Conversely, Rajiv feels trapped by convention, as he strives to be a good employee, husband, father and son. Yet nobody seems particularly concerned about him, as the days pass and he loses clients, endures Skype scoldings and has his cooking criticised.
On their arrival at the rundown, rodent-infested Mukti Bhawan, owner Mishraji (Anil K. Rastogi) informs Dayanand and Rajiv that they can stay for only 15 days, as his rooms are in great demand. However, as time elapses and Mishraji allows Dayanand to re-register under a false name, Rajiv almost comes to envy the bereaved bearing their loved ones away for cremation and, as he wanders through an undertaker's yard filled with wood for the funeral pyres, he catches himself wishing that his father would expire. Yet they enjoy a few moments of touching closeness after Lata and Sunita pay a flying, but eventful visit, with the riverside conversation about reincarnating as a kangaroo and the rooftop leave-taking being charmingly judged.
Indeed, Bhutiani seems in total control of his material, with only Tajdar Junaid's guitar score occasionally striking an overly insistent note that's at odds with the authenticity of Avyakta Kapur's production design and the restraint of Michael McSweeney and David Huwilers’ languid cinematography. He is also superbly served by Behl and Hussain, with the former even managing to amuse on his deathbed when he urges the musicians playing to ease his passing to sing in tune. But, ultimately, it's Hussain who most merits the audience's pity, as he returns to his stressful city existence without the father he so clearly adored and without seeming to have learnt anything about living well being key to the art of dying.