Plot Summary – Set in the Indian district of Mandya, three generations of men react to the death of their 101-year old patriarch.

Language – Kannada

★★★★★

Rewatched Dec 19, 2020

I watched this for the first time when I was pretty young and didn’t have the cinematic literacy to appreciate it on the first watch. This film is a masterpiece. I am a native Kannada speaker so I got the opportunity to watch this film without subtitles and I can safely say that the writing in this film is phenomenal. Each line (especially the insults) is so authentic and rich in it’s cultural and linguistic representation. It’s so cool to see a Kannada film, especially something this experimental and unique win awards in foreign film festivals. The acting performances are so good that you cannot picture these people out of the setting of the village. The family and relationship dynamics are so stark and realistic and the ending is so unsatisfying but there’s something significant about that. How fitting that a film trying to depict ‘real-life’ doesn’t end with a neat little ribbon. Some of the shots in this film are breathtaking and the way it tackles so many issues while still being so goddamn funny is something I’ll never be able to understand. This is one of my favourite movies now and I would like to watch it with anyone who hasn’t been to India if they want to know what village like is really like (looking at you Slumdog). I suggest that everyone checks this masterpiece out. It’s on Netflix in India (VPN if you don’t live here).