A brilliant tale of life, and death

the odd dash of humour.

Varanasi is the epicentre of the Hindu religion. It is where you go as a child to shave your head; as an adult to be rid of your sins; and where the devout hope to die and be cremated. The circle of life plays out here in fast-forward, over and over, with dizzying, disturbing universality.

Mukti Bhawan is where it all comes together, a last leap of faith for the unquestioning believer. “Maas, machhi to nahi khaate? Daru to nahi peete?” you get asked at the gate by Mishraji (Anil Rastogi), the veteran manager.

This place is only for the staunchest of Hindus, for those who have rigidly followed the path. Bhutiani rarely goes out of his way to comment, choosing to show rather than tell. He reflects the rigidity of the rules.

Mishra, for instance, greets every new guest with the same spiel about high demand, and a room just having been vacated. To get around the two-week limit on each guest’s stay, he is happy to change your name in the hotel register. There is a thin, sensitive line between scepticism and ridicule. Especially when it comes to Hinduism. Especially in the times we live in. Bhutiani seems acutely aware of this. So he chooses to tell the story primarily through the eyes of Rajiv (Adil Hussain), Behl’s middle-aged accountant son. He’s a man torn between tradition and modernity; between a boss on an incessantly vibrating phone and the sense of duty of a good son. He has the objectivity to question Mukti Bhawan and its staff, but exhibits flashes of the same rigidity he hates in his father.

Hussain isn’t just credible as the everyman, he is brilliant. You see a bit of the every son in him, and the every father. You agree vehemently with him when he is critical; you tear up when he cries.

But in the end, it’s not about the religious stuff; this is a universal human drama. And it is heartbreaking. The old man, with his flashes of mischief; the town with its confused dignity. It makes you laugh and cry, think and question. It’s what good cinema and storytelling are meant to be.