Writer and Director: Rohan Kanawade
When Anand’s father dies, he and his mother have to travel with the body from Mumbai to the countryside to partake in the traditional 10-day morning ritual for Hindus. Anand makes mistakes straight away; his dark grey t-shirt is perceived by his father’s family as black and disrespectful, and he hints that he may only stay for two days rather than the full 10 days. Tradition, however, wins over, and Cactus Pears is a compelling story of grief and first love.
There are many customs that Anand has to adhere to during the mourning period. He’s only allowed two home-cooked meals a day, he has to sleep on the floor, and he’s not permitted to wear shoes or cut his beard and hair. He follows the directions as best he’s able. But what he really fears is the questions about marriage that arise at every family meal. At 30, Anand should be married already, and another tradition after a father’s death is that an unmarried son should marry within the year.
Anand’s not just grieving his father either. Back in Mumbai, Anand once had “a special friend”, but now that special friend is married with children. Anand’s mother twists the truth slightly in telling her husband’s family that Anand is heartbroken because his fiancée married another man. The family don’t quite believe this lie.
Over the next 10 days, Anand finds solace in the company of his childhood friend Balya, who looks after a flock of goats. There is history between them, and as the two men take the goats to graze, their relationship develops into something more tender. Balya is also unmarried, and his lack of status suggests he will always remain unmarried, but then a proposal comes out of the blue.
As absorbing as Anand and Bayla’s romance is the meticulous care director Rohan Kanawade takes in covering the rituals of this tight-knit community in Western India. Quietly and reverentially, a Western audience is allowed a glimpse into a world not usually seen on screen. When Anand has his hair shaved on the 10th day, the scene is unpredictably moving, and we feel his grief.
All the acting is sensitively understated, especially that of Jayshri Jagtap, who plays Anand’s almost silent but supportive mother. In his first feature, Suraaj Suman is impressive and convincing as Balya. His sense of being left behind in a rural community is truly palpable. As the curly-haired and despondent Anand is Bhushaan Manoj, also in his first film. His Anand is caught between two rights: one to seek out his own life and happiness, while the other is to carry out the funeral rituals to honour the father he loved. Manoj captures this dilemma perfectly in his low-key rebellions.
Loosely based on his own experience, Cactus Pears is Kanawade’s first feature, too and yet his film, named after the blood-red fruits that grow in India, is so mature that it seems like the work of a more experienced director. It’s dignified and humble.
Cactus Pears has its UK premiere at SXSW London festival.
