A Death in the Gunj: An Experience

I just cannot get 'A Death in the Gunj' out of my mind since I watched it last night. And I've found out over time that thoughts will keep swirling in your mind until you give them a form, verbal or written.  So let's see if this works this time around.

I will start with a difficulty I had while watching the film. For the longest time, I was trying to figure out, who's related to whom. Was Mimi related to Bonnie? Have they come to visit Bonnie's parents or Nandu’s? Things aren't immediately clear, or they are, it's just me who’s too dimwitted to see it. Another question kept popping in my mind is, would the film have reached a larger audience if it was filmed in a single language? The mix & match of English, Hindi, Bengali with a bit of Bihari(?) was sort of unsettling for me  at first even though I understand all these languages.  But it surely ensured authenticity and I slowly grew accustomed to it.

I am an unsophisticated viewer of films and I'm not familiar with the various technicalities that make a film what it is. So my primary connection with the movies I watch is through the characters. It helps then that A Death in the Gunj has a trove of delightful characters, at the center of which is the principal character Shyamal Cheterjee, referred to as Shutu for the major part of the film.

Male sensitivy is uncomforting for some people even in today's day and age. The period in which the film is set, it must have been almost a taboo. And our protagonist Shutu is so sensitive & emotionally vulnerable that at times I felt like reaching out my arms and giving him a tight hug. But it came as no wonder that most of the people around him were oblivious to his state of mind. The men repeatedly scoff him for being too soft. His cousin brother thinks it's time for him to grow up, toughen up. In his opinion, Shutu is too old to mourne his father's death for such a prolonged period, especially when he has his mother to look after.

But Shutu hurts more than they realize. Shutu's sensitivity about the dead is a recurring aspect of the film. In one of the initial scenes, all the young ones arrange a plan chat. They ask Shutu to be the medium. Shutu tells them he doesn't want to be a part of it as he thinks it causes the spirits pain. There is another scene where he and little Taani are lying in the field inspecting an insect. Upon finding it dead he buries the insect and places a bunch of flowers there in one the film's most beautiful scenes. Later in the film when he & Mimi visits a graveyard he tries to stop Mimi from eating a cake that the local bakery owner left for her deceased daughter who died very young.

Shutu tries escape the trauma. He avoids confronting his mother and even talking to her at all costs. That was the primary reason he accompanied his cousin in the first place.But he also craves acceptance, like we all do. In a scene Taani circles an old tree where the names of Nandu and the others are inscribed. Taani asks why his name is not written there. This scene seems like an ominous foretelling in retrospect. Although Shutu doesn't try to change himself to find acceptance he often appears too eager to be at everyone’s beck & call to the point of being subservient.

The men around him though have no patience for such "weakness". In a scene where Nandu teaches Shutu to drive, he gets restless at how inept he is & verbally & physically abuses him. When rebuked by Taani, he says that's how people (men) learn and that he also learned it the hard way. The same day however, when Shutu corners Nandu in a game of  hase, Nandu grumbles and says that at least his chess was better than  his driving, trying even in defeat to have the upper hand. Vikram who is the epitome of society's idea of masculinity (a royal brat) is also (unsurprisingly) not above the pettiness. Throughout the film he torments Shutu, who is a rather easy target for him, to boost his own alpha male image. In a game of Kabaddi where Shutu becomes one of the last standing player (to everyone's surprise & Vikram's utter discomfort) things get nasty & bloody in the final round between Shutu & Vikram. Vikram goes a bit too far when his superiority is challenged by someone like Shutu whom he taunted before the start of the game.

Women on the other hand are more understanding and accepting. His aunt & Bonnie were both willing to give him more time to heal. But Shutu found his true companion in his niece Taani. More than anyone else, the little girl understands how vulnerable Shutu is. She tries her best to protect him from from all the ridicule & harshness. Right after Shutu arrives at his aunt's place he puts on an old sweater of his deceased father and wears it for the most part of the film. It's like by wearing the sweater he could still hold onto his father while the companionship with Taani signified he was also holding onto the child inside of him. When he lets go of the sweater & Taani in an attempt to embrace adulthood, things start to go downhill.

Of the other adult characters Kalki Koechlan's Mimi is the most interesting. She had a relationship with Vikram which they continue even after Vikram'srecent marriage. Vikram keeps delaying introducing his wife to his friends leading them to believe she's either too coarse or too young. Which proves to be a misconception when they finally get to meet her. Promila Pradhan as Purnima instantly wins the admiration of all those present (including mine) making Mimi desperate and she makes a grab for Shutu in her weak moment adding trouble to his already turbulent life.

I thank Konkona Sen Sharma for giving us this film which is simply the best I’ve watched this year. The film is technically sound and yet tugs at the heart without an ounce of manipulation. The film is beautifully shot and the soundtrack captures the mood of the film well. Congratulations to Vikrant Massey on the performance of a lifetime as Shutu. All the other actors shine bright with Om Puri adding delicate nuances to a seemingly inconsequential role.