His Father's Voice - "veshti-ing" away

 

His Father's Voice

English, 2019

Director - Kaarthikeyan Kirubhakaran

Stars - Ashwini Pratap Pawar, PT Narendran, Sudharma Vaithiyanathan, Christopher Guruswamy

Mohan's Measure ⭐⭐⭐

Albeit my deep passion for it, the one thing I can never fully understand is the fatalism of the culture of India.  There is something, perhaps, in the laws of karma which suggests nothing comes without suffering and sacrifice.  This is a far cry from the American optimism in which I grew up.

The English film, His Father's Voice, makes this known on visceral levels. A misunderstanding leads to a broken relationship, and the suffering of a son longing to reunite with his father.  And, in turn, a certain sense of detachment and aloofness on the father's part that brings in India's fascination with the message of renunciation.  There is both ethos and eros at work here, too, however.  This reminds me of the Passage to India and other films that played of the amoral draw of India and its mysterious spirituality.

None of the actors are professional ones in this film.  So, for that reason, even love and peace feel phony, surreal, like one of those New Age gatherings of the 80s and 90s.  But, if nothing else, the classical dance is far closer to what it should be.