Heartfelt and poignant with its tightly spun screenplay, A Death in the Gunj offers a realistic portrayal of a fractured family amidst the serene expanse of McCluskiegunj. Set in the 1970s, the film introduces us to Nandu (Gulshan Devaiah), Bonnie (Tillotama Shome) and their eight year old daughter Tani (Arya Sharma) visiting Nandu’s parents to ring in the new year. During the week leading up to the new year celebrations, we are met with the friendly faces of Mimi (Kalki Koechlin), Vikramjit (Ranvir Shorey) and Brian (Jim Sarbh); friends of the family and Nandu respectively.
However, the story centers around Shutu (Vikrant Massey), Nandu’s cousin, a quiet and grief stricken young man who recently lost his father and accompanies the family on this trip. Shy, reserved and sensitive, he serves as the perfect scapegoat for all his family’s crazy antics and incessant jokes. Bullied around to complete menial jobs with constant jabs and teasing, he bears them all until he cannot any more.
Dealing with a myriad of subjects, the film’s recurring theme of loneliness resounds louder than the others. Shutu is subjected to his daily mockery because of his calm demeanour. He is treated as an outcast, a non-existent memory that resurfaces only to provide some sort of humorous respite to the other members of the family. He acts as a contrasting figure to Vikram and Nandu who do not fail to show off their masculinity any chance they get. Be it subtly or by rubbing it in your face. This brings us to the age-old question of what does it mean to be a man? Is it the loud and jarring traits of drinking, smoking along with infidelity? Does softness, sensitivity and simplicity erode the very foundation that defines the required traits to be called a man?
A more subtle undercurrent prevalent in the film is the dichotomy with which men and women behave and respond to certain situations. Despite being newly married Vikram continues to have an affair with Mimi. Although it is an open secret , Mimi is the one who is chastised for continuing a relationship with a ‘married man’. No one points a finger at Vikram or calls him out on his behaviour. Another instance is when Tani goes missing and the pandemonium that ensues soon after. Whilst everyone panics and is frantically searching for her, Nandu decidedly pulls up Bonnie for not ‘doing her job properly’. He berates her for her ‘carelessness’ and ‘inability to take care of Tani’. Instead of accepting responsibility, he criticises his wife for not doing a job that requires both parents stepping up to the task.
Despite being surrounded by staunch personalities, none of them help guide Shutu through life. He is left to figure that out on his own. Stumbling along the way with no one to look upto, he is ridiculed for his mistakes and failures instead of being understood. Slivers of friendship, acceptance & understanding are offered to him by Brian but it does nothing to lessen the taunts that have ridiculed him so far on this family holiday.
Helmed by Konkona Sen Sharma in her directorial debut, the film portrays nuanced, hidden yet prominent ideas with its stellar cast bringing their own distinct voices to the role. Sirsha Ray’s use of camera to depict the familial isolation and abandonment serves as the perfect backdrop for the story to be woven. Lingering shots of Shutu’s forlornness is interspersed with moments of the family enjoying themselves without his company. A Death in the Gunj is a thought provoking and self reflective narration. An
evocative and all too familiar experience that all of us have been a part of in some way during our lives.