Recommendation: 4/5 Stars, SHOWTIME  

Plot: “In Mumbai, Nurse Prabha's routine is troubled when she receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband. Her younger roommate, Anu, tries in vain to find a spot in the city to be intimate with her boyfriend.” -IMDB

Review: Mumbai is expansive. It fills every inch of the screen, stretching further than we can imagine, reaching into the distance. The city feels forever, as we open on two roommates doing all they can to navigate city life. Prabha (Kani Kusruti) is a nurse at a local hospital. She is married, yet estranged from her husband. With her husband far removed from the scene, she frequently bumps into another soul in this massive city; a doctor at her hospital who she is dating on the side.  

And then there is her younger roommate, Anu (Divya Prabha). In the expanse of Mumbai, Anu wants to find space that she can call her own; a space where she and her boyfriend can take their relationship to the next level. This is a task they are finding nearly impossible.  

For much of this film, the interplay between relationships seems to be the challenge our characters are attempting to overcome. “What do these characters want out of life?” seems to be the central question driving each character’s motivation. If this slow and quiet story had stopped here, I would have been satisfied, but emotionally unmoved. Luckily for me and for us, this film enters a third act where everything changes.  

Out of the blue, Prabha receives an unexpected gift from her absent husband. This gift pulls her and Anu to the sea to uncover the mystery of her husband’s disappearance. For me, this journey and all that it uncovers is when this film truly shines. In the embrace of the sea, issues of fate, culture, destiny, and love finally reveal themselves, and you, as an audience member, are invited into a shared space to ask similar questions of your own life.  

This film takes some time to show itself. For much of the film, I found myself uninterested and disconnected from the characters. But when we are finally invited to join their circle and question what we want out of our own lives via the challenges of our central characters, I think the light finally shines on this story for all to see.  

Be good to each other,  

Nathan