Gamak Ghar’s charm lies in its simplicity, its ability to stick to the very basics of filmmaking,
showing what the medium is truly capable of, even in its most elemental form. It is like making sushi. How much flavour can you possibly derive from raw fish and
steamed rice with a few drops of a bland sauce? Enough to rule the world. However, when it comes to art, we might need more than just sauce. 
Achal Mishra, a twenty-three-year-old debutant director, might be walking towards that coveted mastery. His
film reminds one of the monk-like tranquility of Yasujiro Ozu’s films. There is a surety to his craft. The bare, most conventional elements that the masters of cinema have played with are
used innovatively and appropriately in his narrative.


<h2>Gamak Ghar is the story of a family during three different time periods (spanning two decades) and the way 
they come together in their ancestral home for important family functions.</h2>

It is a house built by a man mythologized in the first time frame (1998) itself. He was a playwright, and a respected
resident of a small village in Bihar. His simply yet elegantly constructed house now sees his
grandchildren play hide and seek in its nook and corners, while the memory of his death looms large over their
parents’ memories. 
The film is as much about the house itself as the family. Its progression through the decades is
harrowing, from a lively place full of light and life, to a gloomy, deteriorating shell of itself. The family
members move out one by one, some die and the house, which represents the roots of the family, slowly withers away with the passage of time. Foundations laid by the grandfather lose their strength.
The subsequent generations seek out a new life and foundations elsewhere. Places, much like people, often die of natural causes, finally embracing their end when and after they are remembered for a last time. 
<h2>The narrative is also about progression of memories. Recent memories are often vivid, and induce
immediate emotions. The further they go from us, the more visceral they become. Some emotions
become nostalgia and acquire a strange sense of dreaminess that belongs to neither the present nor
the past. </h2> They are as much imagination as remembrance. Their records are found in old
cases catching pests and rotting with time. Their impact remains poignant. Eventually the bittersweet moments become afterthoughts that one carries in the back of their mind, but unable to ever express them out loud. 
The film is brilliant in its simplicity. Anand Bansal, the
cinematographer, austerely uses frozen frames in confined spaces, meticulously fixing his
shots to perfection. The use of aspect ratios as a storytelling device works splendidly (the
aspect ratio goes wider with every time frame, as the family spreads out to different areas, and
as there is more emptiness in the house to cover). Brilliantly directed, the earlier shots are
tighter, more focused and filled with people. The wide frames accentuate the emptiness of
the house in the latter parts. Natural elements like fog, darkness and dust are used in their
tradition sense. <h2>Certain shots are used again and again, each time with the house in a different
condition, to show the passing of time. It captures corridors, verandahs, and tulsi plants that die
and are born again in the same pot after decades. </h2>
There are themes and motifs to be found throughout the film, like in the subtleties of real human
behaviour. A cast of actors and non-actors are left to their devices to compose scenes in an
extremely authentic fashion while the camera acts as the eyes of the walls.
The excellence of Gamak Ghar is in many things. However what makes it truly special is the universal
story it so convincingly tells, and the simplistic mastery of craft it uses to tell it.

 
Written by Nimish K Sharma

Gamak Ghar | Review | Achal Mishra

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Endless | Short Film of the Day

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The Wallet | Naseeruddin Shah, Navni Parihar | Short Film of the Day

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Naaz Hotel | Pick of the Festival Circuit

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Smritir Pak | Short Film Nominee

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The subsequent result is not intended for light watching, but demands of the viewer their full attention, and presence of all mental faculties. The actors and their dedicated performance remains a notable aspect of the final result.

Tat Tvam Asi | Short Film Nominee

A man and a woman are located against a bright background, their shadowy silhouettes being the dark outlines that stand out in notable contrast. The figures remain solitary specks in their quiet surroundings as the narrative starts a conversation around life and dreams, hopes and existence, roping in nostalgia, childhood memories, philosophical musing and poetry. 

The camerawork and visuals further support the thought and intent of the film, also becoming its most standout characteristic. The elements are coupled with a background score consistent with all the aesthetic and thematic choices made so far, allowing the final result of 'Kinaara' to come together as a whole. 

The voice and tonality of the team exhibits promise, and should definitely be explored and developed further.

Kinaara | Short Film of the Day

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Eternal Recurrence | Short Film Nominee

With a calmness of tone and vibe, the short film interacts with the notions of time and how it seems to stretch and come to a halt during the coronavirus lockdown. As the protagonist struggles to come to terms with his new reality, there is indeed a sense of closure to be reached both by him as well as the viewer at the conclusion of the narrative.

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