Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi : A Scathing Reminder Of How The Traditional Indian Lifestyle Is Disintegrating In The Concrete Cities

When Anne Frank said that 'grief is stronger than gratitude', she probably meant that 'grief' is a very powerful emotion. And historically, only powerful emotions, though however negative, have brought people together. Now that can be the emotion of fear during a deadly pandemic bringing the world together. Or simply, it can be a death in the family bringing all of its grieving members together. 

And based on this simple yet factual thought, Seema Pahwa makes her graceful directorial debut with 'Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi', which was released on the first day of 2021. The film features an ensemble cast of Naseeruddin Shah, Vikrant Massey, Konkona Sen Sharma, Parambrata Chatterjee, Vinay Pathak, Supriya Pathak, Manoj Pahwa, and Vineet Kumar.

Indian Family: A Tale Woven In Many Tales

The soul of an Indian family is usually its jar of memories. Because an Indian family is its most lively, not during a big event or a get-together, but rather when after the event everybody gathers around and reminisces from that opened jar of memories. And quite mathematically, the bigger the family, the bigger the jar of its memories. However, with the concepts of family planning and birth control, now well versed in our society, the idea of having a big fat family is a relic of the past. And rightly so, because family planning plays a crucial in the economic and socio-demographic growth of the country. But what concepts like family planning unknowingly steal away from us, are the million fascinating stories and memories that can only happen in a big fat family.

The film beautifully does justice in portraying this last remaining generation of a big family, by displaying everything that makes it special and annoying to have multiple brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents, living under the same roof. Ramprasad was a proud father of four boys and two girls. And the film shows multiple instances of sibling rivalry, favoritism amongst the siblings, and recollections of disturbing yet cherishable stories from their childhood.

The writers also meticulously, explored and showcased the psychological impacts that the chronology of siblings can have on their individual minds. For example, Gajraj played by Manoj Pahwa was the eldest in the family and hence he was always trusted with the big responsibilities, whereas Manoj played by Ninad Kamat claimed that as a middle child he always felt like an unplanned mistake. And last but not the least, Nishant played by Parambrata Chatterjee, was the youngest of the lot, and hence was portrayed as everyone's favorite who always got away with the mischiefs managed.

Indian Tradition: The Pillars Guiding Us In Being Indian

What right away grabs your attention in the movie, is how Indian it feels. The raw greenery of a village area, the narrow alleyways which are a shortcut to someplace, and of course the Ramprasad household, decorated with old wooden furniture, wooden stairs, rooms filled with overpacked wardrobes, a single congested kitchen, and beautiful open balconies. All these sights contribute to you feeling like this story was shot in one of your neighboring houses.

But aside from the views and architecture, there is always the iron hand that makes us Indians, and that is our bondage with our traditions. When there is a death in the family, it is an Indian tradition to observe 13 days of mourning which ends with the observation of an event called 'Tehrvi' (a prayer meet) which symbolizes the soul of the departed being freed from the shackles of love, baggage, and attachment with the family, and thus allowing the soul to walk freely into the afterlife.

Although this is the central plot of the film, that starts with the death of Ramprasad followed by the entire family gathering together to observe the tradition. The writers of the film do a brilliant job in bringing out some comedic nuances from such a grim affair. For example, in one of the scenes, the family members are seen discussing if they should keep the 'tehrvi' of the departed soul on the first day of the year or not because after all who’d like to start the year on a sad note.

Another thing that is very well highlighted by the writers here, is how Indian generations pass on traditions to the next generation, without any proper explanations for them. This eventually leads to the traditions losing their value over time. And the following scene where one of the brothers suggests observing the 'tehrvi' on the 11th day, to avoid it being on New Year's day, signifies that loudly. 

Indian Mother: A Woman, A Workaholic, A Warrior

By far, the star of the show was the incredible performance by Supriya Pathak, the mother of the household.