Aatmapamphlet

Ashish Avinash Bende's 2023 Marathi film opens with ten-year-old Ashish falling for a classmate. The narrator is his grown self, telling it in retrospect. The film gives a child's love together with the social change of the nineties. Caste difference, economic opening and neighbourhood politics seep into the children's games; the narrative shows this through humour and without instructing. The cast are children and largely inexperienced. The tone is light and there is no violence. The voiceover carries the film. Who it's for: those who like Marathi cinema and nostalgic childhood narratives. Who it's not for: viewers unfamiliar with the politics of the period; some references stay local.