Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi

Seema Pahwa's first film as a director follows an extended family gathered in one house for thirteen days after a death. As Ramprasad's funeral rituals proceed, his children and their spouses have to stay under the same roof. The film is interested not in the ritual itself but in the enforced closeness it creates. Who will contribute how much money, who the mother will live with, whether the house will be sold: these surface as the days pass. Nobody discusses them openly and everybody is calculating. The cast is drawn from the best-known names in Indian independent cinema: Naseeruddin Shah, Konkona Sen Sharma, Manoj Pahwa, Vinay Pathak. Pahwa acted for many years, which is where her ease with crowded scenes comes from. Who it's for: those who like family drama built on ensemble performance. Who it's not for: viewers looking for plot; the film takes place almost entirely in one house and in conversation.