The
Indian
choice
for
the
Best
Foreign
Film
nomination
at
the
Oscar
Awards
2023
is
a
heartfelt
ode
to
cinema.
Obviously
semi-autobiographical,
this
Pan
Nalin
(director
of
Samsara,
Angry
Indian
Goddesses)
film,
which
is
also
obliquely
paying
homage
to
Cinema
Paradiso,
features
a
9-year-old
boy
living
in
a
remote
village
in
India,
in
an
almost
destitute
hand-to-mouth
existence,
beginning
a
lifelong
love
affair
with
cinema.
In
the
opening
titles
itself
Nalin
gives
credit
to
the
Lumière
Brothers,
Eadweard
Muybridge,
David
Lean,
Stanley
Kubrick
and
Andrei
Tarkovsky,
names
that
hearken
back
to
a
time
when
cinema
was
inventive,
experimental
and
thought-provoking.
Nalin's
craft
has
a
freshness
and
vivacity
that
immediately
brings
back
memories
of
a
bygone
era
when
creativity
depended
on
narrative
and
visuals
and
less
on
techno
pizazz.
The
passion
and
immersive
entrenchment
in
a
medium
that
holds
immense
fascination
for
creative
inducement
shows
up
in
the
manner
in
which
the
young
kid,
Samay
(Bhavin
Rabari)
inveigles
his
way
into
a
rundown
movie
theatre
showing
Bollywood
hit
reruns
-
all
this,
while
he
also
inventively
experiments
with
projection
and
visuals
alongside,
and
understands
its
relationship
with
light
in
a
unique
way.
This
film
showcases
a
passion
so
great
that
insurmountable
hurdles
are
brushed
aside
as
of
no
consequence
-
as
the
young
boy
becomes
the
very
essence
of
the
'Follow
Your
Dreams'
mantra
that
most
life
coaches
exhort
the
feeble-hearted
to
pursue.
Set
a
decade
earlier,
the
film
shows
Samay's
family
as
belonging
to
the
lower
caste,
devout
and
impoverished
-
as
his
father
runs
a
tea
stall
at
a
remote
railway
station.
Samay
fills
in
as
a
tea
vendor
after
school
but
also
finds
time
to
pursue
his
fascination
for
cinema
-
much
to
the
distress
of
his
father,
who
believes
that
movies
are
sinful.
Nalin
juxtaposes
Samay's
growing
passion
for
the
celluloid
medium
(Samay's
own
wonder
years)
with
the
gradual
phasing
out
of
that
medium,
just
as
the
transition
to
digital
is
growing
steadily
in
leaps
and
bounds
all
around
the
country.
It's
one
of
the
major
plot
points
in
the
narration
alongside
that
of
the
saliva-inducing
display
of
delicious
traditional
Gujarati
food
used
as
bribe
to
get
Samay
into
the
projection
room
from
where
he
feeds
his
passion
for
cinema.
Nostalgia,
sentiment
and
dramatic
heft
are
invoked
through
superb
ensemble
performances,
as
well
as
mise-en-scène
homage
to
masterful
works
on
celluloid
including
Stalker,
Pather
Panchali,
and
many
more,
coupled
with
evocative
cinematography
that
lures
you
in
and
captivates.
The
tempo
may
not
be
all
that
upbeat
but
the
heart
of
the
film
is
so
wondrous
and
joyful,
subtly
aided
by
impressive
sound
design,
so
that
this
coming-of-age
telling
resounds
with
echoes
of
greatness
from
a
wondrous
bygone
time.