Anu (2023) Film Review
Anu is a very different film than what I thought. I came to it with a mistaken point of view thinking it would be a children’s film. Adapted from the children’s novel Looking for Bapu, it wasn’t going to be a film set up for adults. From the very beginning, Sudeshna Sen takes a very confident position of humbleness in regards to the film’s delicate theme. There is nothing naive or gullible about the approach to death. The film solidly accomplishes a compelling crossover between a children’s book and an adaptation that feels much more mature than what it’s supposed to be.
Anu tells the story of Anu, a 12-year-old girl who has a strong relationship with her grandfather Bapu. The connection is much more significant than the one she has with her parents. But suddenly Bapu passes away, and the whole family is forced to face the loss. In the center, Anu is adamant to accept the void and tries do everything to “recover” the presence of her loved grandfather. This leads Anu towards a dramatic journey of how to deal with irrecoverable loss, and this allows her to explore the many foundations of her Indian background. The religious and cultural setting are big enough to make this the film’s most important device, through which some things could be solved.
What’s important about how the film develops its approach is that the director stays away from the element of false hope. Anu of course is the one who suffers the film’s direction because she won’t stop until finding an answer. An answer and a solution, for the meaning of death and the possible transcendence her culture has taught her about. What takes place in the end is a bittersweet event that will force her to grow up in the middle of a crisis.
But there’s light at the end of the tunnel. The outcome is much more relevant and grounded than it needs to, and it plays well for the context. The realization of her connection with her grandfather is a silent act during which she accepts that her grandfather’s legacy is only as good as her presence on Earth to follow up on family values of kindness and respect.
Diya Modi as Anu shines. The young actress’ performance is good enough to make us buy her strange but ultimately necessary motivations. Even when she’s being kind of brat, Modi restrains herself from being excessive which would cause her character to lose some steam. She’s always in control, something rare in the case of young actors.
Sudeshna Sen is a newcomer to film. This becomes clear as the film’s second act rushes by too quickly and Anu’s endeavor gets confusing, and the relationship with her parents becomes hard to digest. But Sen does enough to stamp her own name in the dynamics of indie cinema when portraying drama with enough force to leave you thinking. This film won’t change your life, but it will make you want to call every member of your family to tell them how much you miss them and how much they mean to you. I guess that’s enough for a relatively new career in cinema.
Great review. I watched the movie and loved the transformation of Anu (Diya Modi) from a happy kid to someone who struggles to understand a deep meaning of death. Diya Modi is a great talent who effortlessly delivers a great performance. Her buildup of emotions towards the end of the film, where, for the first time we see her crying is very well done. One could feel the deep sorrow in her. Sudhesna has done a fabulous job in bringing out some of the nuances and not trivializing the very serious aspects of how kids deal with the death of loved ones. Must watch!