The film Pyre, which is winning the hearts of critics and audiences across the country, is the story of an elderly couple's love and their silent loneliness. It took two years for the film to reach theaters after being completed.
This 111-minute film has been directed by TV journalist turned filmmaker Vinod Kapri. This film also shows the serious issue of migration. Due to migration, hundreds of beautiful villages in the Himalayan range have become vacant and have turned into ghost villages.
The film also shows the impact of climate change, which has made the region's climate harsher than ever.
Many Indians have shared such videos on social media, in which audiences are seen coming out of theaters with tears in their eyes. Some people wrote that a film had made them so emotional after a long time.
The lead actors of the film have also been praised a lot. These are ordinary villagers, who had never faced the camera before. Respected Bollywood actors Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher have also praised him.
The main character of Pair is played by Padam Singh. And Tulsi has played the character of Heera Devi. They are called Bubu and Aama in the local language, which means grandfather and grandmother. The couple lives in a small house in the mountains of Uttarakhand state.
This is a place where age is calculated from major historical events. Padam Singh was born two years before the outbreak of World War II. Tulsi was born in the year when atomic bombs were dropped on Japan.
There is neither road nor electricity in his village. Whenever the couple needs help, which is often as Tulsi has had to be taken to the hospital several times, Padam Singh calls out to the neighbors by playing a traditional long-horned instrument.
Neighbors help them. In return, Padam Singh expresses his gratitude to him by giving him goats.
"There's nothing here. Just mountains." Padam Singh, playing the main character in the film, says this dialogue. "So young people leave their villages in search of better employment and a better life. Those who leave this beautiful but difficult land rarely return."
Filmmaker Vinod Kapri says that the center of his film is the love story of an elderly couple living in the last days of their life. Kapri told the BBC, "They have spent 65 years together. For the last 28 years, they have been waiting for their son Hariya. Hariya had gone to Mumbai in search of work. They are waiting for him to return. This is a story of togetherness, loneliness and waiting."
In the film, the wait between the two suddenly becomes more important. After so many years, a letter arrives from Hariya. In it he tells the date of his arrival home. Padam Singh and Tulsi start counting the days. Meanwhile, some villagers living around them leave the village one by one. At last the couple is left all alone in the vast mountainous area.
A man leaving the village says to Padam Singh, "You and Tulsi also leave from here as soon as possible. Otherwise, when you or Tulsi die, not even four people will be found to carry your body down the mountain to the cremation pyre." Then he adds jokingly, "Or die before we even leave."
When there is no one left to call for help, Padam Singh builds two pyres side by side outside his house. One for his wife and one for himself. When Tulsi questions this decision, Padam Singh tells her, "If you die, how will I carry you down the mountain?"
Despite the gloomy atmosphere and serious subjects, there is a lot of humor in Pair. The lead couple of the film looks very cute. Like many long-term couples, their bickering seems to be a way of expressing their love.
Vinod Kapri, a resident of Uttarakhand, came up with the idea of this film in 2018. At that time he met an 84-year-old man living in Munsiyari, a beautiful hill town of the state. He says, "I went to meet him after seeing his picture on Facebook. The wrinkles on his face attracted me a lot. His face was very different."
Vinod Kapri said he asked the man and his wife what their biggest concern was. "He said, 'My biggest concern is if I die first, who will take care of them?' Then his wife said, 'He doesn't know how to cook. So if I die first, I don't know who will cook food for them. This touched my heart."
Vinod Kapri says that initially he had tried to make this film with a "real couple". But after a week of shooting he abandoned the idea. They felt it was not working properly. He then approached actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak for the lead roles. Both are husband and wife in real life also.
Kapri says Shah liked the story very much. But he believed that he and Ratna Pathak were not from that area. Therefore they will not be able to do full justice to these characters. At last Kapri got Padam Singh in his own family. This character was played by his father's younger brother. He had retired from the army and was interested in acting.
For the role of Tulsi, he found Heera Devi in another village. Heera Devi was an elderly widow. They raised their children while farming, mowing grass and taking care of their buffaloes.
Padam Singh and Heera Devi told BBC that over the last several years, they have seen many such villages around them which gradually became ghost villages. He also observed that children leave the village in search of work and the elderly are left behind. He says that he is overwhelmed by the love and attention that 'Pyre' is receiving today.
Vinod Kapri tells that since 2024, this film has been shown in some of the biggest film festivals of the world. The film has received 18 awards. These include three awards for Best Feature Film and 12 awards for Best Audience Choice Film.
"Despite success at film festivals, 'Pyre' did not find any distributor for two years." Kapri says that even the OTT platform did not take up the film. Eventually one of his producer friends provided financial help for its theatrical release. After this the film could reach the big screen.
Vinod Kapri says that this limited release on 70 screens on October 30 received a good response from the audience. People advised each other to watch the film. Demand for tickets increased. Along with this, the number of shows of the film was also increased.
On the other hand, all those worries of Padam Singh and Heera Devi, which were about coming in front of the camera and forgetting the dialogues, have now gone away. Heera Devi says she was also worried about what her children would think. What will the society say? Today Heera Devi and Padam Singh are enjoying positive responses from film critics and love from the audience.
During many film screenings, he met people who had tears in their eyes. Many people wanted to touch his feet and hug him. Many people said that the film reminded them of their parents and grandparents. They are waiting for them in the villages, towns and cities from where they once came.
Padam Singh says, "We felt very happy and contented. We received more love and inspiration than we had ever imagined." But the most special moment for him was when he met Naseeruddin Shah in Mumbai.
He says, "He watched the entire film and had tears in his eyes. He hugged me. He said, 'Bubu, the character you have played, I would not have been able to play even in seven births.'"
Padam Singh says that he wants to give a message to the youth of Uttarakhand and entire India. "I want to tell them that they should not leave their motherland. They should not leave the land where they were born." He further says, "I also appeal to the government to make arrangements for education and employment at people's places of residence so that people do not have to wander far and wide. When this happens, then the parents left behind will also be taken care of."
