A father tells his teenage son he's gay. This upsets the boy initially, but he comes around. That doesn't quite make for a full length feature film, so the scrip writer - director takes us on a road trip to the hills of Dehradun, and gives us beautiful scenery. He adds a bit of fun with the boy trying to cure his Dad with a powder procured from a local mystic, which nearly poisons him. They give a ride to a reality TV actor who shares a room with Dad and who the Dad comes out to. But nothing happens between the two. What the director is determined not to do is complicate the film with essential questions like why the Dad suddenly feels compelled to come out as gay after 20 years of marriage, how he breaks it to his wife and why on earth she's so understanding about it. If married gay men around the world are inspired to come out to their wives and kids after watching this movie, they'll probably be in for a shock. This is a piece of feel good gay propaganda. There's no drama here at all, which is a pity, since the premise of the story should have made for lots of drama.
7 Reviews
The Indian take on Gays
surobhideb15 May 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I watched the movie 10 days after its release. Only one show run by PVR that too on a weekend. And probably its the last week it is running. So its a movie that ran for 2 weeks on the big screen and in big cities. A major part of the audience went because they were Arvind Swamy fans right from the Roja days. To be honest, I too belonged to this category. Except for Arvind Swamy, the acting of other cast was totally mediocre and sometimes unreal.Nothing spectacular about it. The second half was much better than the first, I should say. The scenery was really good throughout the movie.The story didn't flow that well and there seem to be something missing throughout the movie. May be it was the fact that the Mother's reaction was not much detailed, it was all about Father and son. Audience already knows about these issues now and there was nothing very educative about the movie if there was any intention of it. There were little parts which were funny but they didn't last that long. The movie missed delivering a message. There were no boring songs in the movie and it was not too ambitious that way. I think that was a positive thing about it.
A childish script
qui_j5 May 2021
This is a film that tries to handle a difficult theme in a country that is culturally unaccepting of Gay people. Unfortunately, the script is poorly written and the actors have little with which to work. The film does little to explore the Father's sexuality and even less to explore family dynamics except in the narrowest of ways. So much more could have been explored with this new wave of Indian film making but sadly, that was not done here. While this watered down and childish version of this theme may resonate with Indian sensibilities, it really is too superficial and bland for a global audience. Overall, this is a lost opportunity for a film to realize its full potential!
Honest, but flawed
carlyle-5503918 May 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Tanuj Bhramar's new film, Dear Dad, has been a bit of a revelation for me. As I walked into a packed theater over the weekend, I noticed in line, ahead of me, walking to their seats, women with odhnis around their heads, children at their hips, elderly couples, and hipster young things with their flipflops and DH Lawrence haircuts. What an odd bunch of movie goers, and yet, how exciting to see India transform in front of my very eyes; to see this diverse population come to watch a film about a father coming out to his teenage son! Bravo, Tanuj Bhramar for making this happen.
Now, onto the film itself. The film revolves around a road trip, a father, who has confronted his wife with the fact that he is gay, takes his teenage son his boarding school in Mussoorie. During this trip, Nithin (the father, played by a more than capable, and intense as always Arvind Swamy, of Bombay and Roja fame), confesses his homosexuality to his father. In an unabashed moment, a few feet away, fuming like a volcano, his son (Shivam, played by Himanshu Sharma), has happened to overhear the entire conversation.
From here on out, much like a teen angst movie, we are confronted with endless scenes of an almost teary eyed father and a furious son trying to come to terms with the fact that they have been presented with a rather weak script. What could have made for an exceptional premise, is completely spoiled by ridiculous subplots, involving a reality TV star, and an oddly androgynous panacea delivering guruji.
Shivam's only concern, is a genuine one. Like most teenagers, he cares only about himself. He is not angry with his father for being gay, he only cares that the life he loved and cherished will now be destroyed, due to his father's selfish nature.
The ending of the film has a rather interesting twist. Save that, the rest of the film rings hollow. Some scenes look stagy and unreal. The dialogue, while sometimes shining in it's brilliance, is yet at other occasions, mired in the mundane, and downright silly.
There are several honorable mentions in this film.
Firstly, Aravind Swamy. It is rare to see a man with such presence on screen, such command over the art of underplaying a complex character, with such ease. He is a joy to watch, and a sight to behold. Truly, an excellent comeback for an actor who deserves this and much more. Kudos, as well, for taking on such a controversial role; for without his presence, this film would never have made it to the multiplex near me.
Secondly, the man playing the role of the reality TV star. I am not sure of what his name is, and who he is, but an excellent performance in a small role.
Third, the background score and the music. While I would be the very first to agree that the background score is very much "inspired", from what seems to me to be the works of Thomas Newman, Jan AP Kaczmarek, and even Gustavo Santaolalla, I think it is an excellent effort. The music does really fuse with the movie quite well, except for the percussive comedy piece (during the Guruji scene), which was downright silly and absurd.
The only song in the film is a throwback to the likes of David Karsten Daniels and Alexi Murdoch, a nice, gentle, tugs-at-the- strings-of-your-heart kind of song.
Overall, A for effort, and I give this film 8 out of 10, for being the brave little cub that it is, standing in the face of adversity, it's head held high!
Now, onto the film itself. The film revolves around a road trip, a father, who has confronted his wife with the fact that he is gay, takes his teenage son his boarding school in Mussoorie. During this trip, Nithin (the father, played by a more than capable, and intense as always Arvind Swamy, of Bombay and Roja fame), confesses his homosexuality to his father. In an unabashed moment, a few feet away, fuming like a volcano, his son (Shivam, played by Himanshu Sharma), has happened to overhear the entire conversation.
From here on out, much like a teen angst movie, we are confronted with endless scenes of an almost teary eyed father and a furious son trying to come to terms with the fact that they have been presented with a rather weak script. What could have made for an exceptional premise, is completely spoiled by ridiculous subplots, involving a reality TV star, and an oddly androgynous panacea delivering guruji.
Shivam's only concern, is a genuine one. Like most teenagers, he cares only about himself. He is not angry with his father for being gay, he only cares that the life he loved and cherished will now be destroyed, due to his father's selfish nature.
The ending of the film has a rather interesting twist. Save that, the rest of the film rings hollow. Some scenes look stagy and unreal. The dialogue, while sometimes shining in it's brilliance, is yet at other occasions, mired in the mundane, and downright silly.
There are several honorable mentions in this film.
Firstly, Aravind Swamy. It is rare to see a man with such presence on screen, such command over the art of underplaying a complex character, with such ease. He is a joy to watch, and a sight to behold. Truly, an excellent comeback for an actor who deserves this and much more. Kudos, as well, for taking on such a controversial role; for without his presence, this film would never have made it to the multiplex near me.
Secondly, the man playing the role of the reality TV star. I am not sure of what his name is, and who he is, but an excellent performance in a small role.
Third, the background score and the music. While I would be the very first to agree that the background score is very much "inspired", from what seems to me to be the works of Thomas Newman, Jan AP Kaczmarek, and even Gustavo Santaolalla, I think it is an excellent effort. The music does really fuse with the movie quite well, except for the percussive comedy piece (during the Guruji scene), which was downright silly and absurd.
The only song in the film is a throwback to the likes of David Karsten Daniels and Alexi Murdoch, a nice, gentle, tugs-at-the- strings-of-your-heart kind of song.
Overall, A for effort, and I give this film 8 out of 10, for being the brave little cub that it is, standing in the face of adversity, it's head held high!
selfish man
abdorash201016 May 2022
dual tone dare and adore
tinkugho6 September 2020
Simple
ayonbhunia10 October 2021
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