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Brand:Cul-de-sac

Build:Rockethouse

Design:Studio OK-OK

2025

Cactus Pears

2025

Cactus Pears

When Anand’s father dies, he returns to his family’s village to complete his filial duties. The village is another world, where homosexuality is not acknowledged. But it is also the home of Balya, with whom intimacy blossoms for Anand. A film of great simplicity and tenderness.

Director

Rohan Parashuram Kanawade

Runtime

112 Minutes

Country

India, United Kingdom, Canada

Classification

Unclassified 18+

Anand works in a Mumbai call centre, but when his father dies, he must spend ten days in his family’s rural village in western India to complete his filial duties.

Anand’s parents have no problem with the fact that their son is gay, but the village is another world, where homosexuality is not acknowledged and Anand is relentlessly pressured to explain why he is not married. However, it is also the home of his childhood friend Balya, a local farm worker facing similar issues. The pair reconnect and their intimacy blossoms.

This is a film whose power is born of a great simplicity, with long elegant takes and a sparse soundtrack underlining the growing tenderness between the two men, whose sexuality puts them outside the limited imagination of the village. Writer-director Kanawade has spoken of “portraying queer individuals as ordinary people rather than idealized figures, humanizing their story.” His success in achieving this is borne out by the film’s triumphant reception at Sundance and other festivals worldwide.

“The film’s honesty, whether loquacious or laconic, sears.”

IndieWire

“A gentle slow-burn that occasionally becomes electric.”

Variety

“A giant leap forward in terms of queer representation in Indian Cinema.”

Hindustan Times

Sundance - Grand Jury Prize World Cinema (Dramatic), San Francisco - Special Jury Prize, SXSW London – Best Feature, Guadalajara - Maguey Award for Best Feature Film, Melbourne
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Film Credits

Director

Rohan Parashuram Kanawade

Year

2025

Country

India, United Kingdom & Canada

Language

Marathi

Subtitles

English

Type

Feature & Fiction

Program Strand

World Cinema

Producer

Neeraj Churi, Mohamed Khaki, Kaushik Ray, Hareesh Reddypalli, Naren Chandavarkar & Sidharth Meer

Writer

Rohan Parashuram Kanawade

Cinematographer

Vikas Urs

Editor

Anadi Athaley

Cast

Bhushaan Manoj, Suraaj Suman & Jayshri Jagtap

Film Source

MPM Premium

Genre

Asia, Drama, Family & LGBTQIA+

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