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Watching Pyre is like travelling back to an era gone by. Almost like watching something on Doordarshan in the 90s. There is a certain simplicity to life that the film captures, one that seems to have gone missing somewhere along the way as we make up for it with Artificial Intelligence, quick-commerce apps, OTT platforms, social media…You get the drift.
Directed by Vinod Kapri, who has also written and co-produced the film, the story revolves around an elderly couple, Padam (Padam Singh Kapri) and Tulsi (Hira Devi), living in a remote mountain village in Uttarakhand. Interestingly, both actors make their acting debuts after turning 75, which deserves special mention.
Life isn't easy for the couple. Basic medical and transport facilities are hard to come by, and they depend on fellow villagers to take them to the doctor for their ailments.
But then, as is often the case with small towns and villages, people are constantly looking to move to bigger cities in search of a better life. In the process, they leave behind their families, land and, in many ways, their culture. As more and more people migrate, Padam begins to worry about what will happen to them when they are eventually left all alone. Someone even suggests, jokingly, that they should die while the villagers are still around so that there would be enough people to perform their last rites. Padam, however, takes it seriously. Adding to his anxieties is a letter from their son, who left for the city in search of a better life 28 years ago and promised to return.
For the most part, Pyre never feels like a feature film. Over its two-hour runtime, it almost seems as if the camera is simply following this elderly couple around, observing them as they go about their lives and counting down their remaining days. There is an unhurried quality to the storytelling that might test some viewers' patience, but it also lends the film its charm.
The lead actors are natural, slipping into their characters with ease. Kapri touches upon several themes, including loneliness, companionship, migration, cultural identity and the price of progress, without making the narrative feel preachy. Some of the moments shared between the couple are genuinely moving because of how effortlessly they unfold.
And if you are single, well, Pyre might just give you an existential crisis. Beyond the realities of ageing, the film captures something universal: the human need for companionship. As life moves forward and the world around changes, having someone to share its little moments with becomes all the more important. That quiet yearning is what Pyre captures best. Cinematographer Manas Bhattacharyya's frames are beautiful.
There are pacing issues with Pyre, definitely. As the film progresses, the director seems to get a little too comfortable with the narrative's rhythm. While the intention is to immerse us in the couple's everyday life, some sequences drag on longer than necessary. The film could have benefited from a tighter edit, especially in the second half. At times, the storytelling feels repetitive.
Overall, Pyre is a film that stays with you for its simplicity and emotional honesty. There is something touching about the world director Kapri creates and the people he chooses to tell his story through. In a fast-moving world, a film like Pyre is a gentle reminder to slow down and appreciate the person who has been beside you all along.
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