Tora's Husband

Even before we could begin to learn to process grief, the pandemic demanded welearn of the several ways one could lose their loved ones.. other than in death. In her latest feature, Tora’s Husband, filmmaker Rima Das (also the writer, producer, editor, and cinematographer) paints a delicate and layered image of a family crumbling under the weight of what the pandemic left behind. Tora (Tarali Kalita Das) a loving housewife, witnesses the withering away of her husband, Jaan (Abhijit Das), a simple but flawed man. Rima lets the camera be a static witness to show how the global calamity has changed life in Chhaygaon, Assam, along with that of Jaan. She captures the air of a town getting back to its feet after a lockdown, with prevailing tension with the distribution of rations, statutory warnings over speakers, ambulances whirring past, and the paranoia over COVID-19 tests and isolation centres. For Jaan, his Snow White restaurant and bakery isn’t doing enough business to keep his employees happy, payments owed to him are deferred, he’s answerable to the people he owes money to, and a nagging headache adds to the woes. But Jaan is the jaan of Chhaygaon; so even when he struggles to carry the weight of it all, he still clears the unattended carcass of a dog from the road, tends to the lonely and deprived, ensures all his customers are treated kindly, and juggles all his duties, including that of being a father to Manu (Purbanchali Das) and Bhargav (Bhuman Bhargav Das). But with the everyday anxieties only adding to his worsening state of affairs, Jaan begins to end his days with a drink in his hand, often passing out in his car, and this turn to alcoholism becomes a growing trouble that takes Tora’s husband away from her. Rima’s writing, blocking, and picturisation of the scenes, as always, make you pause and reflect on the ease with which she weaves such profound, larger-than-life ideas. In Tora’s Husband, it’s this ballooning feeling of something missing; somewhere after the scenes that introduce us to this family, we begin to notice this growing feeling even when life seems to go on as usual. And the disappearance of Piku, one of the family’s two dogs, is quite symbolic. Their younger son Bhargav’s.. Here's my full review: https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/toras-husband-movie-review-rima-das-tells-a-delicate-haunting-pandemic-story/article67344151.ece