A Road to a Village

Illustration/Uday Mohite

There were two South Asian films from India's neighbours at the Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF, this year, that punched way above their weight. These are Pawo Choyning Dorji's The Monk and the Gun (Bhutan) and Nabin Subba's Gau Ayeko Bato (A Road to a Village, Nepal). In fact, The Monk and The Gun has been listed by Anne Thompson, Editor at Large, IndieWire, as among the Oscar frontrunners for 2024, and A Road to a Village has also been selected by the Busan Film Festival's Window on Asian Cinema. This is a remarkable achievement by filmmakers in relatively small nations with challenging economies and film infrastructure, shining bright nonetheless.

Nabin Subba is a senior Nepali director with a substantial body of work, whose previous films include Numafung and Goodbye Kathmandu, and the TV series Dalan, on Dalit issues. He heads the Indigenous Film Archive, which runs the Nepal International Indigenous Film Festival. Couched as a father-son story, his film A Road to a Village is a moving comment on the emptying out of villages with the coming of modernisation, and is a tribute to those left behind, as well as the traditional way of life and values. Maila is a traditional bamboo craftsman, living in a remote, mountainous village with his wife Maili and son Bindre, seven, whose life turns upside down when a new road connects their village to the town. Maila is played by Dayahang Rai, one of the top Nepali actors, who was also in Deepak Rauniyar's Highway (Berlin Film Festival) and his Seto Surya (White Sun, Venice and Toronto Film Festivals). Bindre (Prasan Rai) is a cheeky kid, who is keen to guzzle Coke, wear cool sunglasses, listen to hiphop, and adamant he wants a TV - as the neighbour, who has migrated to the big city, brings home many goodies, including a TV. Maila struggles to indulge his son's increasing demands. After a bus service starts, he tries to sell his bamboo baskets in the city, but city people don't care much for traditional goods, while the villager who used his bamboo matting for roofing now prefers cheap tarpaulin, leaving both Maila and his bamboo craft tradition vulnerable. Meanwhile, he is scorned by his wife Maili (Pashupati Rai, who was in Kabaddi, Halkara), about how others, who have migrated, send home money and goodies for their families. There is a heart-wrenching crisis in the village, but the family concerned carries on with hope. Altogether, it is a cautionary tale on the perils of capitalism and modernity, a deeply moving film of universal significance. As Nepal is substantially a nation of migrants, this film is a particularly poignant tribute, honouring those who are not seduced by the big city lights and opportunities, and still value tradition and humane values.

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Subba directs with deft economy and observational detail. Dayahang Rai, Pashupati Rai and Prasan Rai are engaging. Mahesh Rai and Nabin Subba's screenplay questions notions of development and progress. US cinematographer Josh Herum evokes the beauty of the mountains, while keeping the focus firmly on its spirited people. Hong Kong cinematographer and editor Kwan Pun Leung, who has worked with Wong Kar-wai, Ann Hui and Stanley Kwan, keeps the editing brisk. Hong Kong singer-composer Heidi Li's music and Kishore Acharya's sound design are evocative. Producers are Hong Kong-based Amod Rai and Nabin Subba, who used a community-funded model, backed by the Nepali community worldwide. We hope the film can be seen widely, including in India.

Meenakshi Shedde is India and South Asia Delegate to the Berlin International Film Festival, National Award-winning critic, curator to festivals worldwide and journalist.
Reach her at meenakshi.shedde@mid-day.com