Paka (River of Blood) by Nithin Lukose, debut feature that showed recently at the Toronto International Film Festival, is a superb reflection on the cyclical nature of violence over generations. It is produced by Anurag Kashyap and Raj R. On the surface, this film, in Malayalam, is like a Romeo and Juliet love story, set amid feuding families. But it goes way deeper. It reflects on the overwhelming intensity of the poison that is hatred, and the diffident fragility that is love, in an unequal match, whose outcome for humanity is a given. The compassion and affection with which Lukose treats his many characters who turn killer, is what sets it apart from the zillion films and web series, in which a rising body count, a truckload of ketchup and non-stop swearing are considered benchmarks.

More than cynical, the film is a cautionary tale, told with a sigh and bowed shoulders. Lukose’s richly layered film, set in Kallodi town in Wayanad, Kerala, doesn’t let you take your eyes off for a moment. The film opens with a body being fished out of a river. This is such a routine, oh-ah occurrence, that someone on the river bank continues to listen to cricket commentary on the radio. In such a town, Johnny is in love with Anna, and they belong to feuding families that have been killing each other for generations. The couple is due to marry soon, but just before, Johnny’s uncle Kocheppu, is released from jail: he had murdered Anna’s father. That unleashes a fresh cycle of violence that swallows people from both families, as the river is burdened with more and more murderous secrets.