WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
We think we know all there is about the ones we love. When it comes to family, do we not believe this? We’ve been raised by our parents, grown up with our siblings, been through all the events that have shaped their and our lives. Yet, when something interrupts that sense of understanding, do we see it as opportunity to unexpectedly discover more about them–or ourselves as well? Journalist Sathnam Sanghera (Sacha Dhawan) is a man on the rise. Having scored a key interview for his publisher in London, his successes are also bolstered by his relationship with English co-worker/girlfriend Laura (Joanna Vanderham). But, when a sudden revelation about his father (Anupam Kher) shakes Sathnam’s world to the core, he soon finds himself facing highly personal battles on multiple fronts that will dictate not only his current realities, but define his future as well.
Next, my Mind:
With its dramatic foundations firmly and stirringly in place, it’s primary underlying thematic exploration of mental illness and the toll it takes on those affected and those who care for them executed with an acutely dynamic, thought-provoking weight and intelligence, and its grander ambiance permeated with emotional potency both respectfully solemn and at times playfully light, this 90-minute feature film effort from director Lynsey Miller, writer Mick Ford, and producer Nisha Parti, screened as part of the 2020 ECSA: Escapist Cinema of South Asia online film festival presented by Jingo Media and sister festivals DFW SAFF and NYC SAFF, carries itself with absolute purpose in delivering a narrative about one man’s life, love, and career and how it all gets transformed by one single realization.
Based on the memoirs of Sanghera himself, what gives the film an even more profound and resonating effect is the perspective of how he had to deal with the pressures of Sikh tradition and cultural expectations in addition to the familial obligations he had somewhat chosen to leave behind. This in itself becomes such a touching and deeply compelling aspect of the overall story being portrayed, a man who’s been, effectively, in “hiding” from his own family and who he really is, thinking that straddling two worlds would be the answer and apparently easier to endure. Having “thrived” so freely this way for so long, it makes the random appearances by a mysterious boy with a topknot riding a bike initially enigmatic, but then so beautifully prophetic by the film’s finale.
Additionally, it becomes so immediately clear upon the shocking, eye-opening truth he learns about his father that this “double life” won’t be able to be maintained, and the journey that ensues from this point becomes one that is both heart-rending and heartwarming, for it opens so many doors to his own existence and how he’d been living it, finally facing up and accepting the fact that the hesitations he’s had about sharing elements of his life he knew would not be approved of by his family is given a rather unceremonious but required shot in the arm upon having to then endure a whole new actuality where all his reasons for being ambiguous with everyone in his life gets exposed.
The final piece of his newfound challenge ultimately comes down to the two women who mean the most to him, Laura and his mother (Deepti Naval), both of whom represent the two facets of his world that need to come together, yet have remained decidedly apart due to the aforementioned internal strife Sanghera was choosing to allow to dictate his choices. The film does an excellent job at presenting the pointed conversations, both heated and tender, Sathnam has with each over the course of events which, while often painful, lead him to find himself again and hopefully make new decisions that will allow everything to prosper anew.
Of course, there is no forgetting the film’s well-placed emphasis on his father’s condition and how it addresses mental illness is such a powerfully persuasive, and certainly needed, way. Even with the small amount of actual screen time that is dedicated to it, this message as displayed through his father’s unfolding history that Sathnam insists on knowing about is so provocative in its depiction that this critic truly does hope the film causes viewers to consider the plight of those who suffer from such illness and the utter need for there to be more awareness, compassion, assistance, and research available to treat these individuals. This examination provides the film it’s fundamental core beyond the ones already scrutinized above.
Dhawan gives a fully grounded, emotion-filled performance in his role as Sathnam, a man who’s been seeing his whole world through his own sense of what’s best while harboring inner conflict that is suddenly brought to the surface. Having no choice but to face it, the right-of-passage he must shoulder carries both balm and burden alike, and watching Dhawan breathe vibrant, impassioned, wholly respectful life into the real-world person he’s playing is a complete gift to watch. Naval was a total wonder to me in her role as Sathnam’s mother, a woman of the old country and wholehearted believer in all their family’s Sikh customs. Having to face her youngest son’s questions about her afflicted husband, much less other eventual truths that come forth, is so overtly, emotively striking thanks to Naval’s quietly intense fervor that you just feel the character’s strife but also the abiding love she has for her family.
Then there is a true legend in Kher, once more exuding the kind of commanding presence he always brings, this time in his role as Sathnam’s mentally ill father, whose grip on reality is painfully being lost and whose history of accompanying aggression has posed an apparent, though now more controlled, air of unease. Yet, his softness and evident love he has for those around him when aware of them is so poignant, and how gracefully Kher navigates the subtleties and nuances of the character is simply masterful and filled with a sincerity as only he can deliver and has done so countless times. Vanderham does a fine job in her role as Laura, Sathnam’s girlfriend who’s more than on edge with her beau’s seemingly unending unwillingness to share about her with his traditional family. Her voyage through this storm is also totally believable, with Vanderham’s performance giving the character a perfect level of vulnerability and authority.
Additional supporting turns are made by Jaz Deol, Vineeta Rishi, Anjli Mohindra, Aaron Thiara, Ravin J. Ganatra, Shaheen Khan, Kriss Dosanjh, Michael Shelford, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Dinita Gohil, Benjamin Wainwright, Shobu Kapoor, and Himmut Singh Datt among many others. So, in total, “The Boy With The Topknot” is a wonderfully crafted, diversely themed, honestly convincing, wholly human narrative about the ghosts we need to lay down, the maintaining of family connection and actually taking time to know them, the importance of addressing mental health, and the equally pressing need to better know ourselves in order to find the ultimate goal–true happiness.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
