The film is produced by Sanjay Shetye.

Sthalpuran opens with little Dighu, just eight, moving from Pune city, with his mother and older sister Durga, to his grandparents' village in the Konkan. He grapples with the drastic shift, that nobody explains. So, he keeps a diary, eg June 7: Mother hasn't told us if we'll ever return to Pune. He struggles to understand his parents' separation, and wonders if he will ever see his father again. The dialogues are minimal.

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Killa had also explored a single mother and her son moving to rural Konkan, and the absence of the father.

Sthalpuran's direction is absolutely assured. The cast, mostly non-actors, especially Neel Deshmukh as Dighu, Anushree Wani as Durga, and Rekha Thakur as the mother, hold the film aloft. Dighu has a heart-breaking innocence, as he copes with grief and loss; and he doesn't like his mother talking to that factory man for longer than she should. Dighu's mother's parents accept her and her children with a refreshing matter-of-factness that is rare in Indian life and cinema. Jagadeesh Ravi's understated cinematography is the most distinctive feature of the film. Mostly, he uses static, long shots that allow us to feel like a family member. There are some remarkable pans, as the mother goes about her daily chores, framing multiple layers of action. There is an off-centre frame, as children line up for fake smiles for school photographs. At Durga's coming-of-age ceremony, she, along with others, is of focus, as if transitioning to another world. Only the trip to a Goa carnival is shot hand-held, with psychedelic colours and sounds.

The screenplay, describing the impact of a marital separation from Dighu's viewpoint, is excellent and textured. There's a heart-warming scene where Durga takes up Dighu's lesson on Akbar-Birbal. The sound design is evocative, and includes Hindustani classical and folk music, both fast vanishing from Indian cinema. The editing has the film unfold at a gentle pace, yet keeps us engrossed.

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

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