‘Sabar Bonda’: A Marathi Queer Drama Triumphs at Sundance

In India, death’s aftermath can be a fairly ritualistic affair, almost clinical to a fault. In Rohan Parashuram Kanawade’s Sabar Bonda, 30-year-old Anand (Bhushaan Manoj), a Mumbai call center employee, loses his father after a prolonged illness. Before he’s had a chance to process the loss, he must visit his native village of Kharshinde with his mother Suman (Jayshri Jagtap) and his father’s body for the customary 10 days of mourning. Once there, mother and son face a litany of rules to regulate their grieving: they mustn’t wear footwear, can’t sit on furniture, must sleep on the floor, can eat only two meals a day (no rice, no milk), and can’t wash their hair. Later, Anand and Suman will go by car to immerse his father’s ashes in holy water. There’s no rule denying them this small luxury. 

In Kanawade’s debut feature, Anand, surrounded by family he hasn’t met in years, is unsure of how to grieve the parent who really knew him. Ultimately, Sabar Bonda (“Cactus Pears”) — the first Marathi film to premiere at Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize —  offers a reprieve: only love and knowledge of the other can cut through the mundanity of tradition and ritual.