‘Outhouse’ review: A creaky comedy about a missing dog and lonely elders

Sunil Sukhtankar’s lengthy collaboration with Sumitra Bhave yielded a bunch of sensitive, poignant Marathi films. Sukhtankar’s Hindi-language Outhouse is based on one of Bhave’s final scripts before her death in 2021.

The comedy, which is out in cinemas, has been produced by and stars Mohan Agashe. The acting veteran is one of the highlights of a creaky and uninvolving film that has the look and feel of a television drama aimed at older children on a school break.

Sharmila Tagore plays Adima, an illustrator who is babysitting her grandson Neel (Jihan Hodar) and his dog Pablo. The fluffy critter takes off one fine day and attaches itself to Nana (Agashe). Perpetually cross and curmudgeonly on the surface, Nana is actually a softie who falls hard for Pablo. Nana is understandably upset when Adima and Neel try to take the dog back.

The attempt to pad a bare-bones premise with grown-up issues goes nowhere. The state of the marriage between Neel’s parents (Sonali Kulkarni and Neeraj Kabi) and Nana’s fraught relationship with his son (Sunil Abhayankar) are explored in a childish manner. The larger theme of loneliness faced by the elderly is beyond this movie’s storytelling approach.

Agashe amiably horses around, providing the chuckles as the self-important and crotchety Nana. Sharmila Tagore’s Adima is a...

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