‘Sabar Bonda’ review: A delicate, tender and resonant romance

Rohan Kanawade’s Sabar Bonda throbs with intensity, but ever so subtly. Kanawade’s Marathi-language film is suffused with the secretiveness and discretion that marks the delicate nature of its subject: men who love men.

The death of Anand’s father necessitates a reluctant return to his ancestral village in rural Maharashtra. Anand (Bhushaan Manoj) and his mother Suman (Jayshri Jagtap) arrive in Kharshinde to be handed a host of rules that are to be observed during the traditional mourning period.

Drink only black tea. Don’t trim your beard or hair. Don’t wear a cap. However, what isn’t on the list is “Don’t fall for Balya, the neighbour with whom you share a childhood memory.”

Unlike Anand, who has moved away to work in Mumbai, Balya (Suraaj Suman) has not only stayed behind but also found subterranean ways to address his sexuality. Anand, who deeply misses his father and chafes at being around his relatives, finds succour in Balya’s company.

Kanawade’s astonishingly assured debut feature is a quiet, unhurried and tender tale of personal upheaval taking place in unconventional settings. The “rural gay romance” label doesn’t quite capture what Kanawade has achieved.

In the hushed stillness of togetherness, passion is articulated through murmurs and touch. A hand runs through hair; feet dangle tantalisingly close....

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