Ayaan

A Death in the Gunj

A wonderful film by Konkona Sen Sharma. The film explores the pain of losing one’s parents and how no one truly understands the protagonist’s grief. Instead of offering support, the people around him blame him for not being “man enough” to shoulder his family’s responsibilities. The film builds its power through silence, discomfort, and the slow accumulation of small cruelties. One of its most devastating layers is the way it exposes masculinity and misogyny within a space that considers itself “civilised.” The film also explores class in a subtle yet powerful manner. A striking example of this appears when Shutu goes missing and it is only the servants—not his own family or friends—who realise his absence. By this point, the tragedy has already occurred; Shutu’s physical disappearance merely mirrors his long-standing emotional invisibility. His family and friends, belonging to the upper class, see him more as an idea—the shy, awkward guy—rather than as a person whose inner life requires care. The servants’ concern, on the other hand, is not sentimental but instinctive. They notice Shutu because he treats them without hierarchy, speaking to them gently and without condescension. That his disappearance is first noticed by people society teaches us to overlook becomes the film’s quietest and sharpest critique. I really appreciated how Konkona Sen Sharma addresses complex issues such as mental health, masculinity, class division, and misogyny with such restraint and sensitivity.