Kaccha Limbu: Bold, brave, beautiful

The bond between parents and children is often hard to describe. It is even more difficult to portray that on screen with the conflicts that come along. Kaccha Limbu manages to do that with great sensitivity because in this case, the middle-class couple played by Ravi Jadhav and Sonali Kulkarni have a mentally challenged child, Manmeet Pem.

The residents of a chawl in Girgaum, Jadhav and Kulkarni work at different times – he throughout the night while she during the day – because their special child needs constant attention at home. The challenge gets even more daunting because he’s slowly coming to terms with his physical needs. Between looking after Pem and carrying out their duties to make ends meet, the couple seems to drift apart physically. The lack of privacy in a one room-kitchen house only increases the distance between them.

It is in this scenario that Kulkarni finds solace in her boss, played by Sachin Khedekar. He lends her a patient ear, shows his compassionate side and gives her his time, attention and even an out-of-turn promotion. The office is soon abuzz with talk of a relationship bordering on an affair. Jadhav, on the other hand, finds a confidant in colleague Anant Mahadevan, who had a son with a similar condition and was eventually poisoned by him. 

The story builds along just as Kulkarni gets more comfortable with Khedekar and the couple fed up of Pem’s unpardonable deeds. On a couple of occasions he tries to force himself on his mother which sees Kulkarni caught between her love for her son and hatred for a monster living with her. Jadhav tries to fulfil Pem’s desires in his own way, however uncomfortable it gets for him, even as the couple resigns to the fact that their own are dead and buried long ago.

Coaxed by Khedekar, Kulkarni tries to break free from the chained world that a beautiful lady like her finds herself in. Jadhav tries to seek freedom by thinking the unthinkable. The final few moments are poignant to say the least and are likely to have your heart beating fast. The story of the less-than-two-hour film holds your attention every minute.

The film is unique as it is shot entirely in black-and-white, almost a metaphor to the ray of hope that the couple sees despite the dark times it endures. As much as Kaccha Limbu is about the special equation between parents and children, it is also a statement about marriage and how two people who stand by each other can get through the most trying circumstances.

The film is nearly flawless with every aspect worth a praise. First-time director Prasad Oak makes a superb directorial debut. The performances are top class from Jadhav, Pem, Khedekar and Mahadevan. But it is Sonali Kulkarni who is splendid beyond words as a middle-class working woman and a compassionate mother. She not only looks fabulous in every frame but also conveys the right emotions with immaculate dialogue delivery to express her pain, often unsaid, but understood. Here is an actress who has chosen her own journey and stuck to that despite the lure of using the easy, but conventional route.

Kaccha Limbu is another gem that Marathi cinema has to offer. It is bold, brave, beautiful and one of the best movies of this year.

- Kunal Purandare