by Erin Free
Worth: $18.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Antonio Aakeel, Anula Navlekar, Harish Patel, Sheeba Chaddha
Intro:
...a quiet triumph...
Though representing a large percentage of Australian society, the Indian community is one curiously under-represented in local film and TV. This is made even more curious considering the huge popularity of Indian cinema in Australia. Stepping in to rectify the imbalance is debut feature director Raghuvir Joshi with his brave, beautifully realised drama Sahela, also known as Companion, which is set firmly within Australia’s Indian diaspora of rich and often strict tradition. Both a celebration and gentle critique of this deep well of tradition, Sahela cuts deep but in deft, thoughtful ways, always prizing subtlety over bombast.
Vir (British actor Antonio Aakeel from the acclaimed drama Slow Horses) and Nitya (busy Indian/US actress Anula Navlekar) are seemingly happily married, and both going onwards and upwards in their careers, much to the delight of their highly involved and somewhat overbearing parents, played by the likes of striking and imposing Bollywood mainstay Sheeba Chaddha, and UK comic force Harish Patel, much loved for his recurring role as Raj in the various TV adaptations of the popular books by David Walliams. Vir, however, is strangely distant, and despite his success at work, he remains listless and uninvolved. Eventually, after much soul searching, Vir makes a startling revelation that will send the hopes and dreams of both his and Nitya’s families tumbling.
Anchored by the rich, soulful, stunningly naturalistic, and wholly uninhibited performances of Antonio Aakeel and Anula Navlekar (who genuinely feel like a real couple), Sahela has a low-key, modest feel – never overstating its presence in its smooth, well-captured detail – but this is most definitely a film with a lot on its mind. Vir and Nitya are literally in the middle of an emotional crisis, and director Raghuvir Joshi never shies away from that, wading into their pain and deep sadness. There is, however, joy here, and the keenly intelligent Sahela is also admirably free of villains. None of the characters are demonised or mocked, and all have wholly acceptable motivations for their actions. Superbly performed across the board, crisply shot, nicely scored, and written with great understanding and sensitivity by the surprisingly large team of Atika Chohan, Tayyab Madni, S. Shakthidharan and Jett Tattersall, Sahela is a quiet triumph of honest, emotional filmmaking.
Sahela screens at the New Farm Queer Film Festival on 5 & 8 October 2024, tix here.
