Rohan Kanawade on Sabar Bonda: ‘I wanted to make a tender, warm film borne out of a phase of grief’ | Interview

Rohan Kanawade opens up on the process of writing and developing his first feature film, Sabar Bonda, ahead of its release in India.

Marathi film Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) has been a long time in the making. The film took shape from the Biennale College Cinema and the Venice Gap-Financing Market, and went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. That enabled the film to travel to several other film festivals and garner acclaim.

Director Rohan Kanawade talks about his debut feature film Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) ahead of its release in India.(Mat Hayward)

Subsequently, Rana Daggubati's Spirit Media secured Indian distribution rights for the film- a tender and deeply moving love story borne out of grief. Ahead of the release in India, Hindustan Times caught up with director Rohan Kanawade for an exclusive chat about the film's journey and the details. (Excerpts)

Rohan Kanawade talks about the release of Sabar Bonda

Now that Sabar Bonda is ready for release, what is Rohan most looking forward to? Rohan smiles and replies, “I am just looking forward to the release of the film! I told my family that I will buy the tickets and go to one of the screenings together. So yeah, I am just curious and really happy and looking forward to the release of the film.”

A still from Sabar Bonda, directed by Rohan Parashuram Kanawade.

Sabar Bonda is set in a Maharashtrian village and follows the story of Anand (Bhushaan Manoj), a city-bred 30-something man who returns to his ancestral village to mourn the loss of his father. There, a romance develops between Anand and his school friend (played by Suraaj Suman). One of the defining aspects of the film is the way in which no additional background music elevates the intrigue of the drama.

The soundscape of Sabar Bonda

In one beautiful scene, the two characters talk about their life in the village over the years, and the cattle pass by, with their little bells tinkling. Rohan says he was conscious about the choices of using sound in the film and added, “I had to make that decision before writing that screenplay because I had to incorporate the details, the use of natural sound… into the screenplay. Whoever reads the screenplay can not only visualise the film but also hear the film. So I wrote it knowing that this is how it is going to be. Most of the sound that you hear was written into the script; the rest was my sound designers, Naren and Anirban; they created that layered soundscape.”

He adds, “Dolby Atmos was the technology that allows you to create the 360-degree voice now, and I wanted to have that. Because when I was at the village, I could hear everything around me. When Anand is present there, there is life happening all around him, and I wanted to incorporate that into the frame- so that I can ground not only him but also the audience into his world.”

(Spoiler alert begins)

Sabar Bonda also ends with hope, and Rohan says that he knew from the beginning that he did not want to conclude the film on a tragic note. “I had already decided that when I am trying to decide a story about grief, I did not want to make a sad film. I wanted to make a tender, warm film about this whole phase. I was clear that it should be optimistic, but also not completely happy! The moment arrived along with the writing, but yes, I had the clarity that this cannot end tragically. Though some of the mentors at the lab were telling me otherwise, I said ‘No, sorry, that is not happening in my film!’ (smiles)”

Sabar Bonda is releasing in theatres nationwide on September 19.