New Delhi: In the towering loneliness of the Himalayas, Padam Singh watches his world fall apart. Storms pass, each stealing another brick from his crumbling home. He gives away his goats to the neighbours and, in return, pleads with them to stay in the village until his son comes back. Singh and his wife Tulsi have been waiting for him for 30 years. They cling to hope even when it turns to lies.
“Our son isn’t lost, Tulsi. It’s us who got lost—in these very hills, this very village, this very home,” Padam Singh, who’s called Bubu by villagers, said when they both finally realised their son won’t return. “Don’t be afraid, Tulsi. Life is testing us. We have to stay strong.”
At its recent Delhi premiere on 24 May at the India Habitat Centre during the 17th Habitat Film Festival, Pyre (2024), directed by Vinod Kapri, was met with the audience wailing, with their hands on their hearts as if to ease the pain the film carried. Many called it a masterpiece. Set in the Himalayas, the film tells the story of an elderly couple grappling with loneliness and the shadow of death as they await the return of their son, who had long ago migrated to the plains.
The film stars non-professional local actors in lead roles to capture raw authenticity. Padam Singh, a retired soldier, plays the character of the same name. And Hira Devi, a farmer, is playing the role of Singh’s wife, Tulsi. The music is by Oscar-winner Mychael Danna and lyrics by legendary poet Gulzar. Produced independently by Kapri and his wife, Sakshi Joshi, Pyre captures realism, rugged beauty, and the isolation of rural Uttarakhand.
“I have struggled a lot to raise and care for my children. Whenever I watch this film, it reminds me of them. After my husband passed away, I faced many hardships in bringing them up. That’s why, at one point during shooting, I couldn’t make this film myself,” said Hira Devi.
The last storm
The Himalayas, tall trees, storms, and solitude are all that Bubu and Tulsi (or Amma) have known their entire lives. Now, in their old age, their days are spent smoking bidis, singing kumaoni folk songs, fighting, cooking, and visiting hospitals.
“Who will heed my pain. Stars of heaven, moonlit night. The Tibetan has come from a distant land, he must be hungry in this unknown land,” is a folk song that Bubu keeps singing throughout the movie—a plea for solace in the face of loneliness and longing.
The film begins like a gentle drizzle and grows into a fierce storm. As the village slowly empties with families leaving for the plains, Bubu and Amma remain, holding on to their goats—their only wealth. When a letter arrived 28 years ago, promising their son would visit, they celebrated with a feast. But their son never came. Everyone ate and left, and the leftover food lay scattered on the ground.
“Before the village empties, you should die—at least someone will perform your last rites,” people suggested to them.
Soon, the couple is left alone in the village. Their health is failing, and loneliness looms large. Bubu had built two funeral pyres outside their fragile home. In the end, he walked to his pyre, sat down, and surrendered to the silence that had been creeping in for years.
“After making this film, I realised that we should let go of negativity and embrace goodness. We should share in each other’s joys and sorrows, and always look out for one another. If someone falls, we should help them rise,” Singh said, reflecting on what he learned from being part of the film.
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Appreciations, awards
Pyre premiered at the 28th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award, and received a Jury Special Mention at the Bengaluru International Film Festival. The film has been screened at numerous major festivals worldwide, earning several nominations and accolades.
Director Vinod Kapri was inspired by a real-life story he encountered in Uttarakhand in 2017, when he met an elderly couple carrying goats and heard their tale of survival and hope.
“When I asked what they would do if their goats ran out, they said, ‘We will be finished before the goats are’,” Kapri shared. This story stayed with him and grew into the film.
The audience gave a standing ovation as the credits rolled, their applause continuing nonstop when the cast and crew took the stage. Padam Singh and Hira Devi were happily engaged with their new fans, chatting, posing for selfies and photos, and asking if they liked their work.
Initially, Naseeruddin Shah was considered for the lead role, but Kapri chose to cast local non-actors for authenticity. Shah himself expressed doubts about whether he and Ratna Pathak Shah could truly do justice to the story.
The casting process was challenging, with extensive rehearsals via video calls before the film was shot over 35 days on location in the Himalayas. Both Padam Singh and Hira Devi brought genuine emotion to their roles. “Whenever Amma and Bubu cry in the film, they are crying naturally because this is their lived reality,” said Kapri.
The film captures rural life authentically—the real storms, real rain, and the powerful forces of nature that govern life and death. The mountains are both sanctuary and prison, nurturing the villagers yet confining them within a world that slowly grows smaller and more isolated.
At the end of the film, Amma called the mountains her Bubu—a guardian and lifelong provider for the villagers. When faced with the choice to leave, she chooses to stay, saying, “How can I leave my Bubu? My Bubu is in the Himalayas.” To her, the mountains are her family, memory, and life itself.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)