Some films express love through sweeping romances and epic acts of passion. Others find love in the everyday and the mundane. Cactus Pears, an Indian drama about an unconventional and forbidden love, takes the latter approach.
The director and writer, Rohan Parashuram Kanawade, captures a man's return to his ancestral village after the death of his father, giving the audience a glimpse into the importance of family and identity.
What starts as a traditional mourning period becomes an emotional bridge to reconnect with an old friend and help chart a new path for his future.
The film premiered in 2025 to international praise for its treatment of grief and family values.
What is Cactus Pears About?
Anand is in his thirties, lives and works in Mumbai, and is returning to rural Maharashtra after the death of his father.
His family is observing a traditional 10-day mourning period, meaning Anand cannot leave the rural area for 10 days.
Anand reconnects with Balya, his childhood friend and a local farmer.
Like Anand, Balya is under pressure to achieve a socially defined milestone, in his case, marriage.
As they spend more time together, the two friends find they take solace in each other's company.
Anand is set to return to Mumbai, leaving Balya with questions on how their newfound connection will survive the distance.
The film shows how, through small acts of kindness, trust and love can flourish.
Grief is at the core of Cactus Pears, and shapes Anand's interactions with his relatives and the environment.
Mourning rituals of the Hindu religion give the story a cultural framework, as relatives and friends of the deceased remember him or her, and participate in traditional activities related to loss. Family obligations provide Anand an opportunity to rethink his relationship with the place he grew up.
The way in which Kanawade handles mourning shows how strong feelings which are usually suppressed, take center stage, and how, through mourning, the emotions which we are not even aware of, start making themselves felt.
Kanawade remains clear from the sentiment of an either/or approach to tradition and freedom, especially when the relationships in the family are looked at as a web of affection, obligation and unexpressed wishes. The expectations that family relationships create find expression in actions that are sometimes incomplete and leave gaps. Unspoken thoughts are not expressed verbally. Often, silences communicate more than words in the film.
Audiences interested in Indian cinema through keywords such as kisskh will stumble on reviews of international dramas. Such terminology, however, does not create an official distribution link between the movie and the reviews.
The cast, led by Bhushaan Manoj and Suraaj Suman, are excellent in conveying feelings without the aid of words through body language, facial expressions and gestures.
Through these performances the film draws a convincing parallel between personal relationships and social expectations.
Kanawade's Personal Approach to Storytelling
The debut feature film of director Rohan Parashuram Kanawade, Cactus Pears, explores the identity and interpersonal relationships of the Indian diaspora. Kanawade wrote the film giving it a personal touch.
Before making the film he refined his filmmaking craft through a number of short films and other projects.
Cinematographer Vikas Urs, captures the landscape of western India, and connects the characters to their environment.
Through its measured pace and calm moments, the film shows how the most mundane activities of everyday life carry importance and depth.
Sundance Recognition and Critical Reception
The film was invited to the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic filmmaking. Because of this, the film and the filmmaker, gained international recognition.
Critics appreciated the film for its understated depiction of emotional intimacy and for situating itself in the rural hinterland of India.
It went on to play in other international film festivals and gained a theatrical release.
Strand Releasing, distributed the film in the US, where it opened on November 21, 2025. To reach an international audience, the original Marathi dialogue is subtitled.
Readers may come across the keyword "kisskh drama" when searching for distribution information, this is unrelated to the film's official distribution.
The film's release has been documented through its distributor and participating film festivals.
Why Cactus Pears Deserves Attention
One of the many things that make this movie stand out is its refusal to simplify emotions. Characters in the movie feel complicated emotions such as grief, questions of family, memories of childhood, family expectations, and the uncertainty of creating a meaningful relationship. These slowly unravel in the movie, with help of realistic performances and fine details.
The film provides audiences outside of India an opportunity to be acquainted with contemporary Marathi cinema set in India. Additionally, the recognition it has received at Sundance raises hopes about the visibility of independent filmmaking in India across the world.
Although this film is 112 minutes long, it makes us think and reflect on relationships and the meaning of being connected to people.
One of the reasons this film is special is that rather than revealing emotional surprises, it finds importance in revealing emotional truths through mundane conversations and deliberate choices. And most importantly, this film is an intimate portrayal of how one can find love despite dealing with grief and loss.