Complex Mehtaverse of father & son

‘The child is father of the man…’ Whatever William Wordsworth may have meant by that poetic expression, sons and fathers are as inextricably linked as a mother’s umbilical connection binds her to her children.

Yet, fathers and sons are always on a tricky terrain, invariably perched on delicate ground, rarely common. “Is he an adult or a child?” — the question pops up from a perplexed son finding it difficult to get a grasp of his father’s whimsical ways. “He is your father, you are the child,” comes the honest reply from his girlfriend. Boman Irani, who has proved his mettle as an actor more than once, now comes with his directorial debut, ‘The Mehta Boys’, where he brings out the tensions immanent in a father-son relationship in the same nuanced manner which has marked his acting.

After winning the Best Feature Film award at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival, the film is currently streaming on Prime Video, and is as much about the father-son conflict as it is about love and affection.

It’s at once poignant, funny and relatable. If one moment it makes you think, the very next it makes you smile. Irani, a consummate actor, is certainly at the heart of this film that is all heart. It’s sheer pleasure to watch him as 71-year-old Shiv Mehta, adjusting to the new reality of his life. Minus his life partner, he is now compelled to find new moorings. The son, Amay Mehta, is played by another fine actor, Avinash Tiwary, whose performance is layered and luminous. Together, they lift the film beyond the veil of mundaneness which otherwise defines everyday life. It explores the intricate world of relationships with no fuss or artifice.

Indeed, to stitch a plot around what Irani calls “a universal story”, you need some deliberate interventions. So, the father misses his flight to USA and the daughter of the family, Anu (etched beautifully by Puja Sarup), insists that the son watch over the father till he boards another flight. Rest, as we say, is not history but the real story marked by delectable flourishes.

Misfit in each other’s company, theirs is literally the clash of egos. The father refuses to take his son’s help in lugging his luggage and the son says no to his offer of rustling up Maggi noodles. During a power outage, the father wonders why his computer-dependent architect son can’t make architectural drawings with pencil and paper. If the diffident son is outraged, the father is equally offended when reminded how his expertise in typewriting is of little value. But forced to live under the same roof, they are bound to discover each other in ways small and big. When the guard is down, the comedic touch is evident in how they watch the Laurel and Hardy show with similar stock expressions. And then there are somber reflections where each learns the strengths and perspective of the other.

Writers Alexander Dinelaris (of Oscar-winning film ‘Birdman’ fame) and Irani spare us any tragic backstory as to why the father-son duo is at loggerheads. It’s a way of life, the nature of things and the complexity of being human that define their tormented ties. The film begins with a sorrowful reminder of life’s ephemeral nature, but does not wallow in grief. Rather, it quickly moves on to weave the bitter-sweet tapestry of life and a rocky father-son relationship.

The two are all but incommunicado and the sister is the only unifying force. Much here is of course unsaid and it’s for you to connect the dots. There are small markers of the distance. If the father’s exclusion in the family photograph in his son’s home is a tell-tale sign in itself, the way Irani looks at it is even more telling. Or the scene where he regales Amay’s girlfriend (beautiful Shreya Chaudhry of ‘Bandish Bandits’) with a funny anecdote from the past and suddenly blurts out a candid truth. It’s in fleeting moments like these that Irani shows his delicate flair for direction and the film finds its real spirit. Subtle, yet unmistakable.

If the joy of life lies in small things, so do seeds of friction. Hence, the resolution of conflict is neither dramatic nor filmi. Yet, here is a delightful film which makes your heart full and eyes well up. Tears, however, remain at the corner of your eyes for this is no overtly sentimental ride. The climax is unexpected yet expected from a film like this, which knows exactly where to stop.

‘The Mehta Boys’ is a must-watch for all fathers and sons who are often unable to read each other’s minds, or read too much into it. Like father, like son, the axiom after all did not come out of vacuum. And the last scene where Amay switches off the lights says it all.