On the banks of the river Godavari, an embittered man’s frustrations threaten to boil over.
The river Godavari is referred to as the Ganges of the south. It originates near Nashik and holds tremendous importance in Hindu culture as a place for last rites for most of western and southern India.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2021
Godavari 2021
“Nikhil Mahajan is a genre filmmaker who debuted with the Marathi film noir Pune-52 (2013), and followed it up with the vigilante action film, Baji (2015). A graduate of the International Film School Sydney, he made the Netflix original series Betaal in 2020, which was produced by Blumhouse and Shah Rukh Khan. Nikhil returns to feature filmmaking after six years with Godavari, his most personal film yet...
Every month Nishikant walks through his town of Nashik, collecting rent for his family of landowners. Each repetition of the cycle only intensifies his bitterness and anger towards his tenants, his parents, his daughter, and the river that runs through the centre of Nashik, the Godavari. Just as his anger threatens to boil over, his family is confronted with a series of tragedies and revelations that shift their lives and their world into clearer focus.
With each new bombshell, the struggles and melancholy of a hard life are tested against the values of the past, all set along and resonant to the river itself, a mysterious object that may be irretrievably contaminated or eternally resilient, depending on who you ask – and when. What ensues is a film teeming with an energy of reinvigoration, given wings by its ensemble of complex characters and unforgettable leading performance by Jitendra Joshi as Nishikant. Godavari isn’t only an intimate drama, it’s a cleansing experience, one steeped in the wisdom of tradition, compassion, and acceptance.” — Vancouver International Film Festival