ife is but an amalgamation of triumphs and tribulations – a theme vivid in the movie Goodbye. The opening scene features an effervescent lawyer Tara Bhalla’s success in her first case and the party that follows. During the festivities, her phone goes missing. It is returned in the morning by a bartender. A conversation, disrupted by her father’s call (which Tara rejects), casual yet somewhat comedic, leads to the abject news of her mother Gayatri’s sudden death. We then follow four siblings as they struggle to head home to pay their final respects.

Funerals can be a source of chaos and family drama, a table for all to come together from all corners of the world. The concept has been beautifully portrayed. Harish had never got along with his children and Gayatri was the feeble thread holding them together. In her absence, the movie navigates between the constant conflicts, teeming grief and pain and the occasional guilt-trip by Harish aimed at everyone in the family. Goodbye gently navigates through the death rituals, emphasising every step the family takes in the first 48 hours as they recover from the trauma and initial shock.

In the Pakistani and Indian cultures, “log kiya kahen gay, yeh sab kuch karna parta hai” are statements often heard at major life events, even if several rituals make no sense. Harish, finds himself in the crossfire between his friend PP Singh and daughter’s irreconcilable views of the proper funeral rites. Some of the guests indulge in petty behaviors like WhatsApp-group-making in honour of the departed and remain on a constant lookout for empty chairs as they don’t like sitting on the ground in the backdrop.

Daisy, a daughter-in-law of the deceased, played by Elli, walks out dressed in all black for the funeral and the guests cannot help but gossip. Some of the gender biases are projected by Tara’s inquiries aimed at her elder brother. Tradition, for instance, refrains her from performing the cremation. Generational gap is a main theme – Harish blames all his children for moving away for work and the children fail to understand tradition.

Goodbye follows a funeral that may seem dull, but flashbacks of Amitabh and Neena show a happily married couple. Rashmika embraces the character of a rebellious daughter, who eventually comes to terms with the cultural values during her visit to the Ganges.

In a bewitching turn of events, we see Tara eventually accepting that science is not empathic towards sentiments and stories rich in culture are what survive in memories. Workaholic Karan realises that mundan is a tribute that will not affect his work. Deep focus on the antyesti unravels sentiments that the family had put behind when the children had moved out. Living under the same roof for thirteen days, the hostility between the father and daughter and the incessant bickering with other siblings become somewhat bearable as they try their best to resolve issues in the wake of the death.

Actions over trivial matters make the film hit home, like Tara brooding over which plane ticket to purchase – business or economy class; Karan holding meetings online throughout the journey from Los Angles and even in his hometown besides his mother’s body; Angad, the adopted son, arriving from Dubai just as she is being taken to shamashan ghat and Nakul returning from his mountaineering venture as a surprise for his father’s birthday, upon his mother’s request, only to find that even her ashes had been washed away by the Ganges.

Towards the end of the thirteen-day rituals, Gayatri’s phone sends one last unfeigned reminder from her side to the family, showing that she was the perfect wife and mother. We often ignore our parents in the hassles that envelop us on a daily basis. The film reminds us of how irreplaceable familial bonds are. Harish comes across as conservative at first and his daughter Tara as a liberal, but he is just a conformist trying his best to support the Bhallas.

Goodbye follows a funeral which may seem dull, but flashbacks of Amitabh and Neena reflect a happily married couple. Rashmika embraces the character of a rebellious daughter who eventually comes to terms with cultural values during her visit to the Ganges. The three brothers played by Pavail, Sahil and Abhishek, depict the critical balance between falling into an abyss of despondency and continuing with life.

The cast do an outstanding job of depicting a myriad of themes that are often brushed under the carpet. Similar in nature to Ramprasad Ki Tehrvin, Goodbye is a mnemonic of all realistic deportments surrounding obsequies, a comedy-drama worth watching.

The writer is an undergraduate student of psychology at FC  College