Gamak Ghar is literally like watching paint dry. Except you form an emotional connect with the paint in which case you’re invested in watching it dry. That’s the best way I could describe Gamak Ghar, Achal Mishra’s film that follows the life of an ancestral home as it ages over time.
Houses thrive when they have house people who care about them. Gamak Ghar’s ancestral home is no different. The house survives major floods and disasters but what it can’t survive is people moving on from it. From, once a lively home visited oft by an extended family, to a novelty, to just standing there, dilapidated and stripped off everything but an old caretaker. It’s a reflection of how time passes, creating memories along the way.
It’s an obvious and rather monotonous ride at 1 hour 30 minutes, given how the film’s a tad too predictable for anyone who has seen ancestral homes age.
But Gamak Ghar’s brilliance lies in its evocative nature, the nostalgia is real. It takes you back in time to your own childhood, to your own old home. Gamak Ghar is worth a watch for the memories the film evokes alone.
Rating: ★★★ 1/2
Available on: MUBI
