A Death in The Gunj ends on a note that fits in well with McCluskiegunj — a place set in the heart of Chhota Nagpur plateau’s tribal belt, where Ernest Timothy McCluskie, an Anglo-Indian from Calcutta, carved out a homeland for 400-odd Anglo-Indians in the 1930s, complete with bakeries, hunting trips and picnics under the shade of a tree in Mrs Priscilla Perkins’ yard.

If you have ever been to a small town for your summer holidays, listened in wide-eyed wonder as adults swapped stories around the dinner table and spent languid afternoons lying on the grass, then Konkona Sen Sharma’s “A Death in the Gunj” is just the film for you.

There are many large and compelling reasons to watch A Death in the Gunj. Here’s a small one: It’s a beautiful goodbye to Om Puri, who died this January. There he is, saying “Nothing gets better at this age” in that instantly familiar rasp.

In Her Directorial Debut, ‘Death In The Gunj’, Konkana SenSharma Uses One Of Her Father’s Memorable Stories To Spin A Tapestry Of Intrigue, Keeping It Brimming With Emotions Of Dejection, Hurt, Passion And Love

At the end, you are left with a lot of questions. You are also left with a satisfied heart after watching a gripping story, poetic in its narrative and artfully put together.

Konkona Sen Sharma’s debut is a marvellously measured film, where each element of filmmaking is staggeringly synchronous with the other