Dear Dad

Director Tanuj Bhramar could have explored gay relationships deeper. But in this film, he is almost content to let it all rest with a son's acceptance -- if willy-nilly -- of his father's sexuality.

Dear Dad misses out on becoming a gem because of its treatment.

This could have been a better film dealing with a real issue, but sadly, the script and direction did not seem confident enough to deal with it.

Though elegant composed and filled with warm possibilities, Dear Dad stays awfully impersonal communicating only from a distance to tread a tediously linear path. Its all-important disclosure isn't hard to guess what with Bhramar giving away ample signs along the way.

In short, here is a drag of a film, called a bittersweet drama, which is, really speaking, much ado about — almost — nothing.

Go watch this short, sensitive film that gives out the message that parenthood has nothing to do with one's sexuality. That all every family needs is a little more love to make the scars heal…

Swamy, whose Hindi film roles include Bombay (1995) and Raja Ko Rani Se Pyaar Ho Gaya (2000), brings some import to his part, and shares a gentle and believable camaraderie with Sharma. But there's only so much the actors can do with a script that started off boldly but blinked when it mattered most.

The movie wants to say something poignant and profound about the need for sons to accept their father's decisions, but it doesn't have the material to do so. Still waters are meant to run deep, but in Dear Dad, they remain still.

The slow and steady passage from love to hatred and pride would have been a profound and poignant journey that the film doesn't quite embark on. It's in too much of a hurry to reach nowhere.