The setting of Subhadra Mahajan’s feature debut may be chilly, but the vibes are warm. The aptly titled film revolves around Nia, a depressed young Indian woman who leaves Delhi and escapes to her family’s Himalayan summer retreat in the dead of winter to recover from a trauma. What she experiences there belies both hers and the viewer’s expectations, in a location so icily beautiful that the region may well experience a surge of tourism.
A feel-good film in the best sense of the term, is receiving its world premiere at the . In the film’s opening moments, we hear a frantic phone call cluing us in to Nia’s turmoil — namely, that she’s taken abortion pills after getting pregnant by a boyfriend who abandoned her and is desperate to keep the secret from her parents. Cut to a shot of Nia (Dheera Johnson, making an impressive film debut) peering at a postcard-worthy view of the majestic Himalayas, which only look more stunning in the film’s monochrome black and white.
With the caretaker of the house called away on unexplained business, Nia is left to spend time with his elderly mother-in-law Bhemi (Thakri Devi) and her rambunctious eight-year-old grandson Sunny (Kanav Thakur), who spends much of his time playing Superman. Nia, meanwhile, like any urbanite, wanders around the property desperately searching for a cell phone signal. Although restless at first, Nia soon settles into her new environment, enjoying Bhemi’s homemade dumplings, participating in batting pr.
