Manav Kaul's second directorial venture, Tathagat, to be premiered on MUBI India

Manav Kaul's second directorial venture, Tathagat, is set to have its premiere online on the MUBI India OTT platform. The film will be premiered on 21 October on the platform in a double bill with his directorial debut Hansa (2012).

The actor was last seen in the Netflix series Ajeeb Daastaans (2021). Tathagat features Harish Khanna, Ghanshyam Lalsa, Savita Rani, Himanshu Bhandari, Ashwath Bhatt and Sayani Gupta. 

The site describes the film as 'the story of a child who just wants to go back home'. The film will explore the conflict within a man who has renounced the world, but now wants to return to it. The description reads, "Tathagat delicately explores the idea of renunciation.  Where does man end and monk begin? Is renouncing life as we know it a sacrifice or an escape? The sudden arrival of a letter disrupts a monk's quiet life in the hills and sends him hurtling back into his past, before he ran away from home as a little boy. Memories of childhood bring back a sense of guilt and he longs to return, however trying to break away from what now seems to him a life in hiding. He finds the world around him and willing to let go he tries to explain at first but his devoted disciple refuses to accept his decision. The situation begets the question - how does one reclaim the very life he once chose to renounce?"

Kaul worked on the script of the film, which was conceived in 2014, while he was directing a play at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. In an interview with the Indian Express newspaper in 2014, the actor-director said, "Tathagat is also one of the names of Buddha. I lived in McLeod Ganj for a month and met many monks and realised each of them had a story to tell. I wanted to explore the emotion of guilt."

The actor has also signed on to be a part of several features, including the Madhuri Dixit-led Netflix special Finding Anamika and co-starring alongside Vidya Balan in Jalsa. 

Tathagat will be streamed on the MUBI platform on 21 October.