Sukhpreet Kahlon
New Delhi, 11 Jul 2020 12:25 IST
Updated: 18 Nov 2021 22:00 IST
The short documentary explores the way a rooster turns a regular home in Mumbai upside down.
In the metropolis of Mumbai teeming with people, Rishi Chandna’s short documentary Tungrus takes us into a regular home that is turned upside down when the father brings home an unusual pet, a chick.
Intended as an amusing plaything for his cats, the chick survives against all odds and expectations to grow into a rooster. The rooster literally rules the roost, becoming a tyrant in the household whose members run helter-skelter and dodge the bird to avoid its invasive and often annoying presence.
The absurd, humorous and bizarre story of the rooster unfolds through accounts of the family and their reactions which range from exasperation and affection to quiet tolerance. The family members also try to understand the psychology of the bird through their own lenses and attitudes towards it. As the rooster flies over people’s heads without warning, creates a nuisance and terrorizes the cats, the family must contemplate what to do with him.
The short documentary takes us on a roller coaster of emotions as it turns from being a charming film to a dark comedy where one must brace oneself for the end.
Tungrus also pushes one to reflect on questions of human nature and what the idea of a pet really is. As the camera moves from narrow corridors and tight corners to bars on the windows of the family’s apartment, one wonders who the real animal is.
Tungrus was screened at several festivals and won many international awards for Best Short Film and Best Documentary as well as audience awards. The 2018 documentary was selected as part of the showcase of Indian films by the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) in 2021 and screened as part of the Dharamshala International Film Festival 2021.
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