Nithish Sahadevan’s Falimy is easily one of the best movies in the dysfunctional family subgenre. By adding situational humor, there is a lot to take away from this film about a family where no one gets along with each anymore. There is also travel involved, which brings out the worst in them. This article will describe how the family deals with each other in a situation where there is no option to abandon them.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Was The Grandfather Trying To Leave His Home?
Falimy begins with Abhijith ‘Abhi’ bringing his grandfather back to his middle-class home. It is understood from the grandfather’s behavior that he has attempted to leave home in his pursuit to visit Kashi, Uttar Pradesh, one too many times. The family is somehow able to figure out his plans. There is genuine anger against the grandfather for pulling a stunt such as this one too many times. Janardhanan had an elderly man as his neighbor and best friend, and they seemed to have made plans a long time ago to visit Kashi, but they never materialized. It is understood that both men got busy raising their families and have reached a stage where they feel they owe themselves a trip. Chandran does not seem to understand his father’s urge, while his son Anoop ‘Anu’ pays heed to his grandfather’s one last dream to travel.
What Was The Reason Behind Anu’s Anger Towards His Father?
Anu was a hardworking dubbing artist, despite not having finished his education. He had to take responsibility for the finances along with his mother, Rema. Chandran’s inactive printing press and disinterest in working for the family frustrate the older son. Anu’s angry because his aging mother ends up having to both work and spend time in the kitchen. There was no end to his anger, which led to constant friction and bickering between father and son. Chandran was immune to his son’s taunts and wasted Anu’s hard-earned money on alcohol.
Why Did Anu’s Engagement End?
Anu was briefly in a good state of mind because of his engagement. It was a traditional arranged marriage setup, and Anu seems to have found the right woman for himself in Anagha. A few days before the engagement, Anu believed a man was following him, but he did not take the incident seriously. On the day of the engagement, Anagha was slapped by the same man who followed him around. A case of a lover feeling dejected and bruised ended Anu’s engagement. Anu felt betrayed by Anagha and refused to stay in touch with her or consider hearing her part of the story. It was the humiliation part that irked Anu to not pursue her ever again, even though he was deeply hurt by what he had witnessed.
Who Joins Anu And His Grandfather’s Trip To Kashi?
The engagement coming to an abrupt end jolted Anu, and it allowed him to make some crucial life decisions. Anu decides to take his grandfather on the much-awaited trip to Kashi. It was initially just the two of them who decided to take this break, but Anu shows the courtesy of asking his mother and father to join. Chandran was skeptical, but his wife’s insistence on wanting to help her father-in-law on the journey forced him to join the trip. Chandran was pretending to be irritated but was excited for the trip and wanted to get away from the tedious life he had led so far. Abhi was being followed by men he had beaten up at his engagement party, and this emergency made him reluctantly join his family. All five of them had reasons to take this trip to the northern part of India, a region that was alien to all of them.
What Happens To The Family On The Journey?
The journey brought out the worst side of everybody. Chandran had a habit of getting off the train to enjoy the local delicacies and beverages. One of his expeditions forced him, Rema, and the children to jump out of a running train. They ended up having to pick up their grandfather from the next station with their luggage and restart their journey towards Kashi. They encountered several obstacles that slowed down their journey. Out of desperation, all of them unknowingly got into the vehicle of a poacher who managed to evade arrest, which endangered the family as well. Abhi was physically assaulted by the same man, which forced them to look for another mode of transport to reach Kashi. Chandran sadly received the news of his neighbor’s father passing away. This deeply affected Janardhanan, who was the old neighbor’s best friend. The family consoles him as he breaks down over the news.
Do All Of Them Reach Kashi?
All five of them reach Kashi safely but are heartbroken over the news of the neighbor’s death. There was also a chaotic silence between all of them due to the incidents they had to endure to finally reach their destination. The silence was because of the embarrassment and pent-up anger that came out as many things did not go as planned. Their journey lagged by many days as the family was unfamiliar with the topography and the language of the region.
Is The Grandfather Dead Or Alive?
On reaching Kashi, Janardhanan goes missing, and was last seen leaving with a bunch of sadhus. Janardhanan was probably carried away by the essence of the city and walked away because he wanted to explore the city on his own. Janardhanan always wanted to visit the city on his own, which could be the reason for him walking away from the family. Abhi and Anu were helpless in this town. Several days into the trip, none of them could locate Janardhanan and were on the brink of breaking down, especially Chandran, who suddenly goes through emotional transitions. After days spent looking for his father, Chandran was in immense guilt, which was evident from his body language. It dawned on him how irresponsible he was towards his father, wife, and kids.
A good Malayali Samaritan volunteers to help them find Janardhanan. He mistook an old man for Anu’s grandfather and misled the poor man into thinking his family was in town to take him. The old man was upset to see Anu’s family and realized his family never really showed up. This scene was included to describe the kind of loneliness elderly people face. No one bothers to care about their needs and wants, and they are mostly considered a burden by many families. Either they willingly leave the family they raised or their children abandon them in a town like Kashi, hoping for them to find solace in God and divinity. The person helping them is under the impression that their grandfather may have died because that is the end goal of the people who show interest in visiting the town.
Anu shows the missing poster of his grandfather to people who carry out last rites, and they claim to have taken a body out of the water and cremated the person earlier that day. The thought that his grandfather may have died shook Anu to the core, and he informed his family about it. All of them are distraught as they could not perform the rituals required, and the man died without his family around him.
It turns out Janardhanan had reached Trivandrum to attend the last rites of his neighbor and best friend in the hope of seeing him one last time. The whole scenario turned out to be a hilarious twist because the family in Kashi was living a nightmare while the man they were looking for was hearty and alive in his hometown for his best friend’s funeral. Janardhanan was alive and alone because he preempted his family’s reaction to his plan. Chandran was not a sensitive person, which made it easy for Janardhanan to decide on traveling alone. Chandran, in Kashi, sacrificed all his facial hair to mark the death of his father. Since his father was big on rituals, this was only the right thing to do. Chandran suddenly underwent a transformation because he did not receive closure, and his inadequacy as a son made him finally respect his father further.
Anu was contacted and informed about his grandfather being in Trivandrum, which changed the situation for the better. The family comes back to their hometown only to witness their father going back to Kashi with the last remains of his best friend. Janardhanan did not want to take this journey with his family, for he witnessed how bitter all of them were. He wanted to make this trip with his deceased friend, as they had planned it many years before. Janardhanan could make a trip back to his hometown alone from Kashi, and the man figured he could go back to Kashi without any hassle.
Falimy ends with the four of them joining Janardhanan again because of his age, but they are thrown out by the conductor for having no ticket for the journey. Their being thrown out is a good sign because the old man could finally take his trip, this time with his family having no qualms about it.
