After the Sharma family unexpectedly loses its patriarch, the newly widowed and elderly Mrs. Sharma surprises everyone by refusing to move in with her son and daughter-in-law downstairs. Instead, she begins to enjoy her newfound financial freedom and strikes up friendships with a salon worker and a tailor that raise eyebrows and stir whispers all across Allahabad. Even as she explores a sense of independence that’s within her grasp for the first time, her actions cause ripples that reveal a simmering unrest in the small town.  

Kislay’s impressive debut feature sparkles with humor, intimacy and nuance as it navigates societal limitations around gender roles and the small pleasures to be found in defying expectations. This meditative slice-of-life portrait of a family in quiet turmoil proves both devastating and profound, allowing us to bask in characters that are as complex and human as the world around them. Ultimately, this stirring look at the cost of liberation marks the arrival of an exciting new cinematic voice in Kislay.

DIRECTOR

Born in 1988, Kislay is a freelance filmmaker and a recent alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Before moving to films, Kislay was an active member of the Delhi theater community. He has made three short films and co-wrote the acclaimed feature by Ivan Ayr, SONI. JUST LIKE THAT (AISE HEE) is his feature film debut.