Patang (The Kite)

About the film

Jayesh, a wealthy businessman from Delhi, returns with his grown up daughter, to his childhood home in Ahmedabad (Gujarat), to participate in the town's annual kite festival. Here he meets his mother, his sister-in-law and his nephew, the son of Jayesh's deceased brother. Jayesh's suggestions for alterations and changes in the family, soon creates profound conflicts and generational differences of opinion. 'Patang' is similar to a Cinema Verité documentary about this Indian family, surrounded by the beautiful old town and the kite festival. We see the sky over Ahmedabad, filled with thousands of dancing, duelling kites and all the people on the rooftops. The streets below appear like a chaos of people, music bands and food stalls. The photographer Shanker Raman, exploits the long handheld settings in a brilliant way, portraying the colourful kites and the beautiful old buildings; and the result is an elegant kaleidoscopic glimpse of modern Indian society. "The film is joyous, but more than that: It's lovely in its construction ... It flies as free and colourfully as a kite", wrote the critic Roger Ebert.