Thursday Special Review | A Scrumptious Family Drama With A Soft, Healing Heart

Seldom do family dramas accomplish the feat of conveying a sense of history, a shared present and an anticipated future within the span of thirty minutes. Yet, Varun Tandon’s method of worldbuilding is deeply invested in quiet familial ruptures over time and circumstances, but instead resides in the crinkle of a nose or a downward gaze. His earlier short film, Syaahi (2016), meditates on a similar premise, where repair within a family unfolds through eventual acceptance and renewal. This short film is presented by Vikramaditya Motwane and Shoojit Sircar. It is produced by Karan Luthra along with Krati Tandon and released on January 29 on the “Humans Of Cinema” YouTube channel.

Written and directed by Tandon himself, the film features an elderly couple, Shakuntala (Anubha Fatehpuria) and Ram (Ramakanth Dayama), living by themselves in a humble home. 

For a film set mostly within two or three locations, it manages to weave a rich world around these two protagonists. Whether it is Shakuntala waking up to pack Ram’s tiffin or Ram traveling to his crammed office space, viewers will instantly connect with this sincere and enduring couple who seems to make each other happy. Yashveer Singh’s cinematography and Tandon’s delicate vision blend the visceral textures like the wooden bookshelf, the slightly worn utensils and dusty office files into the frame thoughtfully. When the lighting cradles their leathery faces in mango-tinted sunlight, one can really feel it echoing the warmth at the heart of the film’s intent. Such sensory immersiveness is delightful to witness when it adds so much background to the protagonists’ lived histories.

On the surface, this film speaks about routines and the comfort that’s built around them, notably a “Thursday potluck”, which the couple looks forward to. Food, in this way, becomes a means not just to make each other happy but also to find self-fulfilment through their personal relationship with it. The film puts meticulous detailing into capturing these everyday routines, from the turning of the calendar page to the curve of the protagonists’ spines as they sleep side by side. There’s also a certain rebellion in breaking those same habits and routines that define you and your journey. At the heart of this film lies a simple question: Are you willing to confront the hurt before embracing healing?

There are certain sections within this film where it pivots the audience into exposition head on, by revealing the protagonists’ pasts, although it is justified and excusable in the scope of a short film that only has thirty minutes to immerse you into its storytelling. 

Where the film really finds its footing is the very buoyant, natural chemistry between the two protagonists that actually feels cultivated over the years. Their silences and glances toward one another carry weight, as happens when the other becomes an extension of yourself—someone you are constantly exploring, yet never too surprised to discover, because the more you know them, the more they become a part of you.

Tandon’s cinematic style in Syaahi feels extremely interwoven here, be it in Tandon’s sensibility to design a very canvas-art poster for both of these films or the films’ exploration of families resolving an ongoing conflict amongst themselves. What remains persistent is his dedication to revive faith amidst rupture. The film’s gentle focus on food emerges from viewing cooking as the labour of love, escapism from mundanity and a ritual of reconnecting. Without revealing too much, this film ends up becoming an extremely personal, transformative and rewarding journey towards healing through acceptance. 

After premiering at Mecal Pro in Barcelona, Thursday Special has won over 25 awards across categories worldwide. These include Best Narrative Short at the New York Indian Film Festival, Best International Short Film at the Adelaide Independent Film Festival and Best Narrative Short at the Tryon International Film Festival in the US, establishing a strong global festival presence ahead of its public release. With its release on YouTube today, it promises tears, a sense of hope and a good old family drama that pierces the screen and goes straight into people’s hearts.