An intimate story of grief, inheritance, and belonging is set to reach audiences worldwide as Mehta & Co., an award-winning short film, premieres on Watch My Film, the curated streaming platform by MovieSaints, on March 6.
After earning critical acclaim across prestigious film festivals in India and abroad, the film now prepares for its digital debut — bringing its quietly observed world to audiences beyond the festival circuit and offering viewers a deeply personal and culturally resonant cinematic experience.
A Story Rooted in Loss and Identity
Set in the bustling lanes of Chikpete, Bangalore, Mehta & Co. follows Ravi, a young man from the Marwari community who reluctantly finds himself responsible for managing his father’s modest saree shop. The store — Mehta & Co. — is more than a business; it is a physical reminder of a strained father-son relationship marked by emotional distance and unspoken grievances.
To Ravi, the shop represents a burden — a life he feels disconnected from and responsibilities he never consciously chose. For him, the space feels less like an inheritance and more like somewhere he has been unwillingly left behind.
Rather than confronting his emotions directly, Ravi retreats into routine — attending to customers half-heartedly, drifting through crowded streets, and avoiding conversations that demand emotional engagement. The film follows a man who does not yet know how to confront what he feels, choosing distance and distraction over reflection.
The narrative takes a decisive turn when a local language enforcement group vandalizes the shop’s signboard. What initially appears to be an act of aggression becomes the catalyst for Ravi’s internal reckoning. Forced to engage with the city around him, the community he inhabits, Ravi begins confronting emotions he has long suppressed.
Through this seemingly simple conflict, the film unfolds into a layered exploration of grief, cultural friction, generational inheritance, and the invisible ties that bind us to places and people — even when we attempt to distance ourselves from them.
A Quiet Film About Loud Emotions
The director, Rohit Sen describes Mehta & Co. as “a quiet film about loud emotions — the kind that remain unspoken between fathers and sons, between people and their past, between communities and the spaces they inhabit.”
What began as a personal meditation on grief gradually evolved into a broader reflection on belonging in a rapidly transforming city. Rohit was drawn to the idea of a young man who doesn’t know how to mourn — someone who builds a wall of resentment around his past and unresolved familial relationships, only to see it slowly crack under the pressure of lived reality.
In this sense, Bangalore becomes more than just a backdrop. It acts as a living presence — cosmopolitan yet complex, welcoming yet layered with invisible negotiations of identity. The small saree shop transforms into a symbol of migration, tradition, commerce, and cultural adjustment.
Ravi is not overtly in conflict with the world around him, yet he does not fully belong either. The language, inherited responsibilities, and social expectations all carry quiet weight. The vandalized signboard becomes a metaphor for the fragility of belonging and the contested spaces within urban India.
Rohit, who is also a cancer survivor, brings a deeply introspective lens to the storytelling. Drawn to narratives of unexpressed emotion and reluctant inheritance, he adopts a restrained cinematic style that mirrors Ravi’s emotional state.
The film employs static frames, ambient soundscapes, and soft natural lighting. There is minimal dramatic flourish. Instead, the camera lingers — allowing silence to speak.
Everyday routines continue uninterrupted — customers bargain over sarees, shutters open and close, streets remain crowded — even as Ravi appears emotionally suspended within these rhythms.
Mehta & Co. unfolds through subtle visual moments:
A cluttered room being cleared, where memories feel heavier than objects
A quiet moment inside the shop
Long walks through the crowded lanes of Chickpet beneath towering signboards
An old wooden chair that seems to hold a presence even in absence
The film trusts its audience to sit with discomfort, memory, and quiet realization.
Festival Acclaim and Recognition
Before its digital release, Mehta & Co. enjoyed a remarkable festival run, earning awards and official selections across major platforms.
Awards Won
Best Director at the Bollywood International Film Festival
Best Short Film (Jury Award) at the Noida International Film Festival
Best Short Film at the MEI International Film Festival
Official Selections at
Jagran Film Festival
Rajasthan International Film Festival
Jaipur Film World
Crown Wood International Film Festival
Ooty Short Film Festival
Utsav International Film Festival
Asian Independent Film Festival
Fest5 International Film Festival
The short film was also named a Finalist at London Film Club Shorts Festival.
This widespread recognition underscores the film’s emotional universality despite its culturally specific setting.
Tradition Meets Transition
At its core, Mehta & Co. explores the tension between tradition and transition.
The saree shop represents generational continuity — a livelihood built through quiet sacrifice. For Ravi’s father, the store was dignity, stability, and identity. For Ravi, it initially symbolizes stagnation and obligation.
This generational disconnect resonates strongly in contemporary India, where young professionals often find themselves negotiating between inherited family enterprises and personal aspirations.
The film does not vilify either side. Instead, it examines how misunderstanding often stems from silence rather than malice. Though the father remains largely unseen, his influence permeates every frame. Through gradual revelations, Ravi begins to see his father’s life from perspectives he had never considered before.
Inheritance, the film suggests, is rarely limited to material responsibility; it often arrives as emotional memory embedded within everyday spaces.
Cultural Friction and Urban Belonging
The vandalized signboard introduces another thematic layer — linguistic and cultural friction within metropolitan spaces.
Bangalore, like many urban centers, is a convergence of communities. For migrant trading families such as the Marwaris, belonging can sometimes feel negotiated rather than assumed.
The incident forces Ravi to confront questions larger than his personal grief:
What does it mean to belong?
Who defines identity within a city?
How do language and commerce intersect with pride and politics?
Yet the film resists sensationalism. The confrontation operates less as political commentary and more as an emotional turning point within Ravi’s personal journey
Digital Premiere on Watch My Film
The March 6 release on Watch My Film marks a significant milestone in the film’s journey. Operated by MovieSaints, the platform is known for curating independent cinema and enabling direct-to-audience digital premieres.
Audiences can access the film and trailer via the official page:
https://www.watchmyfilm.com/movie/mehta-and-co
A Story That Resonates Beyond Borders
While deeply rooted in Bangalore’s socio-cultural landscape, Mehta & Co. speaks to universal themes — unresolved grief, generational misunderstanding, and the complex inheritance of identity.
The film’s power lies in its restraint. It does not offer easy closure or dramatic catharsis. Instead, it honours quiet transformations — where silence carries emotion and meaning emerges gradually through everyday encounters.
In doing so, the film invites viewers not toward resolution, but toward recognition.
As Rohit reflects, the film is not merely about a shop or a family. It is about all that we carry — silently — from those who came before us, and the deeply human ways we attempt to make sense of it.
With its festival accolades, emotionally layered storytelling, and thoughtful digital release, Mehta & Co. positions itself as a significant addition to India’s independent short film landscape.
On March 6, audiences will finally step into the quiet confines of a modest saree shop in Chikpete, Bangalore — and perhaps, in doing so, confront the inherited spaces within their own lives.
