In ‘Who Are You, Nanu?’, writer/director Anjini Taneja Azhar crafts a soulful drama/mystery where life, loss, and the unrelenting curiosity of childhood blend into something quietly extraordinary.
The story opens in the smoke and silence of a cremation. Isha (played by Jyothi Janath), a young girl on the edge of understanding, bids farewell to her grandfather (Nanu). Told by her parents that Nanu has gone to the moon, she doesn’t accept it with resignation but with wonder. This is not a story of grief as an end but as a door.
Filmed in India with cinematic precision, Gary Long’s cinematography draws you right into the heart of our protagonist’s world. The choice of a 1:1 frame ratio on 35mm film feels both nostalgic and intimate – shots are balanced, rich, and undeniably cinematic. The color grading, delicate yet striking, mirrors the film’s emotional duality: the weight of loss and the lightness of belief.
Isha’s world changes when she meets Little Nanu (Kabir Pahwa), a spectral version of her grandfather as a boy. Their bond is surreal yet disarmingly simple. Through this childlike avatar, Nanu explains life in a way only Isha can understand. Both Janath and Pahwa shine in their performances, their dialogue carrying a rhythm that feels both sacred and playful.
Then comes the snake bite. Without warning, the story plunges into a dystopian fever dream – an audacious choice that jolts the narrative into another dimension. Isha’s journey here feels like a reckoning, a raw confrontation with mortality, before she awakens, changed yet whole.
Azhar’s storytelling is tender, spiritual, and brimming with imagination. ‘Who Are You, Nanu?’ is a heartfelt and touching meditation on the innocence of childhood and the profound, almost magical way children navigate grief and loss. Its narrative delicately captures the beauty of remembering, imagining, and growing from the mysteries of goodbye. Highly recommended.
