Cactus Pears

30-year-old Anand, a call-center employee in Mumbai, is forced to spend ten days at his ancestral village to mourn the loss of his father at the behest of his moth, Suman.

 

As the mourning period beings post-cremation, he faces subtle but relentless badgering from relatives to get married so that at least his mother finds the pleasure of seeing him settled. Anand finds himself stifled, as coming out to extended family could alienate his mother from the relatives when she needs them the most.

 

He finds solace in his childhood friend Balya as he accompanies him on his daily outings into the mountains to herd goats. Balya has been using "educated girls favoring city-dwellers over farmers" as a ruse to stay unmarried as he faces similar pressures relating to his sexuality from his family.

 

To escape their pressures, the two men spend time together. Hailing from different worlds but bound by childhood memories, they connect over their common struggle. As the days pass, their intimacy blooms emotionally and physically. But with the mourning period ending, will their burgeoning bond survive?

 

Cactus Pears (Sabar Bonda) is a debut feature by writer and director Rohan Kanawade and won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

Part of our "New Visions, New Voices" series. In Marathi with English subtitles. Courtesy of Strand Releasing.