"Pehli Baarish" review: a warm, overlong monsoon romance

"Pehli Baarish" follows a young bus conductor and a student teacher who keep meeting on the same monsoon route. The story is simple and the film is better for it.

Director Anaya Bhandari lets silences do the work. A scene where the leads share one umbrella and say nothing for four minutes is the best in the film.

The first hour is slow and the songs interrupt rather than lift the story. The final forty minutes, set during a flood, are moving and well paced.

Specifications

What works

• Warm, believable leads
• Beautiful rain photography
• A strong, tearful last act

What does not

• Slow first hour
• Songs break the flow

Verdict

3.5 out of 5. A gentle film that needs patience but pays back.

This is a demo story: every name, place, organisation and figure in it is fictional.