User reviews

Mukti Bhawan is a tale of spiritual realisations of a family which is not a fresh subject in Indian cinema although the script along with the cast delivers an impactful one and half hours.

Positive points - brilliant performance by Adil Hussain, locales of Kashi and philosophy of the film

negative points - quite slow paced, needs patience.

overall those who can watch a slow paced art film, should go for it.

Varanasi has long been a sacred destination for those seeking spiritual liberation, with approximately 25,000 end up there each year to attain Moksha. My great-great-grandfather experienced a profound vision or calling in the late 19th century, compelling him to travel to Varanasi and embrace samadhi, a state of deep meditative absorption. Through this deliberate and courageous act of self-surrender, known as prana tyaga, he achieved the extraordinary feat of attaining Moksha, leaving behind a legacy of devotion and spiritual aspiration.

The movie explores the transformative journey of breaking free from the shackles of a mundane and dependent life in old age. A poignant film that delves into the death, and the bond between parents and children. The film's pace is slow but meditative. The performances by the lead actors are convincing It is a thought provoking exploration of the human experience, forces viewers to reflect on their own mortality and the importance of relationships. It is a beautiful, stirring experience that will linger in your hearts long after the credits roll.

Yesterday i got a chance to see this outstanding work of cinema Mukti Bhawan(Hotel salvation) and still I am in that zone where I was while watching this movie I am big fan of realistic drama movies but you hardly get a chance to see this kind of movies in Bollywood, for me this is an excellent film making,what Shubhashish Bhutiani produced here is a class act of direction and story telling,how he portrayed the relationship between father and son is very engaging while watching this movie there was a constant smile on my face and you can only wonder that how can simple things and regular conversation can be a good entertainment, movie is going to teach you a lesson between life and death ,Hollywood movies like menchester by the sea,moonlight,fences and lion are movies which got highly praised by every one this year for there realistic and real life drama and got recognition in Oscars and here Mukti Bhawan is as good as those movies or may be better,last but not least you can not praise cast of this movie enough for there efforts every actor did there very best to make this movie, specially adil hussian and Lalit behl and even other supporting actors did justice to there character gonna watch this movie again in future.

Mukti Bhawan, as it is originally known, can be seen as a slow-paced look at a man and his attempt at redemption. Much like the film's pace, it takes some time for him to figure out what's up as he moves to near the Ganges with his son (brilliantly played by the talented Adil Hussain) and awaits his death. Shubhashish Bhutiani tries to answer few questions about death and salvation some of which were hard for me to comprehend. Nonetheless, Mukti Bhawan is a decent film that keeps you engaged with its subtle narrative and score but ends at an exclamation mark!

An amazing movie. So simple, yet so complex. It contrast life with death. There's reconciliation of relationships and coming to terms with the finality of life which is the jubilation of death. Brilliant. It speaks volumes without preaching or philosophizing. Kudos to the team. Wonderful acting. We need more of this from Bollywood.

There are very few movie screenings where you don't feel like you are watching a movie. It's like you are sitting with the characters and observing them, watching them do things and listening to them doing their regular work. It's so relatable that it doesn't feel like they are acting at all. Movies like this are the best kind of movies. Mukti Bhawan is one such movie. You can't see acting in the movie because they are not doing it at all. Each one of them is living the character to their cinematic best.

The very first scene of the movie shows Daya, the character of Lalit Behl, finds himself chasing his younger self in an abandoned village while his mother is calling out to him. He takes this as a sign and declares to his unprepared family that his time to go has finally arrived.

Mukti Bhawan is a movie about that final journey. A father's wish to die in the holy city of Varanasi and his son's struggle to meet his father's demand while he himself is struggling with his highly demanding work. I won't say it is a story of death, I would rather say it is the story of life, the story of a middle-class family, a story of the father-son relationship.

He is a son, whose father has reached an age where he has become stubborn about his wishes. His demands, just one though, considering the situation of the family seems unreasonable. He is a father too, whose daughter is about to get married but she has ambitions, she wants to do a job and doesn't want to get married just yet. He is a husband, whose wife constantly asks him that how much time will it take him to come back, to which he has no answer. He is also an employee, who is not able to manage his work-life balance. What should he do? He has to take a decision. And he reluctantly takes the decision to accompany his father, more out of duty than love, and checks into Mukti Bhawan, the salvation hotel.

Just 25-years-old Shubhashish Bhutiani, yet another debutant director, knows what he is doing. His style of movie making doesn't seem conventional in the movie. It doesn't run in as a continuous plot, it rather runs in episodic sequences. Each one powerful than the other one. Well-acted, directed and shot. No matter in which order you watch it, it will tell the same story and each part collectively leads us to the climax of the movie, which is a celebration. A celebration of a life well lived, happily and without any regrets. A life lived on your own terms, a life where you did what you wanted to do.

Adil Hussain is a gem of an actor and he has put his heart and soul into his character of Rajiv. It's sad that for the larger part of the audience, he is still unknown. The one particular scene, where after getting the call about his daughter's decision of not getting married, he storms in an internet café to do a skype call home, is epic, to say the least. He is furious about what he was hearing, to add to his anger network was bad on both sides but at the same time, he has to maintain the decorum of a public place. His control over the scene is just mind blowing. Another scene where he waits for his turn to get the cake is wordlessly loquacious.

Lalit Behl as Daya is spot on. We have seen him in Titli in the role of father. There he had no control over his sons, here he takes the authority. His timing is perfect. His approach is more open-minded than his son's. Geetanjali Kulkarni as Lata is practical, she is straightforward and to the point. If she could impress with just 'reading from the paper' in Court, here she has full-length dialogues with her. Palomi Ghosh as Sunita is the life of an otherwise dull house and whenever she gets the chance she spreads the happiness around. She acted brilliantly in her not so long role. Two another not-so-major but important characters are of Navnindra Behl as Vimla and Anil Rastogi as Mishra Ji, both of them played their part with utmost perfection.

One can't set a movie like this without a backdrop of Varanasi, where, according to Hindu beliefs, people go to die, to get the Mukti, the freedom from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. It has been shot brilliantly. Ganga Aarti, burning pyres, boat ride, pranayama in front of rising sun or a scene as simple as the fading paint of wall graffiti has been captured beautifully. Music of Junaid Tajdar is the cherry on the cake.

Death is a process, it will come when it has to come, and you have no control over it. But you have control over your life, you can either make it or break it, then why not just make it, make it large? So that when your time to depart finally arrives, you can go without regrets. You can and you should do what makes you happy. Do what your heart tells you to do, it gives you signals, and you have to interpret them. And if you do that, it's not just your life but your death too will be a celebration.

Mukti Bhawan is a real powerful cinema. It may be slow but it is a class act. If a movie with such serious subject manages to make you laugh and put a smile on your face, I guess, the movie is working. It is an actual five-star stuff.

A poetic yet very realistic, rather incredibly humane and enthralling meditation on life, death and karma, set and shot in Varanasi, India. The film is based on the author's experiences backpacking around his home country and stumbling upon hotels where some Hindus go to die.

It was more than a pleasure to meet and have a chance to talk to the very talented and sensitive young Indian director Shunhashish Bhutiani. His debut feature at the age of 26 has an all star Indian cast (kudos to Adil Hussain - Life of Pi - and Lalit Bhel - Tetli).

The film follows a real story of father and son who go to one of these hotels on the banks of the Ganges looking for salvation. What was meant to be the end of it all turns into an enlightening journey of self discovery and family bonding. Sounds rather heavy when reading the synopsis, but having attended the premiere of Hotel Salvation at the BF LondonI, I was emotionally humbled by this story with the perfect balance between drama and comedy, turning it into a colourful, humorous and enlightening experience. Not to mention the amazing cinematography, with wide shots of the Ganges, its people, boats and rituals.

he film follows a real story of father and son who go to one of these hotels on the banks of the Ganges looking for salvation. What was meant to be the end of it all turns into an enlightening journey of self discovery and family bonding. Sounds rather heavy when reading the synopsis, but having attended the premiere of Hotel Salvation at the BF LondonI, I was emotionally humbled by this story with the perfect balance between drama and comedy, turning it into a colourfull, humorous and enlightening experience. Not to mention the amazing cinematography, with wide shots of the Ganges, its people, boats and rituals.

Shubhashish Bhutiyani's Mukti Bhawan is an innovative take on bereavement. The film takes you through the process of bereavement in unimagined depth, which culminates in an event, which is inconsequential to the film, and to life perhaps. The director portrays the journey as one of immense learning, abut oneself and about the world, which gets lost in everyday life and comes back, haunting, when the time nears. Adil Hussain and Lalit Behl deserve special mention for their effortless portrayal of an Indian middle class father-son relationship and all the complexities that it carries. The movie is bound to leave you with a smile, overlaid with tears. Cinema at its best !

The story itself, of a father sharing his premonitions of an impending death, demanding to be taken to Varanasi to die, is so unique! On top of that, once there, moments where the elderly joke about jealousy when someone dies before them, are absolutely beautiful, and ironic. Adil Hussain, as the man balancing between the stubbornness of his father and the rebellion of his daughter, is absolutely brilliant in showcasing that struggle. This is a movie that stays with you, days after you have watched it. Must-Watch!

The journey of old people towards death is a theme not unknown in the cinema, sometimes treated comically but more often treated tragically yet always with a great deal of affection and by some of the cinema's greatest directors. "Hotel Salvation" is the first feature by the 26 year old Indian writer/director Shubhashish Bhutiani but it could have come from Satyajit Ray. Daya, (lalit Behl), is the 77 year old who, convinced he is going to die, asks his son Rajiv, (Adil Hussain), to take him to the holy city of Varanasi where he will find salvation.

Bhutiani treats his subject not as gloomy tragedy about the end of life but as a comedy that celebtrates life in all of its forms, shot in glorious colour by his cinematographers David Huwiler and Michael McSweeney and displaying a deep affection for its characters and the traditions they hold dear and he has drawn wonderful performances from his entire cast, (Anil Rastogi is outstanding as the proprietor of the hotel).

An American or British film dealing with the same subject would be mawkish beyond belief and the jokes would probably fall flat. Of course, it's also unlikely that someone like Satyajit Ray would have taken such a broad outlook or have his characters 'find themselves' quite as enthusiastically as they do here. That said, this is a remarkable debut and a film to make you feel good about yourself and about life (and death) in general.

#MuktiBhawan is a "deadly" film (pun intended) - it deals with the concept of death, but in an invigorating and 'matter of fact' manner - the title refers to a lodge on the banks of the river ganga, where hindus come to spend their last days with the aim of attaining moksh - the father son bitter, sweet relationship is beautifully and naturally depicted by two fine actors, Lalit and Adil - the locations are authentic - the dialogues are unassuming and humorous - this film needs ur love n support - do watch it in theaters. Rating 4/5.

The young director Shubhashish Bhutiani (26) takes on the hard topic of death with this movie and the conflict that arises once the dilemma between a death in dignity and the everyday life arises.

An old man feels like his time has come and wants to depart from life in a way, that suits him. This of course causes quite a fuss within the family and the lack of understanding of a few other people is unsettling but understanding as well. Palomi Ghosh who plays the daughter is just stunning! You will probably see more of her very soon.

The only negative thing I can say about the movie is, that Hindi seems to bee a pretty fast language, so the subtitles are actually not on screen long enough on a few occasions and also the translation does not seem to be spot on. Luckily the director could clarify my questions in the Q&A after the movie and he said that I'm not the first one who asked these. So bare that in mind, that the translation can cause confusion.

Anyway... Watch out for more from this director!

Touching gently on death, modernity and Hindu philosophy, this Indian drama will leave you feeling a little more human. It is primarily set in scenic Varanasi, where an elderly father has come to die, reluctantly accompanied by his grown up son. Father and son face up to mortality in this beautiful debut feature from a young Indian writer-director.

I was trying to watch this film aince time. Finally got chance to watch it. Experience was totally great during whole movie. Became fan of geetanjali kulkarni work from Gullak TVF series and when i saw that she is also part of the movie then desire to watch this movie became strong and who is not a fan of Adil Hussain , everyone likes his work. Every cast member in this movie has worked fantastically.

The direction of the movie is fantastic, became fan of subhashish bhutiani. The bsaic details which captured inside mukti bhavan and the varanasi captured by Subhashish is truly fantastic. I smiled, i cried this movies leaves really deep on you.