The film stars 80-year-old Padam Singh Kapri, a retired Indian Army serviceman, and 70-year-old Heera Devi, both making their acting debuts. Despite winning awards at international film festivals, the film failed to find takers among streaming platforms and faced hurdles in securing a theatrical release. Now, with audiences responding warmly to the film, he hopes strong word of mouth will help it reach more screens. Set in Uttarakhand’s Kumaon region, Pyre follows an elderly couple whose children have moved away in search of better opportunities, leaving them to face old age and loneliness together. Padam plays a character named after himself, while Heera portrays Tulsi.
National Award-winning filmmaker Vinod Kapri says that getting Pyre to theatres was a struggle that nearly made him quit filmmaking.
“There are many better films than Pyre which are not released yet, which are still yet to see light of the day. Recalling how he had reached a breaking point, Vinod said, “I was so so depressed and so mentally, physically, financially exhausted that I announced my retirement from that stage after receiving the award from Deepa Meta. Despite the film’s recognition at international festivals, finding a release platform proved to be a major challenge. The experience left him physically, mentally and financially drained.
Because i’m completely drained out after making this film.”, i’m not going to make any film after this.
Vinod said he approached several OTT platforms, but none showed interest in acquiring the film. There are many better films than Pyre and I know these films,” he said, pointing to the number of independent films that struggle to reach audiences despite their quality. I said I’m done with filmmaking.
Vinod said Pyre began with a limited release of around 80 screens, with the number of shows increasing as more people started watching it. In an interview with Hindustan Times, Vinod spoke about the challenges of bringing the film to theatres, the loss of shows following the arrival of a major release and the audience response that has renewed his faith in filmmaking. He also recalled announcing his retirement after receiving an award in Toronto. He credited his executive producer Arindra Rai Chaudhuri, who also came on board as a producer, for encouraging him not to lose hope. Arindra eventually connected him with London-based businessman Suresh Joshi, who watched the film and believed it deserved a theatrical release. But by then, Vinod had very little left to spend on the film. Suresh offered to put money into the release, allowing the film to reach cinemas. Looking back, he feels the rejection from streaming platforms may have worked in the film’s favour. its theatrical run has not been without hurdles While the film has started finding its audience. The filmmaker also acknowledged the support of the film’s distribution partner, Cinepolis, which had advised the team to begin with fewer screens rather than push for a wide release immediately. The idea was to let audience demand grow before expanding the number of shows.
“My company bank account is only 7,000 rupees and I don’t have a single penny to spend on this film anymore I don’t have any energy I don’t even have a money,” he recalled. Vinod said he remains grateful to both for stepping in when he had almost given up on the project. “It is a blessing in disguise that OTT rejected this film otherwise this film could not have get this kind of love and recognition the film is getting right now,” he said. “So we started with 80 screens on day one, 80 plus something, and by day five, it went up to 400 shows all over India,” he said. Vinod said that approach had initially worked, as the film’s collections and screenings increased over its opening days.
