It’s strange how certain traditions and beliefs still exist in the modern day. For instance, if a Dane reaches the age of 25 and is still single, it’s a tradition that Danish friends and family tie them up and cover them entirely in cinnamon. And if that wasn’t enough, this is upgraded to spice if they’re still unmarried at 30. The mind boggles what happens if they’re still single at 50.

This film follows other strange traditions, as well as attitudes towards also being unmarried, in rural India.

Living and working in the bustling city of Mumbai is 30-year-old Anand (Bhushaan Manoj). He gets a phone call – his father has died, that has him returning home, to a small village.

There is a ten day ritual that he has to abide to, with some many strange rules, such as not wearing black, not wearing any footwear, and sleeping only on the floor.

While there he continues to get grief from family members, who nag him as to why he isn’t getting married.

He seeks solace from an old friend Balya (Suraaj Suman), who also happens to be like-minded in his views on marriage, as their relationship grows stronger over the ten days that follow.

This is the directorial debut for Indian filmmaker Rohan Kanawade. It’s a new career for him, having come from a background of interior design. And although it may be the strange quirks of Indian culture covering death that may catch the eye, it is a delicate portrayal of homosexuality in rural India.

Certainly the director’s interior design background is noticeable, especially with the rounded corners to his film’s framing throughout, which tinges it with a nostalgia feeling.

It’s a very quiet film too, with no soundtrack, relying on the simple ambient sounds of farming life.

Equally quiet is the softly spoken Anand, and the quiet relationship that develops between himself and Balya; they are not outwardly expressive, even when they’re only in their own company, as if still under the watchful cultural eye that, although never outwardly uttered, frowns upon homosexuality.

Everything from the pace, to the performances to the rural setting is gentle – perhaps a little too gentle for some. It’s almost as if drama is just as frowned upon as homosexuality, as everything is presented in a calm and docile fashion. To that extent it’s a tranquil look at traditional family life, pleasingly picturesque with its rural locale, that instead of harshly exposing such old-fashioned views on both sex and death, serves merely as a gentle reminder that yes, they still do exist, strangely.