THE OTHER SIDE (‘Palyad’) is the story of a family-comprising grandfather, Mahadu, his widowed daughter-in-law Lakshmi, and her young son Shambhu. This family belongs to the ‘Smashan Jogi’ community, a community who traditionally assist people in carrying out the last rites of their loved ones. As head of the family, Mahadu strongly believes in the traditional work of cremating people with age-old ritual and expects young Shambhu to carry on this tradition forward once he grows up, just like his late son did.
Yet Shambhu hates this traditional work of cremating people, instead he is interested in donning a uniform and attending school. But education is forbidden for the Smashan Jogi community in this bigoted village, where the leader considers superstitious, religious beliefs above progressive human endeavors. Shambhu stealthily attempts to attend the local school with help of his mother, but will that pay a heavy price?
WORLD PREMIERE. Join the illustrious cast and filmmaking team for a special experience during the first Cinequest screening. Enjoy the electricity of being one of the first people to enjoy this fantastic artistic achievement and take your film experience to another level via the post screening Q&A session. Make sure to share your experience with others via social and the in-person Cinequest social experiences at our Beer/Wine Garden and Patrons & Artists Lounge. Cinequest is much more than a movie...it's experiencing great films, artists, and community.