A Many-Splendored Tale of Magic, Memory, and Myth:  Raam Reddy’s Jugnuma fuses magical realism, myth, and memory into a visually stunning yet ambiguous fable, with Manoj Bajpayee’s restrained performance anchoring this tale of elemental chaos, family bonds, and liberation. Arnab Banerjee reviews the film.  

Rating: 3 stars

Raam Reddy’s Jugnuma (The Fable), starring Manoj Bajpayee, Priyanka Bose, Tillotama Shome, and Deepak Dobriyal, is a rare Hindi film exploring magical realism through folklore, fire, and fractured family ties against the Himalayas. 

Written & Directed by Raam Reddy

Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Priyanka Bose, Tillotama Shome, Deepak Dobriyal

Cinematography: Sunil Borkar

Cinema, in its kaleidoscopic array of expressions, occasionally offers us stories of rare splendour—narratives that shimmer with originality, thematic boldness, and imaginative audacity. While not all Indian films aspire to transcend conventional storytelling, every so often emerges a cinematic gem that dares to diverge. Jugnuma, directed by Raam Reddy and released this week, is precisely such a departure—a masterstroke of magical realism, a genre seldom explored within the realms of Hindi cinema.

Set against the resplendent backdrop of spring in 1989, Jugnuma unfolds in an isolated colonial mansion perched precariously atop a Himalayan cliff.

Here resides Dev (essayed with quiet intensity by Manoj Bajpayee), alongside his wife Nandini (Priyanka Bose), daughter Vanya (Hiral Sidhu), and son Juju (Awaan PoKoot). Revered by the surrounding villagers, Dev is a benevolent landowner who generates employment through his vast and flourishing orchards. Yet, this pastoral idyll is soon shattered when he discovers a patch of mysteriously charred trees. What begins as a small anomaly gradually spirals into a series of inexplicable conflagrations, each one more disturbing than the last.

Dev’s Descent and Reddy’s Vision

As suspicion falls upon passing nomads and the investigation is muddled by a corrupt sheriff, Dev’s attempts to restore order prove futile. The night brings silence, but not peace. In the enveloping darkness, revelations begin to surface, peeling back the layers of Dev’s identity, his familial bonds, and long-buried secrets. Reality begins to intermingle with folklore, and the ordinary is imbued with the extraordinary. Reddy deftly weaves elements of fable and the supernatural into the fabric of the everyday, crafting a narrative that interrogates both the human condition and the mystique of nature.

At its core, Jugnuma is a lyrical meditation on loss, reclamation, and the primal force of nature asserting its dominion. The story unfurls like an ancient folktale, where logic yields to the metaphysical and magic is treated not with awe, but with quiet inevitability. The deliberately ambiguous conclusion allows each viewer to draw personal meaning, reinforcing the film’s thematic undercurrent—that truth is often multifaceted and elusive.

The genesis of this cinematic fable lies in a real-life encounter: Reddy’s participation in quelling a forest fire alongside the Himalayan villages. This moment birthed the idea that would, over nine years and 36 screenplay drafts, metamorphose into Jugnuma. A monumental 378-page storyboard, created in collaboration with acclaimed animator Upamanyu Bhattacharya, served as the film’s visual compass—testament to its painstaking craftsmanship.

Performances and the Power of Silence

Having previously garnered international acclaim with Thithi, Reddy reaffirms his auteur status here. Jugnuma, also known by its festival title The Fable, was lauded at the Berlin International Film Festival, amongst others, and continues to captivate audiences worldwide. Reddy constructs Dev’s family not merely as supporting characters but as living embodiments of his inner turmoil. His wife and children function as mirrors—reflecting his anxieties, his emotional detachment, and ultimately, his impotence in the face of elemental chaos. Their assertiveness stands in sharp contrast to his psychological unravelling.

Visually, the film evokes a sense of timelessness. Shot on 16mm film stock to preserve a tactile, vintage aesthetic, the cinematography by Sunil Borkar—earthy yet ethereal—captures the mysticism of the Himalayan landscape. Ingenious production techniques, including hand-crafted mechanical wings and subtle visual effects, breathe life into the film’s more surreal sequences, especially the depiction of fire-ravaged terrain.

In the film’s enigmatic climax, Dev ascends—literally—donning magical wings and taking flight from the crumbling ruins of his estate. This transcendent moment defies literal interpretation. Some see it as an act of redemption, others as a metaphor for liberation or death. Yet all agree: the flight epitomises the film’s central motif—the seamless fusion of the real and the surreal.

Writer, lyricist, screenplay writer and stand up Varun Grover’s masterful crafting of natural, spoken-language dialogues adds a unique depth to the mystical drama. Manoj Bajpayee delivers a tour de force performance, embodying Dev with restraint and profound emotional depth. Eschewing theatricality, he internalises the character’s fear, confusion, and desperation, allowing the silences to speak volumes. As he navigates suspicion, surveillance, and an eventual descent into violence, Bajpayee’s stoicism becomes the film’s emotional anchor.

Deepak Dobriyal, portraying Dev’s estate manager, brings a nuanced duality to his role. His manner oscillates between affable detachment and fierce loyalty, casting doubt even as he commands sympathy. Priyanka Bose, as the wife, brings subtle depth to Dev’s life. With natural grace, she moves through her daily household routines, quietly anchoring their home with emotional strength and warmth. Tilottama Shome, in a brief yet poignant turn as Radha—the wife of a local labourer—lends the narrative a piercing clarity. Her presence, though fleeting, crystallises the film’s thematic essence with quiet force.