Sabar Bonda (Marathi for 'Cactus Pears') is a 2025 romantic drama film written and directed by Rohan Parashuram Kanawade, in his feature directorial debut.[4] It follows Anand (Bhushaan Manoj), a man from the city who returns to his hometown following a death in the family, and reconnects romantically with his childhood friend Balya (Suraaj Suman).[5]
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| Directed by | Rohan Parashuram Kanawade |
| Written by | Rohan Parashuram Kanawade |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Vikas Urs |
| Edited by | Anadi Athaley |
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Running time | 113 minutes[1] |
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| Language | Marathi |
| Box office | $11,500[2][3] |
The film had its world premiere at the World Cinema Competition of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on 26 January,[6] where it won the Grand Jury Prize. It was the first Marathi-language film to premiere at the festival.[5][7][8]
Cast
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- Bhushaan Manoj as Anand
- Suraaj Suman as Balya
- Jayshri Jagtap as Suman
Release
editCactus Pears had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on 26 January 2025 in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section, in which it won the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic.[9][10][8] It is also slated to screen at the 2025 Göteborg Film Festival.[11] It was the closing film of the 2026 Sands Film Festival in St Andrews, UK.[12]
The film was theatrically released in India on 19 September 2025.[13] The film is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom on 19 June 2026, by Lotus Visual Productions.[14]
Reception
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 95% of 40 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Directed with a razor-sharp eye for character by Rohan Kanawade, Cactus Pears is an understated romance that gracefully pulls out the prickles from grief."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 85 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[16]
Wendy Ide of Screen Daily reviewed, "Cactus Pears is a subdued, sensitive study of bereavement and the quietly radical act of being queer in a rural, lower-class Indian community."[17] IndieWire's Ritesh Mehra wrote that the film "is commendable in how it demonstrates the unique silent pains borne by many queer men who, despite their male privilege, have to fight to remain unattached (same sex marriage is illegal in India), to not be infantilized, and to realize relationships longer lasting than quick clandestine sex."[18]
Tatsam Mukherjee at The Wire remarked "Kanawade’s film goes full monty, by addressing queer folks in Indian villages – places often even without the vocabulary for it. But it steers clear of the hostility and venom one might expect to arise from such a situation. Sabar Bonda, in fact, goes in the other direction by shining a light on the cowardice of society – especially while facing someone who owns their sexual identity."[19]
The film won the Audience Award for narrative features, and Bhushaan Manoj won the award for Best Performance, at the 2025 Inside Out Film and Video Festival.[20]
References
edit- ↑ "Cactus Pears (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 29 April 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ↑ "Cactus Pears". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
- ↑ "Sabar Bonda". The Numbers. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
- ↑ "'Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears)' marks India's sole representation at Sundance Film Festival 2025". Lokmat, 12 December 2024.
- 1 2 "‘Sabar Bonda’ makes history as first Marathi film at Sundance 2025". The Statesman, 12 December 2024.
- ↑ David Katz, "Sundance to host a well-stocked line-up of European productions". Cineuropa, 12 December 2024.
- ↑ "Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears): First Marathi Film at Sundance Captures Queer Love in Rural India with Grace and Power". Bru Times News.
- 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (31 January 2025). "Sundance Film Festival Awards Winners List: 'Atropia' Wins U.S. Grand Jury Prize Dramatic". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
- ↑ "World Cinema Dramatic Competition: Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears)". Sundance Film Festival. 12 December 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
- ↑ Parashuram Kanawade, Rohan (12 December 2024). "Cactus Pears". Cineuropa. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
- ↑ Zac Ntim, "Göteborg Film Festival: Laura Carreira’s ‘On Falling’ Among Titles Set For Ingmar Bergman Competition". Deadline Hollywood, 27 December 2024.
- ↑ Ntim, Zac (20 March 2026). "Sands Film Festival Returns For Fifth Edition". Deadline.
- ↑ "Rohan Parashuram Kanawade's award-winning Marathi film Sabar Bonda to release in India on this date". Hindustan Times. 1 September 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ↑ Dalton, Ben (11 May 2026). "UK-Ireland film cinema release dates: latest updates for 2026". Screen Daily. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ↑ "Cactus Pears". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
- ↑ "Cactus Pears". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
- ↑ Ide, Wendy (27 January 2025). "Cactus Pears: Sundance Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- ↑ Mehta, Ritesh (27 January 2025). "Sabar Bonda Review: Rohan Parashuram Kanawade's Sweetly Poignant Debut". IndieWire. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- ↑ "Sabar Bonda, a Sensitive Look at Queer Desire in the Indian Village". The Wire. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
- ↑ Jamie Casemore, "Really Happy Someday wins Inside Out 2025’s Best Canadian Feature". Playback, 3 June 2025.
External links
edit- Sabar Bonda at IMDb