Sarvnik Kaur’s patient, plangent documentary follows two fishers and friends from Mumbai’s Koli community pursuing their livelihoods by different means. Ganesh is a likable grafter who commands a large crew and the latest technology for expeditions far out at sea. He lives in a modern apartment with his wife, Manali, and zooms around town in a van that has his Instagram handle – The Last Fisherman of Bombay – emblazoned on the side.
In contrast, the humble Rakesh, who lives with his wife, Devyani, their baby son and his mother-in-law, adheres to traditional Koli methods, trusting in his ancestors and restricting himself to shallow waters and a modest boat. In nocturnal chats that punctuate the film, the cultural and economic chasm between the two men is exposed. Ganesh encourages his friend to broaden his horizons, but Rakesh’s ambitions are limited to the dream of having a toilet at home.
Kaur has said that, during production, one of her editors wanted to know who was the villain of the film. The strength of Against the Tide, though, lies in its even-handedness, its insistence that both men are at the mercy of the same capitalist and ecological catastrophes. Despite his poverty and his son’s poor health, it is Rakesh who emerges as the more resolute of the two, finding succour in his spirituality. The blingy Ganesh, meanwhile, is drowning in debt and considering downsizing his operations. He is going to need a smaller boat.
Kaur and her cinematographer, Ashok Meena, are alert to every possible tension and nuance, although it would have been nice to see some interaction, however brief, between Manali and Devyani. An especially poetic image early in the film appears to show Rakesh walking on water, but it is only a trick of the light; the dawn is glistening on the rippled wet sand as he strides across it while the tide is out, leaving beached boats far behind him. Even after our eyes adjust to reality, though, the aura of the miraculous lingers on.
• Against the Tide is released on 30 June at Bertha DocHouse, London, with an Australian release date to be confirmed.
