Gulabi Talkies

The film is set in the late 1990s on a small fishing island near Kundapura. Gulabi is a passionate midwife whose love of cinema brings color to her lonely life. She navigates the routines and hardships of life among the island's fisherfolk.

Her husband Musa has deserted her and is living with his second wife and their child Adda. Gulabi endures this personal betrayal while continuing her essential work with the community. The separation compounds her isolation on the island.

A family grateful for her help during a difficult delivery gifts her a television with a satellite dish. They had to bodily remove her from a movie theatre to attend that delivery, highlighting how cinema and TV begin to intrude on her world. The gift marks the first big spark of change in the village.

The arrival of the first color TV marks a turning point for the village, broadening the communal experience. Women start gathering at Gulabi's house to watch, while some stay outside or away due to religious or social reasons. The TV becomes a focal point for the community.

With the men away fishing, Gulabi's home becomes a regular viewing space for the women who seek respite and shared entertainment. Some villagers feel comfortable entering; others watch from outside, reflecting social boundaries. The cinema within the home slowly reshapes daily life.

Netru, a girl with an absentee husband and a domineering mother-in-law, becomes Gulabi's confidante. Gulabi offers guidance and support, strengthening a fragile thread of friendship in the community. Their bond centers on the comfort and distraction the TV provides.

Netru vanishes, and Gulabi is accused of her disappearance, leading to suspicion and social ostracism. The village turns against Gulabi, leaving her increasingly isolated and vulnerable. Her position as a central caregiver is challenged by the rumors.

The Kargil War of 1999 and the rise of communalism provide a tense backdrop to events in the village. Muslims in the area face stereotyping and suspicion as national conflicts spill into local life. The mood shifts from neighborliness to fear and division.

Tensions intensify as small fishermen clash with a Muslim businessman who has a growing fleet of commercial trawlers. The businessman himself is never shown directly in the film, symbolizing how rumor and fear can shape perception. The conflict underscores the economic and communal fault lines in the island.

Amid escalating fear, the Muslim families flee and urge Gulabi to leave as well, but she refuses to abandon her homeland. Her decision to stay becomes a quiet act of resistance against displacement and communal pressure. The island society braces for further upheaval, anchored by her resilience.

Gulabi's house is vandalized, and she is forcibly taken toward a boat to leave the island. The attackers reassure villagers that her television would remain in her house, a symbolic concession amid the upheaval. The upheaval marks a violent turn in the community's response to her presence.

The film ends with two illiterate elderly women, who had previously refused to enter Gulabi's house, taking the step to enter and watch the TV. They do not even know how to switch it on, highlighting a generational and cultural shift sparked by the device. The ending foregrounds the enduring pull of television in the face of ignorance and change.