‘Tourist Family’: A necessary dose of positivity
Abishan Jeevinth’s film is an immigrant comedy that argues for taking a chance on your neighbour
When I first watched Tourist Family, I thought it one of the lovelier films I’ve seen, but also declared it too-positive-for-me. “Not enough to write about," I told a friend. Perhaps I was wrong, for Tourist Family has refused to leave my head since.
In writer-director Abishan Jeevinth’s debut film, the titular family are immigrant Sri Lankans who find their way to India by sea—illegally. Citing the country’s economic crisis as the reason, Dharmadas (Sasikumar) and Vasanthi (Simran) flee Jaffna with their two sons, Nithushan (Mithun Jai Sankar) and Mulli (Kamalesh Jagan). Vasanthi’s brother Prakash (Yogi Babu), once an illegal refugee himself, helps them out, from their entry in Rameshwaram to a settlement colony in Chennai.
From the offset, the family’s journey is perilously funny, which defines the film’s core: yes, life is sad, but you need to be able to laugh at it. Dharmadas (or Das) is a kind man, almost too kind, much to the annoyance of his elder son, who’s upset at being torn away from his home. Das’ overt consideration for others is ironic, because he’s in no position to be charitable and could do with help himself. In contrast, Mulli, the younger son, is an easy adapter and quick thinker. When an inspector detains the family, he manages to get them freed by appealing to the emotional father inside the cop.
The biggest hurdle that Das and his family faced was, in fact, crossing the sea and coming to India. The worst thing that could happen already did. Every other conflict is less Herculean in comparison. However, it is these little problems and events that their world turns around; the dominos which will either hold their life together or cause it to crumble, leading to the only thing worse than leaving their home—going back to it. Slowly and surely, the family forges connections with the people around them. The film initially warns us not to trust anyone, but support and solidarity can be accessed if one takes the time to learn, as Das does. The neighbours, who first seem uninviting and non-inclusive, become their community, they grow to care for the family.
Incidentally, Simran played a mother in another film briefly touching upon the Sri Lankan refugee crisis, Mani Ratnam’s Kannathil Muthamittal (2002). Language was the centrepiece of conflict and revolution in Sri Lanka; the desire for self-determination fuelled by language is common to many Indian and Sri Lankan Tamils. Although the film is not concerned with this, it is language that provides common ground for the residents to create kinship with the tourist family.
I was at first confused why a North Indian cop, Ramkumar Prasanna’s Balwan Singh, is the face of police brutality in a Tamil film. The reasoning seems to be that a Hindi-speaking, non-native would be incapable of sympathising with Sri Lankan Tamils as the natives could. Jeevinth’s film uses the very language that is often caricaturized in Hindi films, but as a means of solidarity.
The constant reinforcement of positivity is sometimes tiring but ultimately necessary. The film makes a strong case against increasing cynicism, and argues for taking chances on people even at the risk of being hurt. Care and attention are imperative to rehabilitation. The film shows us how individual actions cause ripples that change what’s around us—we affect the world as it affects us.
Despite its overt positivity, Tourist Family is not without melancholy. Das is a troubled man. Leaving one’s home and letting go of one’s roots is not a small sacrifice. Disrupting your present for the possibility of a better future is not easy. This migration causes friction between the father and the elder son. Nithu is angry at his father, making us wonder if the man has some skeletons in his closet back home.
Though a film about immigrant displacement, prejudice, death and grief, these themes are delicately wrapped in comedy perfectly timed in big and small moments. Perhaps this is the film’s biggest win—the characters make you laugh with and at them.
I’m wary of films that are too positive, but this one I've come around to. Every conflict here turns into something that’s either laughable or solvable. While that may not always be true in real life, Tourist Family is a much-needed hug in times of divisive politics. It reveals that kindness must go around for it to come back. It’s an attempt to say, you may not love thy neighbour, but you must try to befriend them.
‘Tourist Family’ is on JioHotstar.
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