When his grandmother who suffers from dementia unexpectedly moves in, ten-year-old Arjun’s world is upended. Unable to comprehend his grandmother’s increasingly erratic behavior and frustrated with the sudden competition over his mother’s attention, Arjun must find a way to cope with his precarious new reality.
Intimately observed from the perspective of the young boy, Dekho is a nuanced intergenerational tale of family dynamics at a time of existential crisis. Casting her own son as Arjun and embodying the role of the mother herself, Manjinder Vrik palpably taps into a very personal place, and examines old age and mortality with depth, compassion, and astonishing clarity.
Manjinder Virk
Manjinder Virk is an award-winning actress, writer, and director. Her short films include Out Of Darkness, starring Riz Ahmed, Tom Hiddleston, and Noma Dumezwani; Things We Never Said, starring Shazad Latif, and most recently, Dekho. Finalist for the Women in Playwriting Prize with The Room (chosen from 1,275 entries), she was a 2025 Writer on Attachment at London’s National Theatre. She is currently developing two features as a writer and director: Things We Never Said and Flags.
