In this ambitious yet moving hybrid documentary, celebrated actor Danny Pudi (Community, DuckTales) goes on a mission to learn about his estranged Telugu father shortly after his death. Collaborating with New York based director Arpita Mukherjee, Pudi devises a script detailing a playful, throwback video game concept that literally takes him down portals towards his father’s past. Switching to a more traditional documentary mode, Pudi interviews his dad’s inner circle, learning about his youthful brush with Rishi Kapoor, his love of American sports, and the painful day he abandoned his Polish wife, when Pudi was just two.
As we run alongside Pudi through the maze of mystery, an homage really to the modalities of the theater, a marvelous realization dawns: all the world can in fact be a stage for our intimacies, and with the help of “super memory” and old acquaintance, the long departed can become more known and closer to us.
Arpita Mukherjee
Arpita Mukherjee is a New York-based writer and director who made her Broadway debut as the resident director of The Kite Runner. Mukherjee previously directed Bollywood Kitchen by Sri Rao (Geffen Playhouse), House of Joy by Madhuri Shekar (San Diego Rep), and Eh Dah: Questions for my Father by Aya Aziz (Next Door at New York Theatre Workshop). Mukherjee has developed work at the Public Theater, WP Theater, and O’Neill Theater Center, amongst others. She is a 2021 Resident Director at the Drama League, a 2018-2020 Women’s Project Lab Member, a 2018 Eugene O’ Neill National Directing Fellows, and a Lincoln Center Directors Lab alumna. Mukherjee directed Running, a film written by and starring Danny Pudi. She also co-wrote the screenplay for the Disney+ Hotstar film Gulmohar with director Rahul Chittella. Mukherjee is currently developing projects for WIIP, AMC, and a Netflix feature directed by Mira Nair, with music by Pharrell Williams. Mukherjee is the co-founder and artistic director of Hypokrit. Mukherjee is the co-author of the book Monsoon Wedding, The Musical.
