Pihu(2017) is Nightmare of every New Parent #187

I recently watched the 2017 movie, Pihu. It’s quite different from typical Bollywood films. The only character is a two-year-old toddler named Pihu. There are other voices in the movie that you’ll hear throughout.

Pihu woke up the morning after her extravagant birthday party. Sweet little Pihu will melt your heart instantly. She lives in a huge apartment with her parents, and the house was littered with dirty dishes, balloons, leftover food, and beer bottles.

Little Pihu went to her parents’ bedroom where her mom lay lifeless on the bed. There were marks on her wrist and traces of blood around the corner of her lips. She had lost all hope with her husband and committed suicide after a night-long argument. She suspected him of having an affair with her friend—which was revealed later in the movie.

Pihu tried to wake her mom, unaware of death. Like any other toddler, she began playing alone. She switched on the TV and kept calling for her mom to come out of the room. No emotional music or drama—but the way this little girl called for her deceased mother broke my heart.

Pihu eventually got hungry, so she went to her mom first. When she got no response, she looked for her feeding bottle – only to find that all the milk had spilled from it when she tried to reach it on the counter. She then found some bread in the kitchen and attempted to warm it up in both the microwave and gas oven – but ended up burning it.

Pihu, two years old, turned on the gas oven and the geyser but didn’t know how to turn them off. Her father called her mother’s cell phone; he had traveled to a different city for business and forgotten to switch off the iron after pressing his clothes. Although still in a bitter mood and loathing conversation with his wife, he worried Pihu might get hurt.

Pihu burned her finger on the iron and almost fell from the balcony railing while trying to save her doll. She got locked in the fridge while playing and poured floor cleaner (which looked like milk) into her feeding bottle, spilling it accidentally. Such incidents throughout the day are every parent’s nightmare with little kids.

Pihu kept calling her mum for every little and big thing. She needed to go to the toilet but couldn’t wash herself, so she ran to her mother and said, “Mumma, there’s poo in my hand.”

She applied ointment to her mother’s face to soothe her. She slept next to her mum, played, and then slept again. Pihu’s father called several times that day and finally realized something was wrong; he rushed to the airport and caught a flight immediately. Pihu took the sleeping pills scattered on the floor that her mum had taken—I found this part unrealistic as little kids wouldn’t eat bitter things with such enthusiasm—but I was thrilled when she survived taking a number of them. Walking on wet floors where the geyser blast posed potential danger of short circuit; there were many dangerous ways for the movie to end, but I won’t complain about it.

The movie was an hour and a half long, showing only Pihu doing dangerous things while alone in her house. It didn’t clarify the marriage dispute of her parents, but it compelled me to think about the bond between a mother and child.

Taking care of the infant’s every small and big need, from cleaning dirty pants to feeding them every few hours—a mother’s contribution is beyond imagination. The movie may not have a moral, but it made me appreciate my mom—an absolute blessing in my life.

This movie was great. It kept me on the edge of my seat, praying, “Please save this child.” Every moment that Pihu survived in the movie was no less than miracle.

Credit: Photo by Paloma A. on Unsplash

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