Members of the Problematic Family

Prabha, a troubled and troublesome young man, has died under mysterious circumstances. Stunned and emotionally numb, Prabha’s mother Santhi, paternal uncle Sellam, cousins Dinesh and Mugil, and other members of the extended family go through the motions, preparing for a 16-day-long funeral that culminates in a feast. Who was Prabha? What does his loss mean to his community? Raw, unflinching and throbbing with abrasive energy, Gowtham’s bracing fictional debut weaves through a dozen characters who embody different ways of grappling with a violent breach in the social fabric. Their frenetic activity, hot-headed exchanges and delayed reflections together paint an expansive, at times absurd portrait of human nature. With an anthropologist’s eye, the filmmaker traces the complexities of bereavement, examining the ways in which grief manifests in the most unexpected moments and objects. Embracing men and women as they are, with their mad outpourings, sordid habits, abusive love, misplaced pride and casual cruelty, Members of the Problematic Family is a work of deep and uncompromising humanism. (Srikanth Srinivasan)

R Gowtham is a published poet in Tamil and has translated the works of Lydia Davis, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Amol Palekar into Tamil before foraying into amateur filmmaking. He has worked on short documentaries, heading content in TV for Zee Tamil and digital for Asiaville Tamil. Gowtham worked with director PS Vinothraj and was mentored by director Bramma. His documentary On the trails of Aandi was selected for the Vancouver Asian Film Festival 2023. His recent work includes Talking Poetry with Shankarramasubramaniam, a three-hour-long interview with the finest contemporary Tamil poet.

Director R Gowtham. Screenplay R Gowtham. Cinematography Siddharth Kathir. Editing Ganesh Nandhakumar P. Sound Design Ganesh Nandakumar P. Production Design Alexander Tamil Thambi. Producer Tamilarasan Kalidass. Co-Producer Mukesh Subramaniam. Production company Labyrinth Narritives (Chennai, India). With Karuththadayan, A.ra. Ajith Kumar, Uvesri, Kanchana Senthil, Saravana Siddharth, TPS aka T Panneerselvam, Aswine, Hari Krishnan, Thaen Iniyan, Thiyagu Kallu, Vijay Sooran.

World sales Platoon Distribution

Films: 2021: Talking Poetry with Shankarramasubramanian (documentary). 2023: Meetchi / Redemption (short film), On the trails of Aandi (short documentary, co-directed by Saravana Siddarth). 2026: Members of the Problematic Family.