You are here:

Dear Dad

Name: Dear Dad
Director: Tanuj Bhramar
Released: 2016
Duration: 84 min

Representation Score

5.5/10

Fair

2016

Director

Tanuj Bhramar

Runtime

84 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Dear Dad functions as a character study that deconstructs traditional patriarchal hierarchies. By utilizing a road trip format, the film moves away from rigid authority toward a more communicative, vulnerable relationship between father and son. The film succeeds in disrupting conventional masculine roles through emotional exposure. It replaces the infallible leader archetype with a flawed, humanized portrayal of fatherhood. While the film offers a nuanced look at interpersonal dynamics, it lacks explicit representation in certain categories. The focus remains primarily on the emotional landscape of the central duo.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Dear Dad have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film hints at identity discovery through unexpected confessions. While queer identities are not explicitly confirmed, the narrative moves away from standard family archetypes.

How does Dear Dad portray gender?

Fair

The story subverts the stoic father cliché by emphasizing emotional vulnerability. Nitin's character presents a fluid, exposed masculinity rather than a strictly disciplined or authoritative one.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Dear Dad?

Fair

Set within an Indian context, the film avoids a Western-normative lens. It centers an indigenous journey from Delhi to Mussoorie, providing ability to act to local characters encountered along the way.

How does Dear Dad represent religion and culture?

Good

The narrative prioritizes individual experience over rigid religious or social structures. It favors a complex, secular human experience over an idealized or moralistic view of the family unit.

Does Dear Dad include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no documented evidence regarding the inclusion of characters with visible or invisible disabilities in this story.

Present on Screen

Deconstructs traditional patriarchal hierarchies by emphasizing emotional vulnerability.
Subverts the 'stoic father' cliché through a more fluid portrayal of masculinity.
Avoids Western-normative lenses by centering an indigenous Indian journey.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit confirmation or representation of LGBTQ+ identities.
Provides no documented evidence of characters with disabilities.
The cast appears ethnically homogeneous within its specific cultural setting.

Official Synopsis

Dear Dad is a bittersweet coming of age story; involving a father-son duo – 14 year old Shivam, and his 45 year old dad Nitin Swaminathan. The father-son duo embarks on an impromptu road trip from their home, in Delhi, to Mussorie (Uttarakhand), where Shivam attends boarding school. Unexpected confessions, weird strangers, accidental meetings, a drunken escapade and singing in the rain – all these add up to a complicated and sweet tale.

How are these scores produced? →