Movie Review: Distinctive performances, tight script and realistic storyline; Before Life After Death on Netflix manages to strike the right balance

Anshul Tiwari’s Before Life After Death gives a unique insight into the lives of Indians living in Singapore. The film delves deep into the disparity between working and upper-class Singaporeans of Indian origin, and does so with such finesse and sensitivity.

Be it the distinctive performances, tight script or appropriate portrayals, the film has surely managed to strike the right balance.

In the film, a rebellious female student and a reticent middle-aged gynecologist, both of Indian origin, strike up an unlikely bond as they each confront a life-altering incident.

The film depicts a Singapore where the Indian community is not seen as outsiders but rather rooted in the land and working with the complexity of Singapore’s social norms.
The film is produced by Tiwari’s FilmsPositive and Namita Lal’s NutzAboutMe. Namita also plays an important role in the film. Her portrayal as Radhika is powerful, to say the least. Her character is dealing with the loss of a child, and is surely someone everyone will relate to. The film’s USP seems to be the perfect balance they manage to strike with the performances. This is also true for the performances of Gauraangi Chopra and Adrian Pang.

Gauraangi Chopra plays the role of Gauri Singh, who represents the life of an adult, who was neglected as a child. Not having her mom and her father always busy working, she wasn’t paid much attention. Hence, the child looked for love and when she found it, she wasn’t ready to give up on it.

Radhika plays the role of a doctor and a mother who has recently lost her child. There is a scene in the film where Radhika wakes up and goes to her husband saying, “Wo chali gyi” repeatedly. While it is immensely heartbreaking, it also carefully chronicles the journey of trauma a bereaved mother and a mother-to-be goes through. The movie ends on a powerful and positive note of hope and a sense of purpose.