A boy in abject poverty works in a hotel and becomes obsessed with a swimming pool in the opulent hills of Panjim, Goa, India. His life gets turned upside-down when he attempts to meet the mysterious family who lives at the house.
The Pool (2007) Online
Coming of age. Venkatesh is 18, illiterate; he cleans hotel rooms in Panjim, Goa, and sells plastic bags on the street with his 10-year-old partner, Jhangir, an enterprising orphan. He's fascinated by the swimming pool on a vacant estate, and when the owner shows up from Bombay with his teen daughter, Venkatesh watches them from a tree and follows the girl when she's out. He and Jhangir start a friendship with her. The father and daughter are at odds, hardly speaking; tragedy is in their past. Venkatesh helps the father in the garden; short, odd conversations evolve into a gruff offering of a job and schooling in Bombay. What will Venkatesh do with this opportunity?
Credited cast: | |||
Nana Patekar | - | Nana | |
Venkatesh Chavan | - | Venkatesh | |
Jhangir Badshah | - | Jhangir | |
Ayesha Mohan | - | Ayesha | |
Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
Krishna Appa | - | Chai stand owner | |
Ganga Chavan | - | Ganga - Venkatesh's sister | |
Parvati Chavan | - | Parvati - Venkatesh's sister | |
Somawa Chavan | - | Venkatesh's mom | |
Keshav Dalasi | - | Room boy | |
Sheikh Abdul Gaffar | - | Bag seller | |
Pandari Gosavi | - | New room boy | |
Mahesh Gowas | - | Boy in alley | |
Prakash Gowas | - | Laundry guy | |
Raghunath Gobind Kabadia | - | Guy at sign | |
Vikram Keni | - | Fisherman |
Nana Patekar, who wasn't cast until three months into production, at first refused to star in the film as he was taking a year off. After being shown footage of the movie, he changed his mind.
When The Pool didn't get into the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes, which had been the plan, the director decided to re-edit the film. About 9 minutes was cut.
The makers did not intend the movie to be in Hindi. However, when they began casting, director Chris Smith claimed that most of the promising actors did not speak English.
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