Film

Pushpaka Vimana

Name: Pushpaka Vimana
Genre: Comedy, Family, Drama
Released: 2017
Cast: Ramesh Aravind, Yuvina Parthavi, Rachita Ram, Juhi Chawla Mehta, Ravi Kale

Other titles called Pushpaka Vimana: the 1987 film.

Family drama

A Kannada film about a father with intellectual disability and his daughter, bound by their shared obsession with aeroplanes. It's a genuinely funny family drama that doesn't patronise its characters—warm, occasionally heartbreaking, anchored by Ramesh Aravind's performance. For anyone who loves character-driven stories that balance humour with real emotion.

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Like Stars on Earth2007

A father discovers his son's learning disability and fights to let him learn his own way. Like Pushpaka Vimana, it finds humour and dignity in neurodivergence without ever becoming maudlin or condescending.

But The emotional beats can feel orchestrated, and it occasionally veers toward inspirational-film territory that some find manipulative.

Hey Ram2000

Kamal Haasan plays a man whose grip on reality fractures. It's gorgeously shot, formally inventive, and deeply interested in how the mind works—both funny and unsettling in ways that linger.

But Deliberately oblique and sometimes frustrating. Haasan's performance is committed but not always warm, and the film resists easy catharsis.

Eighth Grade2018

Bo Burnham's film about a thirteen-year-old girl navigating adolescence is excruciatingly observant and funny. It has the same eye for how people actually talk and move that makes Pushpaka Vimana feel lived-in.

But Relentlessly contemporary—smartphones, social media, TikTok—which feels immediate but may date faster than more timeless stories.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Pushpaka Vimana

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom1976

Both films use their outsider protagonists to indict how the 'normal' world sorts and punishes difference. But where Pushpaka Vimana offers humour and grace, Pasolini offers apocalyptic rage.

Pasolini's film about descent into degradation is surreal, visually hypnotic, and structured as a picaresque journey. It shares with Pushpaka Vimana an interest in how society sorts and discards people deemed 'other'—though Pasolini goes to extremes of provocation.

But Relentlessly transgressive, sexually graphic, and brutal. It's a challenge to watch and not intended as entertainment. Many will find it pointless or obscene rather than illuminating.

Moonlight2016

Three chapters of a boy becoming a man, shot with visual poetry. It finds grace and complexity in marginalized characters; the quiet intensity of its observation echoes Pushpaka Vimana's approach.

But Deliberately paced and often wordless. If you need plot momentum or clear exposition, you will find it slow and obscure.

Udaan2010

A boy and his father rebuild their relationship against the strictness of his father's world. Indian cinema doing intimate family drama with real restraint and naturalism—rarely sentimental, always true.

But Shot in a stark, almost austere style that some find bleak rather than beautiful. The father is not sympathetic, which can make the film feel cold.

Natrang2010

Marathi film about an ageing man rediscovering theatre. It's alive with colour and music, and treats its protagonist—not traditionally admirable—with complete human respect and tenderness.

But Dialogue-heavy and Marathi-language; the subtitles demand attention, and the pacing is unhurried for some tastes.

Jai Bhim2021

Tamil film about a lawyer pursuing a case of police brutality. It's funny, moving, and completely unsentimental about suffering. Shares Pushpaka Vimana's refusal to make its marginalized characters tragic or inspirational.

But Angry and sometimes brutal. At nearly three hours, it's relentless in its examination of injustice, which some find exhausting rather than cathartic.

Lucia2013

Kannada film about a woman addicted to sleeping pills, shot like a dream. Visually stunning and formally experimental, it gets inside a mind working differently than the world expects.

But Deliberately surreal and fragmented. If you want conventional narrative and clarity, this will feel like watching a fever dream rather than a story.

A Silent Voice: The Movie2016

Like Pushpaka Vimana, it takes disability seriously without tragedy or inspiration porn. Both ask: how do we include people society wants to exclude? Both answer: with love and obstinacy.

Japanese anime about a boy seeking redemption for his childhood bullying of a deaf girl. Exquisitely animated, deeply empathetic about disability, shame, and the possibility of repair. Visual storytelling at its most moving.

But Anime format puts many off instantly, even excellent ones. It's also structurally complex, with timelines that jump, and the emotional intensity is relentless.

Chained for Life2019

All three films centre characters the world calls 'damaged' and refuse that framing entirely. Pushpaka Vimana does it through warmth; this one does it through formal rebellion and refusal to be legible to a normal gaze.

Two conjoined twins navigate cinema and identity in this experimental, formally daring film. It's playful, angry, and brilliant about how we look at difference—and how cinema looks, period. Rare and rewarding.

But Black-and-white, deliberately fractured narrative, meta-theatrical. It's as much provocation as story, and refuses comfort or resolution. Genuinely difficult to watch in every way.