The curtain fell on The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2025 with the screening of The Teacher’s Gift—one of the films that marked the festival’s closing. A British–Indian collaboration that lingers long after its ninety minutes, it stars Rajdeep Choudhury, Anthony Calf and Anjali Patil, and unfolds as a sweeping journey across geographies and hearts, weaving together longing, loss, and unfinished business.
Young Rohan teaches Hindi in London, having struggled greatly to make his way to Britain. Back in India, his mother is anxious for him to marry Arushi, a young woman from home. Arushi, a dynamic businesswoman, lives under the shadow of an overbearing father who disapproves of her relationship with Avi, a colleague at her office.
Meanwhile, back in London, a British man named Charles joins Rohan’s classes. There is an air of mystery about him, tinged with sadness, as he gazes pensively at Rohan. Charles requests extra lessons at home, and after some initial reluctance, Rohan agrees. At Charles’s opulent mansion, Rohan meets his daughter Harriet, who is openly antagonistic towards him for reasons that remain unfathomable.
With Arushi’s sudden arrival in London, the main characters begin to converge. At their first meeting, Arushi and Rohan drop their pretences and quickly form a bond. The story then shifts to Goa, where Arushi accompanies Rohan and Charles, who has unfinished business to resolve. In Goa, they stay in a beautiful Portuguese-style villa. It is here that the pace quickens with Charles’s mysterious disappearance and a flashback involving another character, Trevor, leading to a climax that finally reveals The Teacher’s Gift.
At the Melbourne screening, Rajdeep Choudhury, who wears the hats of actor, co-writer, and visionary, said, “I am always hunting,” when asked where his ideas spring from. As Rohan, he strikes the right balance of strength and fragility, portraying a man shaped by hardship, including a childhood scarred by an alcoholic father. The screenplay, co-written with Will d Parry and Arthur Ribeiro, benefits from its precision, while director Artur Ribeiro steers the tale with a keen eye for both intimacy and suspense.
Despite the tight script, there are memorable inserts such as Rohan playing cricket in a London park, and a pair of swans gliding through the rain, mirroring Charles’s loneliness. Another striking detail appears in the Goan villa, where a green John le Carré paperback rests quietly on a bookshelf, hinting at psychological complexities and underlying suspense.
Performances add fire to the film’s soul. Anjali Patil delivers a scene-stealing performance as Arushi, bringing depth and vitality to the role. Anthony Calf, as Charles, excels as the central protagonist, driving the narrative forward from the moment he appears on screen. The soundtrack is another strong feature of the film, with uplifting compositions, including an original score by Portuguese composer and conductor Nuno Côrte-Real.
For the Indian segments, the music comes alive through the raw energy of a band of talented boys from the slums of Mumbai, their sound adding authenticity and grit to the film’s emotional core. A Teacher’s Gift is produced by Eric Ollerenshaw OBE, former UK Member of Parliament, and John Rowe. The film has also been recognised internationally, winning the Flame Award for Best British Asian Film for Bridging Cultures at the UK Asian Film Festival 2025.
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