The Good Road weaves three loosely connected stories along a stark highway in the Kutch region of Gujarat. A young Mumbai couple, David and Kiran, lose their small son Aditya, who ends up riding with two truckers, while a runaway girl named Poonam drifts toward danger on her way to her grandmother. Told in a hyperlink structure with mostly non-professional actors, the film lets the landscape and its wandering characters carry the meaning rather than the plot.
The Good Road did something no Gujarati film had done before. In 2013 the Film Federation of India picked Gyan Correa's debut as the country's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, beating the heavily favoured The Lunchbox, and the choice set off a national argument that nearly overshadowed the film itself. Strip away that noise and what remains is a small, patient road movie set on a lonely highway in the Kutch region of Gujarat, where three stories quietly cross paths.
Correa tells it in hyperlink form. A Mumbai couple lose their young son at a roadside dhaba, the boy ends up riding with two rough-edged truckers, and a runaway girl heads toward a place no child should go. There is no manufactured suspense and almost no plot mechanics. Critics split along that line. The Hollywood Reporter praised how the film succeeds cinematically and lets innocence light up the darkness, while Screen Daily found the visuals shrewd but the largely non-professional cast short on emotional force. Wogma's reviewer, working from the same footage, still filed it as a must watch for its rare maturity.
The strengths are real. Amitabha Singh's camera turns the bare Kutch terrain into something close to a character, the sound design carries as much weight as the images, and Correa trusts silence in a way Indian cinema rarely does. The weaknesses are just as real, a screenplay that strays from its own logic and a few performances too raw to land. It is a film to admire for its honesty and its landscape more than to be swept up by, and a genuine landmark for where Gujarati cinema could go.
Verdict
A quiet, landscape-driven road film that made history as Gujarat's first Oscar entry, more admired for its craft and honesty than loved for its drama.
What works
- Stark, sun-bathed Kutch landscapes
- Mature, unforced storytelling
- Strong sound design and framing
- Historic first Gujarati Oscar entry
What holds it back
- Deliberately slow, minimal drama
- Screenplay strikes false notes
- Some non-professional turns feel raw
- The lead can feel overplayed
Cast & crew
Writers: Gyan Correa
Music: Rajat Dholakia
Cast: Shamji Dhana Kerasia (Pappu), Sonali Kulkarni (Kiran), Ajay Gehi (David), Keval Katrodia (Aditya), Poonam Kesar Singh (Poonam), Priyank Upadhyay (Shaukat)
Producers: National Film Development Corporation of India, Rohandeep Singh
Watch the trailer
Play the official trailer on YouTubeMore Drama Gujarati films
Frequently asked
Is The Good Road worth watching?
A quiet, landscape-driven road film that made history as Gujarat's first Oscar entry, more admired for its craft and honesty than loved for its drama. Kevu Che rates it 3.5 out of 5.
What is The Good Road about?
The Good Road weaves three loosely connected stories along a stark highway in the Kutch region of Gujarat. A young Mumbai couple, David and Kiran, lose their small son Aditya, who ends up riding with two truckers, while a runaway girl named Poonam drifts toward danger on her way to her grandmother. Told in a hyperlink structure with mostly non-professional actors, the film lets the landscape and its wandering characters carry the meaning rather than the plot.
What is the IMDb rating of The Good Road?
The Good Road (2013) holds an IMDb rating of 6.1 out of 10.