FILM -To Die a Frenchman

To Die a Frenchman
(2026; 80min; Tamil with English Subtitles)
Director/Producer/Cinematographer and Editor: Pankaj Rishi Kumar

In the crumbling neighbourhood of Ville Noir in Pondicherry, seventy-year-old Monsieur Mounissamy lives as a relic of a world that no longer exists. Each July 14th, (French National Day) he unfurls a flag mirroring the French tricolour, and sings in trembling, imperfect French—an anthem to a “Mother France” he believes could still reclaim him. He fights tirelessly for French citizenship and a tiny plot of Indian land but his life ends unexpectedly. His quiet rebellion looms like a haunting reflection on fractured identities and unhealed colonial wounds.

(Collaboration: Kriti Film Club)