Oh boy, I nearly skipped out of this early morning film but I’m so glad I didn’t. It was a real cup filler.

It’s a documentary by Orlando von Einsiedel, based on a real story and we are told early on that a lot of of what we will see will be representations by real people.

The premise, as it is revealed to us, initially sounds super creepy. Dalit (the lowest Hindu caste) man PK has an astrology reading at birth that tells him he will marry someone from another land. She will be a Taurus, she will be musical, and she will own a jungle.

Destiny is a big thing in India, and perhaps it is something that is needed as a buffer against a caste system that gives you no room to move. It is hard to escape the entrenched discrimination that is so extreme that PK is not allowed to even touch anyone else. It has led to horrific abuses and murders by a system that is built on inherent power and hierarchy.

He has a talent for drawing though and, after moving to Delhi to try and escape the restrictions of his caste, he earns rupees drawing people’s portraits. This is where we see his inherent optimism and sociability as he chats to his clients and allows them to open up about their lives.

In 1977, one person who stops to have their portrait drawn is Lotta from Sweden. PK feels an immediate connection and then of course asks her if she is a Taurus, plays music and owns a jungle.

I think that might make any of us run for the hills but in the 70s, where the hippie trail took many a westerner to India, it is something that she is open to exploring. They strike up a friendship and then a holiday romance. When she leaves to go back to Sweden and doesn’t return as promised, he decides to buy a bicycle and cycle to Sweden. He doesn’t really know where that is but surely if he heads west, he’ll get there.

We are we are told the story by the current day PK and Lotta, and watch a re-enactment of their story by young actors (Mina Dale as Lotta and Chirag Lobo as PK). As the young PK cycles through many countries, he interacts with real people who also tell their stories. There is a genuine sense of drama as we arc of the story is hidden from us. Does he get there? Is it just a holiday romance for her? Is destiny a thing?

What stands out about this is the unstoppable optimism of PK, something that feels remarkable for someone who is born into such disadvantage. You can see what Lotta saw in him. The sense of place and personal stories told by the people he meets along the way also make this more than just a retelling of his story.

I won’t tell you the ending but it is warm and fulfilling and a suitable and to the story.