A child is scolded by teachers for doing a drawing with a pink sky. His mother, in response, tells him that our skies can be any colour we want it to be – so if he chooses pink, make it pink.

The lesson is clear: We are given choices in life in terms of seeing the world and responding to what we see. We can choose to see what is there, or instead see things in much brighter, more intense, ultimately more uplifting ways.

Everything is subject to this approach – even death.

THE SKY IS PINK begins with Aditi and Niren (Chopra Jonas and Farhan Akhtar). The couple learns they are about to have another child which will test them since their genetic make-up includes a defective gene that shows-up in their children as a serious immune deficiency. They have already lost one child that did not survive a year; they got lucky with their toddler son who has shown no signs of carrying the immune deficiency.

Now their will, their relationship, their hearts, and their resolve will all be tested as Aisha enters their lives.

We are told Aisha will die, but we aren’t told how and when. What’s incredible is that even though the film shows its hand, it doesn’t lessen the impact one bit as the film finally plays its cards. THE SKY IS PINK wants us to know that death is always inevitable. The only thing that matters is what we do with life, and then what we do with feelings of loss when death comes into our orbit.

Shonali Bose has told a powerful story with THE SKY IS PINK. She fills what could easily unfold as a sad tale with so much joy, so much passion. She wants us to understand that life isn’t about what we shy away from, but what we fully embrace – sadness, pain, anger, loss. These feelings are real and are even necessary to empathize and understand each-other.

Life, as this film puts it, is about understanding pain – in ourselves and in others.

With all of that heaviness and introspection on its mind, THE SKY IS PINK could easily be a heavy burden to sit though. Happily, Shonali Bose understands this and has come to lessen the load. This film is joyous – it is colourful, it is energetic, comical, and so very full of love that it makes the heart burst. There are many who would wear a dark suit to a story such as this; Bose has asked that we come in a red dress.

THE SKY IS PINK is a love story: The love of a spouse, of a child, of a parent, of a sibling, of a community, and the love for life itself. It wants us to see how far love can take us, and how love put out into the world can return greatly amplified. It knows that love can come with agony, but likewise provide great mercy. That love is the very fabric of what makes up our lives as it informs our choices and those made in our name.

The film is a love story, because life itself is a love story – and true love is never fully lost.