MUMBAI: Following the success of Khuda Kay Liye, Percept Picture Company (PPC) is set to release another Pakistani Film Ramchand Pakistani on 22 August in India.
Directed by young Pakistani film-maker, Mehreen Jabbar, the film stars Bollywood actress Nandita Das, along with Pakistani actors Rashid Farooqui, Noman Ijaz, Maria Wasti, Navaid Jabbar and child actor Syed Fazal Hussain.
The plot of the movie is derived from a true story concerning the accidental crossing of the Pakistan-Indian border during a period of extreme, war-like tension between the two countries by two members of a Pakistani Hindu family belonging to the ‘untouchable‘ caste. It revolves around the boy and his father who accidentally cross the border into India from their village in Pakistan.
They end up spending five years in an Indian prison while the mother is left wondering about her husband‘s and son‘s whereabouts. The story aims to capture the plight of an eight-year old child who learns to cope with the trauma of forced separation from his mother while being held prisoner.
“The film is about a poor lonely woman who finds herself alone in an insensitive social and political system. The film is also a commentary on the mind set which declares the innocent victims of accidental and inadvertent border crossings as spies without proper investigation,” says Nandita Das.
Ramchand Pakistani is also the directorial debut for Jabbar, who has directed many television plays in Pakistan before this venture. The film was selected for the narrative section of the Tribeca Film Festival 2008, New York, and was screened at the Seattle International Film Festival, June and at 10 Osian Film Festival, New Delhi. It has been selected for the Rhode Island International Film Festival which is scheduled for 5-10 August.
Leave a Reply