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Starring: Nandita Das,
Rashid Farooqui, Syed Fazal Hussain, Maria Wasti, Noman
Ijaz, Navaid Jabbar, Adarsh Ayaz, Farooq Pario, Adnan
Shah
Directed by Mehreen Jabbar
‘Ramchand Pakistani’ is derived from a true story
concerning the accidental crossing of the
Pakistan-Indian border during a period (June 2002) of
extreme, war-like tension between the two countries by
two members of a Pakistani Hindu family belonging to the
'untouchable' (Dalit) caste, and the extraordinary
consequences of this unintended action upon the lives of
a woman, a man, and their son.
The film portrays the lives
of a family that is at the bottom of a discriminatory
religious ladder and an insensitive social system, which
is nevertheless tolerant, inclusive and pluralist. The
irony is compounded by the fact that such a family
becomes hostage to the acrimonious political
relationship between two neighbor-states poised on the
brink of war.
This is possibly the first film post-1971 (after the
loss of East Pakistan) in which the central characters
of a Pakistani film are Pakistani Hindus. In a country
where 97% of the people are Muslims, Hindus constitute
only about 1.5% of the non-Muslim population.
The film is a human interest
story set in South Asia but with universal appeal about
a family that is at the bottom of social, religious and
economic hierarchies, both by virtue of being
non-Muslims in a predominantly Muslim society, and by
being from the “untouchable” Dalit (Kohli) caste in the
Hindu faith. Yet, the film’s theme and story promote
secular, non-sectarian values.
This is also a story of a woman’s struggle for emotional
security and survival in the face of great adversity —
and a child’s coming of age well before time.
CREW:
Directed By: Mehreen Jabbar
Written And Produced By : Javed Jabbar
Screenplay: Mohammad Ahmed
Cinematographer: Sofian Khan
Editors: Aseem Sinha, Mehreen Jabbar
Music Director: Debajyoti Mishra
Associate Producer: Mariam Mukaty
Creative Consultant: Sonia Rehman Qureshi
Sound Recording & Sound Design: Jesse James Mailings
Lyrics: Anwar Maqsood
Singers: Shuhba Mudgal Shafqat Amanat Ali
Production Designer: Aqeel Ur Rehman
First Assistant Director: Mohammed Ahmed
Second Assistant Director And Script Assistant: Farrukh
Faiz
Second Assistant Director: Saboor Haider
Third Assistant Director: Nadir Arbab Nadir
Third Assistant Director: Najeeha Rehman Qadri
Production Managers: Shakeel Rana, Mohammad Rahimutoola
Production Assistants: Sultan Khan, Naheed Malik
Make-Up: Syed Mumtaz Hussain, Faisal Khan
Head Gaffer: Nina Kuhn
Best Boy: Habibullah
Hd Technician: Josef Shafer
Still Photographer: Kohdayar Marri
Behind The Scenes Videographer: Sameer Usmani
Di Facility: Postworks, New York
Senior Di Producer: Mathew Reedy
Online Editor: Savvas Paritsis
Di Colorist: Scot Olive
Re-Recording Mixer: Patrick Donahue
Special Acknowledgement: Jeremiah Hawkins
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The singular theme of the
film is how a child from Pakistan aged eight years learns
to cope with the trauma of forced separation from his
mother while being held prisoner, along with his father in
the jail of a country i.e. India, which is hostile to his
own, while on the other side of the border, the
wife-mother, devastated by their sudden disappearance
builds a new chapter of her life, by her solitary struggle
for sheer survival.
Belonging to one of the lowest
castes in Hinduism (one of the “untouchables”), the family
is also part of a small minority of Hindus in a country,
which is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, in which 97% of
the people are Muslims. The boy and his father are held
captive in India where, in contrast to Pakistan, the
overwhelming majority of about 80% comprises of Hindus.
This is the first full-length
feature film for cinema directed by a young Pakistani
woman director, Mehreen Jabbar. Her work reflects a deep
concern for the individual identity, rights and
empowerment of women.
Nandita Das has convincingly
played a lead role in the film as a Pakistani Hindu woman.
One of India’s leading music directors, Debajyoti Mishra,
has composed the background music and 4 background songs,
3 of which also feature the voice of one of the leading
Indian woman singers, Ms Shubha Mudgal. A
widely-acknowledged Indian film editor, Aseem Sinha has
also co-edited the film with the Director.
- Shaami M. Irfan
Cast and Credits:
Nandita Das - Champa
Rashid Farooqui - Shankar
Syed Fazal Hussain - Ramchand
Maria Wasti - Kamla
Noman Ijaz - Abdullah
Navaid Jabbar - Ramchand (Older)
Adarsh Ayaz - Moti
Farooq Pario - Suresh
Adnan Shah - Sharma
Shahood Alvi - Superintendent Asif
Atif Badar - Lalu
Zhalay Sarhadi - Lakhshmi
Saleem Mairaj - Vishesh
Master Yaqoob - Baba Gull
Karim Bux Baloch - Lateef Baloch
Saif E Hasan - Landlord Middle Man
Hasan Niazi - Deepak
Iqbal Motilani - Mullah
Rao Salim - Indian Border Security Force Interrogator
Sajjid Shah - Indian Border Security Force Inspector
Anis Chachar - Pakistan Rangers Captain
Asghar Katchi - Indian Border Security Guard
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