Ramchand Pakistani (2008)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Mehreen Jabbar

Writers:

Mohammad Ahmed (writer)
Javed Jabbar (writer)

Release Date:

1 August 2008 (Pakistan)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A 7 year old Pakistani boy and his father belonging to the untouchable Hindu caste accidentally cross the border and spend years in an Indian jail while the mother on the other side doesn't know what has happened to them.

Plot Keywords:

Border | Hindu | Pakistan | India

Cast

Nandita Das	...	Champa
Rashid Farooqi	...	Shankar
Fazal Hussain	...	Ramchand
Nouman Ijaz	...	Abdullah
Maria Wasti	...	Kamla

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Pakistan

Language:

Urdu

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Filming Locations:

Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan

Trivia:

One of the first films to be shot in Pakistan near the desert border with India.

Great movie; language warning

I went to see Ramchand Pakistani at Nishat the other day and while I have to say, people have yet to learn theater ethics (save the commentary for later, please!), it was fun.

This is only the 3rd Pakistani movie I've ever watched (Quaid, Khuda Kay Liye and this) and it was great. Granted, its nothing like the typical Pakistani Lollywood product, so if you want half-naked dances performed by 50 year-olds (who claim to be 18!), look elsewhere! The movie itself was great. Mehreen Jabbar's first attempt at a feature film and she pulled off the fine details quite nicely. Cinematography, casting, the acting and dialogues were good. Fazal Hussain, the boy who played the younger Ramchand was great - despite his age, his acting was marvelous and he played his role of a boy in prison very well.

Rashid Farooqi was also very good - his character was well rounded executed very nicely as well. All of the people in the cell with Ramchand and Shankar were excellent as well - the environment created and their acting also added to the believability of their situations. Noman Ijaz's character seemed very unnecessary to me.

My only complaint with it was the language. I'm not easily offended or anything, and I can understand that swearing added to the feel of the movie and characters, but come on, someone could have at least given a warning to the people about it! Some people had their kids with them and I don't want to imagine them trying to explain the meaning of the gesture Ramchand (the older one) made! Overall, I really liked the movie. It was an all-round, polished product and though there were some editing issues and a couple unexplained scenes I noticed, I suspect that was because of the censoring in the cinema house. It's based on a true story so that's an added point to ponder.

If nothing else, watch it for the "revival of cinema in Pakistan!" :D