Reviving the Pakistani Cinema, One Film at a Time

Produced by Mehreen's father, Javed Jabbar, Ramchand Pakistani is a fictionalized account of a real-life story of a Pakistani father and son of the Hindu dalit (untouchable) caste, living in the desert village of Bhimra near the Pakistan-India border. In 2002, as tensions between the two countries flare up following an attack on the Indian Parliament, eight-year old Ramchand (Syed Fazal Hussain) and his father, Shankar (Rashid Farooqui) inadvertently cross the marked but open border into India. The pair is immediately arrested and jailed by Indian security on suspicion of being spies. While the father and son spend years in prison (with an older Ramchand being played by Navaid Jabbar – no relation to the director), the mother, Champa (Nandita Das), struggles at home, awaiting their return. The screenplay is written by Mohammad Ahmed.
Das is of course the versatile Indian actress of Fire and Earth fame. Jabbar has put together a talented cast, which includes several well known actors from Pakistani television. Maria Wasti is Kamla the feisty prison officer, Noman Ijaz is the interloper Abdullah, who admires Champa from afar, and Shahood Alvi is the officer in-charge of the Indian prison.
Even though the protagonists of Ramchand are Pakistani Hindus wrongfully jailed in an Indian prison, this film is not about religion and not even about political ideologies. Instead, the film is about people and bonds forged out of circumstances. There are strong women characters and no unnecessary plot-twists. Mehreen, who was present at the SIFF screening, described the film herself as “a simple story of a family torn apart through no fault of their own.”
If you are looking for a hard-hitting film on the lives of prisoners in Indian or Pakistani jails, that is not this film. Here the prison is a bit too clean, the guards a bit too likeable, and the prisoners a bit too accepting of their grossly unjust fate. And perhaps the least interesting thing about the film is its unoriginal title. A film so beautifully done deserved a more intriguing title. But don't let that distract you.
Even in its soft representation of a troubling issue lies one of the strengths of the film. Ramchand focuses on the human similarities that draw us together even under adverse circumstances. In a way, the Indian prison guards holding the innocent prisoners are as much at the mercy of the system as the prisoners themselves. Resulting from decades of antagonism and suspicion between the two neighboring countries, the system of course is likely the same on both sides of the border.
Through the story of Ramchand and Shankar, Mehreen aptly brings attention to the plight of hundreds of innocent people held in both Indian and Pakistani jails in border-crossing cases, often forgotten in the system for many, many years. Although, here the protagonists are Pakistanis jailed in India , the film makes a point to remind us of the similarly situated innocent Indians jailed in Pakistan . Bollywood addressed this topic, though less directly, in a typical song-and-dance love-story, epic hit ‘Veer Zaara' in 2004.
Unlike Mehreen's short films and teleplays, which tend to consist of a small number of cast members – sometimes even just two, Ramchand is filled with a variety of characters. There are the cellmates with whom Shankar and Ramchand spend their years of imprisonment, the Indian prison guards, and the villagers back home in Pakistan . Each of the characters, the protagonists and a handful of supporting characters, is uniquely human with individual idiosyncrasies. It is a sign of a skilled director, when all the actors fit into their roles naturally as they do here.
On that note, all of the actors in this film, from supporting to the protagonists deserve credit for their fine performances. Child actor, Syed Fazal Hussain, playing the younger Ramchand, is superb as he very naturally portrays a range of emotions – childish curiosity, anger, fear, and longing. The 12-year Navaid Jabbar, playing the older Ramchand, is a newcomer with an endearing smile. To Mehreen's credit, the transition between the two actors is so craftily done that it is tempting to believe that we are actually watching the same child develop into an adolescent. Of course, the alluring Nandita Das shines in her role as usual. Among the cellmates, the political activists Sharma (Adnan Shah) and Vishesh (Saleem Mairaj), who has lost his mind from being locked up for some ten years, make a lasting impression.
The cinematography is beautiful. Sofian Khan captures the desert skyline of the Thar in riveting wide shots, making it a film worth watching on the big screen. The musical director is India 's Debajyoti Mishra, whom Jabbar recruited after being impressed with his work for the Indian film Raincoat . And with lyrics by the renowned Pakistani writer, Anwar Maqsood, performed by Shafqat Amanat Ali and the Indian singer, Shubha Mudgal, the film is a truly collaborative effort between Indian and Pakistani artists - a recent phenomenon that seems to be occurring with an increasing frequency. Mehreen's co-editor, Aseem Sinha, is also from India .
Pakistan 's once-strong film industry has suffered from severe neglect and lack of funding over the past thirty years, making television the primary source of entertainment. Ramchand is the latest among a sporadic number of films marking a slow but hopeful re-emergence of a viable film scene in the country. While the talented Sabiha Sumar raised the standards high with her finely directed Khamosh Pani , films like Raat Chali Jhoom Kay ( A Long Night ) (2001) by Hasan Zaidi and last year's super hit among Pakistani audiences around the world, Khuda Kay Liye (In the Name of God), were refreshingly bold and non-formulaic. Still, despite its relevant subject, Khamosh Pani didn't get a theatrical release in Pakistan , and Raat and KKL could not compete on an international scale. Raat , about a young man's late night adventure in a seedy part of the busy city of Karachi , was an all-too-obvious low budget production. KKL tells the story of two musician brothers from Pakistan who take two very divergent paths. One comes to America to attend a music school, only to suffer dire consequences in a post-9/11 America, while the other is persuaded by zealots to join the ‘jihad' in Afghanistan. Even with a much higher production quality and being credited with bringing the mainstream audiences back to the theaters in Pakistan , KKL suffered from some very weak acting by some of the cast members. A small number of short films by Pakistani filmmakers screening at various festivals over past several years have also been signaling the talents that are yet to emerge.
After the commercial success of KKL in India and Pakistan last year, Ramchand is now the second Pakistani film to have a theatrical release in India. As for the audiences in Pakistan, release of Ramchand has given them another reason to return to the theaters.
This film is yet another sign that the Pakistani indie filmmakers may yet succeed in reviving the country's ailing film industry and competing in the international film scene.
Mehreen Jabbar currently divides her time between Pakistan and the United States. More on the film at: http://www.ramchandpakistani.com.