Ramchand Pakistani


Ramchand Pakistani is a 2008 Urdu-language Pakistani drama film directed by Mehreen Jabbar and produced by Javed Jabbar.
The film features Nandita Das, Rashid Farooqi, Syed Fazel Hussain, Maria Wasti and Noman Ijaz in lead roles. The film is based on the true story of a boy who inadvertently crosses the border between Pakistan and India and the following ordeal that his family has to go through. Ramchand Pakistani was also released in India.
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Plot

Champa is a Hindu woman who is left desolate when her young son and husband disappear one day from their village at the India-Pakistan border near Nagarparkar, in the Tharparkar district of the Sindh province. The film depicts the crossing of the India-Pakistan border, during a period of 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 is about a Hindu Dalit family living in Pakistan peacefully. Ramchand, the main protagonist who is 8 years old, is the son of Shankar and Champa. One day, after an altercation with his mother, Ramchand runs away in anger and, accidentally, crosses the Indo-Pakistan border into India. His father follows him and, he too, crosses the border into India.
After being arrested by the border security personnel, they are sent to a prison in India and stay there for a long time. They get a release order soon, but later it turns out to be a mistake and they are sent back to the jail. Ramchand, the 8 years old boy, and his father Shankar are unregistered prisoners during much of their stay in India. Meanwhile, Ramchand’s mother, Champa, leads a life of loneliness and although she takes a temporary job in a faraway place, she returns to her village.
Finally, after 5 years, when Ramchand has grown a few years, he gets released. He returns home to his mother. His father, Shankar, also gets released soon after. They are united and there, the film ends.

Cast

  • Nandita Das as Champa
  • Syed Fazal Hussain as Younger Ramchand
  • Navaid Jabbar as Older Ramchand
  • Rashid Farooqui as Shankar
  • Maria Wasti as Kamla
  • Nouman Ijaz as Abdullah
  • Adnan Shah as Sharma
  • Adarsh Ayaz as Moti
  • Farooq Pario as Suresh
  • Shahood Alvi as Asif Hussain
  • Zhalay Sarhadi as Lakshmi
  • Atif Badar as Lalu
  • Saleem Mairaj as Vishesh
  • Saif-e-Hasan as Murad
  • Rao Saleem as Interrogator
  • Karim Bux Baloch as Baloch
  • Master Yaqub as Baba Gul
  • Hassan Niazi as Deepak
  • Kazim Raza as Professor
  • Muhammad Rafiq as Bengali
  • Sajid Shah as Inspector
  • Iqbal Motilani as Maulvi
  • Anis Chachar as Captain Saleem

Film screenings overseas

This film had six screenings at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 2010.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack is composed by Debojyoti Mishra and include the following songs:
TrackSongSingersComposerDuration
01Teri Meri PreetShubha MudgalDebojyoti Mishra5:34
02Allah Megh DeShubha Mudgal & Shafqat Amanat AliDebojyoti Mishra4:41
03Phir Wahi RasteShafqat Amanat AliDebojyoti Mishra5:52
04Khari Neem Key NeechayMai BhagiDebojyoti Mishra5:24
05Tarrin PaundaAllan FakirDebojyoti Mishra6:09
06Meri MaatInstrumentalDebojyoti Mishra4:19

Reception

Muniba Kamal of The News on Sunday critiqued the promotional strategy of the film, stating it's been misrepresented as a political drama, whereas it's a heartwarming story of human relationships and emotions but praised Jabbar's direction, particularly in portraying characters and emotions, and applauds performances by Syed Fazal Husain, Navaid Jabbar, Nandita Das, and Maria Wasti, finding the film a "fantastic cinematic experience" and a "great film" that focuses on human aspects of the conflict rather than politics.

Awards

This film won the following awards: