In their book Borders and Boundaries, editors Ritu Menon and Kamla Bhasin write: “As an event of shattering consequence, Partition retains its pre-eminence even today, despite two wars on our borders and wave after wave of communal violence. … Each new eruption of hostility or expression of difference swiftly recalls that bitter and divisive erosion of social relations between Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, and each episode of brutality is measured against what was experienced then.â€
This statement speaks directly to the premise of Pakistani director Mehreen Jabar’s debut film Ramchand Pakistani, which recently premiered in NY at the Tribeca Film Festival. Based on a series of true events which took place in 2002—during a period where India and Pakistan were on the brink of war—it is the story of one innocent Hindu Dalit family which became a victim of the national hostilities that have permeated Indo-Pak relations since partition.
The story begins in a small, dusty border village in on the Pakistan side of the Thar desert. Ramchand (Fazal Hussain) is the willful, naughty son of a Hindu Dalit farmer Shankar (Rashid Farooqi) and his wife Champa (played by Nandita Das). One morning, when Ramchand gets into an argument with his mother, he skips school and goes for a walk in the desert terrain bordering his father’s farm. Without realizing it, he crosses over into Indian territory. His father follows him to bring him back, but it’s too late. Indian patrol officers, suspicious of their motives (“Are you Pakistani spies?â€) take both of them into custody.
For the next five years, Ramchand and his father are trapped in a bureaucratic prison system in India, where despite the lack of evidence that they did anything wrong, it is impossible to release them because of a longstanding battle of wills between the Indian and Pakistani governments. The film follows Ramchand’s coming of age in a prison where he and his father share a cell with Indians and Pakistanis, many of whom made the mistake of “crossing over†and have gotten lost in the shuffle.
The prison cell is a metaphor for communal relations – in a tiny space, men of different regions and religions are forced to coexist—and, in the process, come to realize what they have in common—a desire for freedom—far outweighs their differences. In the prison, we have the expected characters—the mad man, the gentle old man, the mullah, the pimp, the pervert, the local politician, 
as well as the surprising character of the female security officer Kamla (Maria Wasti) who becomes Ramchand’s teacher (and first crush) and learns a little something about her own caste prejudices. These characters make for interesting conflicts and challenges to the young Ramchand and shape his development into a young man whose main goal is survival … just like his mother Champa, who is struggling to go on with her life. The movie switches gracefully between the Pakistani village where Champa’s “life must go on†and the Indian prison, showing us the passage of time, the pain, and the helplessness that this small family must confront.
Director Mehreen Jabar’s father Javed Jabbar is a well-known Pakistani writer and producer. He came up with the idea for this film, after reading a series of newspaper articles about a father and son who were kept in India after an accidental border crossing. What drew Mehreen Jabar to this film? “For one, it was the simplicity of it: a family separated for no fault of their own and forcibly put into a situation where they have to deal with circumstances not of their making,†she says in the director’s statement. “With this simple story came layers upon layers of subtext—about relationships, discrimination and the politics of the region—told not in a propagandist way but rather through the eyes of a child and a woman.â€
A memorable soundtrack by Shubha Mudgal and Debajyoti Mishra, both Indian musicians, one of my favorite lead Indian actresses, a largely Pakistani cast, and shooting in Pakistan make this a film whose very collaborative making broke down some of the borders and barriers it speaks of. Nandita Das had to get special permission from the Indian Pakistani (thanks for the correction Chachaji) government to star in this film, for example. The music was recorded in Mumbai. And, the prison set in the film was based on the main jail in the town of Bhuj, Gujarat, close to where the original father and son were held as prisoners. Director Mehreen Jabar and her producer visited this prison and subsequently recreated it on the outskirts of Karachi. “It was the only location in Pakistan other than the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, where the Indian flag flew at full mast for about 3 to 4 weeks,†Jabbar says.
The result is a moving and poetic film which brings an ongoing issue into our line of vision without being overly dramatic or cliched. A quick search of news reports shows that the grim predicament of Indian and Pakistani prisoners is still a reality. See this news of a recent release of two young Pakistani boys from an Indian prison.
Ramchand Pakistani is on its way to the Seattle Film Festival later this month, and hopefully, will arrive at a city near you soon.
i couldnt but help think of ‘in the name of the father’. some parallels there. interestingly the most powerful pieces in the trailer to me were the narration [just the fact he said ‘lakeer’ instead of ‘line’ imbued the passage with an aroma – like holding ivory after having had plastic pass through the hands for so long], and Mudgal’s voice, powerful, unhurried and carrying pain. The dad looked like a weak character but i might have postlewaithe in mind. will look it up. good review.
This is quite topical, as there is a real-life drama playing out about an Indian man in Pakistani prison. Sarabjeet Singh has been convicted by the Pakistani government of being an Indian spy, and planning bomb blasts that killed 4 people in 1990. There have been all sorts of claims that Sarabjit accidentally crossed the border when he was drunk, and was mistakenly identified as the Manjit Singh that Pakistan is looking for. His family couldn’t visit him for 17 years (until very recently), and his kids, one of whom was less than a month old when he was arrested, have basically grown up during his incarceration. The Pakistani government has postponed or stayed his execution multiple times now, as a result of appeals from the family and from the Indian government, but a final clemency decision has not been made yet. I think that the families of the death blast victims have been putting pressure on the government to actually execute Sarabjit, but interestingly, I haven’t seen much rhetoric about using him as a bargaining chip for prisoner exchange, which is often brought up in other contexts.
What I have read this is an amazing movie, and Nandita Das has had an incredibly powerful performance.
Director Mehreen Jabar’s father Javed Jabbar is a well-known Pakistani writer and producer.
Javed Jabber was also a minister in Pakistani Government in past, and also had made movies in English.
Mehreen Jabar, a NYU grad had made a small movie before with Nandita Das before Ramchand Pakistani. Das had to get special permission from the Indian government to star in this film, for example.
I think Government should not meddle in people doing their thing. Recently, a lot of Pakistan actors and actresses are breaking into Bollywood, and mostly in Indian TV. Manisha Koirala is going to make a movie set in Pakistan.
Khamoshi Pani, another amazing movie from Pakistan about partition had few actors from India.
A new blockbuster (Kudiya……) which is the first Pakistani movie to be released in Indian theaters since 1965 has Nasheerudin Shah as one of the cast.
3 · Kush Tandon said
Actually, I think it was the Pakistan government that Nandita needed permission from. (As I read up when I wrote my own blog piece on Ramchand. Unless Sandhyaji knows otherwise). Apart from the general cultural protectionist rationale from Pakistan, plus the usual Indo-Pakistan hostility, there would have been the fact that both the Indian and Pakistani governments classify parts of the Thar desert (where Ramchand was shot on the Pakistani side) as a ‘sensitive’ border area. Partly because it isn’t as well policed as the Punjab and Kashmir borders, it
iswaswis used by actual infiltrators on both sides – spies, saboteurs, smugglers, and even separatist-provocateurs. (Some Kashmiri ‘mujahideen’, unbelievable as it sounds, actually did come in through the Thar).This is just by way of background explanation. This is not how it should be, of course. And when an actual war was on the horizon, you can imagine what the threat perceptions on both sides would have been. So it looks really silly now, and thank God for how much perceptions have moved, and hopefully this film will contribute to moving them some more.
And BTW, a number of Indian models and actresses have crossed over into Lollywood, and also into Pakistani TV, some of which is now based in Dubai. Some of them are cashing their celebrity status into commercial endorsements. Who would’ve thought Indian actresses could sell things on Pakistani TV? But it’s happening. And Dubai is also becoming a place for Indians and Pakistanis – both elite and middle class – interact, learn from each other, and overall, form another constituency for Indo-Pak amity.
accidently crossing borders
Pardon my ignorance,but I dont understand how can someone “accidently cross” borders. Have always been under the impression that these borders were barbed and guarded by automatic-rifle-wielding BSF personnels . ( Atleast for a south India (like me ) this is the lasting image. ( Atleast from movies )
“The Little terrorist” – A short film about – “crossing borders accidently” – is also good.
Pardon my ignorance,but I dont understand how can someone “accidently cross” borders. Have always been under the impression that these borders were barbed and guarded by automatic-rifle-wielding BSF personnels . ( Atleast for a south India (like me ) this is the lasting image. ( Atleast from movies )
Only very tiny part of the border in Kashmir is barbed wire. Even in Kashmir, shepherds cross border often.
In Rann of Kutch, it is the salt pans, and also vast Thar desert that forms the western border. There are few white marker pillars that mark the border, and few patrolmen from India and Pakistan on camel. You cannot easily drive a jeep in a desert. In summer, Rann of Kutch is so hot, and inhospitable, that is impossible to even venture.
Of course, where there are regular roads, there are formal borders like Wagah.
MFAs contemplating impersonal forces that squash the common man….more rejection of moral responsibility like in the Reluctant Fundamentalist. These film makers are descended from the founding ruling elite of their country no doubt
great review – i look forward to seeing it!
i noticed in the trailor they played a snippet of a bengali folk song (Allah Megh De Pani De) – interesting!
What is an MFA?
6 · Fred said
indian and pakistani fisherman in the arabian sea ( see sir creek) also cannot easily ascertain naval borders, i believe. many of them end up crossing nautical boundaries and are arrested by either coast guard. many of them are jailed, and obviously, due process is a joke in the subcontinent for those who can’t afford it. ordinary people who have lived at these borders for centuries have been cut a raw deal — both by governments and by terrorist infiltrators. no doubt, many get sucked into this web as agents (or double agents) for either side. economies and networks built over centuries — such potential for growth — all in limbo because of the cold war and a basically untrustworthy, unaccountable, and morally irresponsible political leadership on both sides. i hate to bring up this really obvious point, but so much money and personnel is tied up into an ultimately unproductive activity as guarding borders.
Maha Faltu Aadmi.
10 · Ignoramus said
That is the degree Louiecypher’s lovely kids will be getting after they graduate from any of these fine institutions.
Thanks!
The borders are very porous and while am sure both countries are sending spies, the unfortunate result is that innocent become casualties. How do we know for certain that the person is actually a fisherman? And this applies to those arrested on both sides of the border. Many of the poor fisherman have no hi tech equipment on the boats so they have no way of knowing when they are off course. The Bangla border is getting a massive fence on the des side, it will be one of the longest fenced borders in the world when the construction is complete. Many Bangladeshis who graze cattle on the India side actually have papers for the daily crossings,for themselves and their cows! Sandhya, excellent posts from you. Keep at it! It is very nice to read smart,thoughtful posts from a chick on SM that are more than the fluff, mostly bakwas posts that Anna used to make.
15 · Malibu Stacy said
Wow, they must have spiked the water with haterade today.
Wow. That was completely unnecessary and graceless. A lot of SM readers enjoyed Anna’s posts, and nobody was compelled to read them or pay tribute to them, so gratuitously insulting Anna is uncalled for. Or is it that given the general level of content and coherence in your comments, you don’t really appreciate the effort that goes into finding material and weaving it into a logical post that engages people?
and nobody was compelled to read them or pay tribute to them, so gratuitously insulting Anna is uncalled for.
Then again, you have to admit, it’s an achievement to get a shoutout when you’re not even around no more.
Malibu–
Anna has some of the best posts on this blog–both in terms of topic and style. All you have to do is take a look at the number of comments she gets. If you aren’t a fan of hers don’t read it, but keep your rude comments to yourself. They aren’t appreciated.
Misusing Father’s Allowance
We all have personal tastes when it comes to what we like to read or not. That’s why this is a group blog – there’s a little something for everyone, and I’m proud and honored that I get to share this forum with Anna and Cicatrix, both women writers whose breadth of posts range from the serious to the light-hearted .. We “chicks” need to stick together and support each other – it’s not easy to put our personal opinions and voice out there, that too on a regular basis- as Anna has so rightly pointed out. So, whether you like something or not, let’s seek to use language that emphasizes what you like and why, instead of blasting what you don’t … Now, can we go back to talking about movies, please?
I just read the comment by ‘Malibu Stacy’ and I have to second what Sandhya said. Everyone has different tastes in what makes an interesting blog post.
There’s a lot one could say, but here’s bottom line: it’s possible to enjoy one style of writing without denigrating another.
So when is this wall gonna be built on the India-Pakistan border. I hope this was just not another pre-election promise that people in office have failed to keep. I know if India had someone like the honorable Tom Tancredo there would be a wall by now
Ok so Anna herself admits her posts were on superficial matters, so why the brouhaha? My perception of her posts here was that she could not capture the immigrant experience very well. Is it ground breaking that Mia shakes her brown kundi in a Fiddy video or whatever such nonsense?
24 · Malibu Stacy said
it is hard to pay an homage to pop culture — without referring to history and roots. an apparently superficial topic might yield interesting opints or generate heated discussion. which A N N A’s posts definitely did. and it is your fucked up hierarchy that puts women’s issues below politics. if you’re so into social issues, maybe you’ve heard that the personal is political. i know you’re trolling, but you should know that your vitriol is not even coherently stated. my thanks to sandhya and sugi — they are lovely writers. you are entitled to critical opinions (in which case A N N A’s posts should be critiqued at your blog). if you were a gracious person, you would thank sandhya and sugi, and send constructive crticisms to A N N A via email, instead of spouting off when the object of your barbs is absent. seriously, get a life, a blog, and a manual of etiquette. it is really pathetic a few people with various axes to grind use an anonymous internet forum to get cheap thrills. look what you have done, derailed this entirely edifying thread with your petty obsessions. seriously, if a lesser person such as me was the moderator, i would have banned you a long time ago.
23 · Suki Dillon said
Sandhya? A library cop? Can you use your connections for me? Can you let me jump the line over soccer moms with escapist fantasies when the new Danielle Steele* comes out?
that last comment erroneously quotes Suki. My response is directed at Malibu Stacy’s comment [#24]
24 · Malibu Stacy said
Sandhya? A library cop? Can you use your connections for me? Can you let me jump the line over soccer moms with escapist fantasies when the new Danielle Steele* comes out?
24 · Malibu Stacy said
You don’t need to be a cheerleader to be popular, just credible. And surely you’re not calling yourself articulate or passionate about politics and “other serious social issues”? I wouldn’t go throwing such big words around given your patchy, hit-and-run, mediocre comments on this site. There is nothing wrong with being critical, but in the absence of logical suggestions and lucidity, “criticism” just reduces to a rant.
You are incapable of writing a coherent 5 line post that advances a discussion, and you sit there and pass judgment without context and on a completely unrelated post, when the object of your verbal assault is not even around to defend herself? Even if we buy your conceit that Anna’s posts are not “deep” and “important”, there are many commenters, female even, like portmanteau and Camille, who, when they find information or perspective lacking in posts, actually make meaningful contributions. If you miss those wonderful analyses of history, roots, immigrant experience, or your own navel cavity so badly, you could actually contribute them in comments, or if you are so loath to help the discussion quality here, on your own blog, instead of sitting and sniping from the sidelines, and trying to scrounge around for justifications for your rant.
Wow, your reading repertory must be really miniscule for you not to have read about Unaccustomed Earth anywhere before Sandhya’s blog post here. My comment is not a knock on you, it is just your reading tastes I find limited.
@15-19, @21-22, @24-28 Disclaimer : Off-topic Since suddenly ANNA has become the subject of discussion, this music is for Malibu @15 who is probably expressing anguish over ANNA’s disappearing act ?
Where is Anna by the way?
Back on topic, folks. Further commentary on SM bloggers is likely to be deleted.
I like the look of it.
The border between India and Pakistan still has an incredible imaginative pull on artists, writers and film makers from both sides of the border in every type of art form, both high and low. The potency of partition and its legacy and the curiosity, fear, love and hate felt by the people on both sides of it still resonate, the ironies and tragedies engendered by this border still provoke the imagination.
On a number of ocassions I have read that North Indians are obsessed with the Partition while it is no big deal in the south of the country. Is that true? Anybody from South India care to elaborate on this?
I guess the Youtube trailer is taken off?
-Nikhil
Well, Partition was obviously less personally traumatic for your average South Indian family than for your average North Indian or Pakistani family. My grandparents lived through Partition, though for them it meant more or less staying in Delhi. Two of my grandparents are from South India, and indeed, through the happenstance of (quite) differential life-spans at that generation, I speak Tamil better than Hindi/Hindustani (though I’m pretty bad at both!). But, both sides of my family definitely griped about the post-Partition demographic changes in Delhi. Kind of hard for me to interpret, b/c it’s not as if they would have been big fans of the pre-Partition make-up either! Their combined pre- and post- views make a good case (in my opinion) for (classical) liberalism.
33 · Fish out of water said
Fish, IMO, at least those who’ve experienced partition almost never talk about it, and it appears that they tend not to think about it either. For the generations that came afterward, it may be more of an ‘obsession’* as you put it — maybe because they’re curious about their roots which are pretty inaccessible, or just to know how it must have felt like to live through one of biggest displacements in human history and its consequences.
Rob #35 and Portmanteau #36, thanks for your responses.
By obsession I meant that I have heard that north indians carry too much baggage as far as this tragic event is concerned. They have not “moved on” and still carry scars (certainly the folks who lived through it)from that time. Do you think the people who have not “moved on” carry some sort of visceral dislike, or even hatred, towards Muslims and Pakistan? Would the same be true for the folks on the other side of the border? Can the congenital hatred some of the right wing politicians have towards Pakistan be explained by the fact that they, or their families, suffered during the partition?
Although most of the (Muslims) who moved to (West) Pakistan were from the Delhi/UP/East Punjab and most of the (Hindus) who moved to India were from West Punjab, Sindh, and East Bengal, people who lived in the Southern States also were impacted.
In-migrants to India: Many Sindhis moved to India by ship from Karachi – they landed mostly in Bombay, and settled in the cities that are now in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh (i.e., outside of East Punjab, West UP or Delhi). While most Sikhs and Hindus migrating in from West Punjab settled in East Punjab, West UP or Delhi, a significant number also subsequently moved to Bombay. Others were encouraged to relocate to some of the Southern States by Government of India policy. I know of one fairly large community of Sikhs from West Punjab who were relocated to coastal Karnataka.
Outmigrants: This is not nearly as well known, but some Muslims from areas in each of the Southern Indian states did migrate to West Pakistan. Numbers were probably highest in Andhra/Hyderabad, but there were people also (from areas now in) Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. While the stories of people from UP and E. Punjab who migrated are reasonably well-known, the stories of migrants from Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are less well-known. In fact, there is a Ramchand connection here: Javed Jabbar, father of Director Mehreen Jabbar, was born in Chennai. (BTW, none of the Southern States existed with the names they now have at the time of Partition).
That would entail showing Advani, whose vision for India I don’t agree with, the same consideration shown to Hamas/Kashmiri terrorists by the nominally Hindu Indian Left. It’s much more fun to dismiss the Hindu nationalists as evil & sexually frustrated.
39 · louiecypher said
lc, your point is well-taken. you’re right to point out that advani does not deserve to be demonized and is as worthy of consideration that is given to hamas and kashmiri terrorists (I also do not endorse the ‘sexually frustrated’ critique of hindu nationalist leaders as well, although i think it may be applicable to low-level lackeys who harass women publicly for whatever twisted traditional trope they love.) but you have to admit that people like advani get a lot of legitimacy and power through the indian democratic process. they have far more clout nationally and internationally as compared to terrorists whose actions are automatically labeled as crazed, xenophobic, and deserving of fierce retaliation. on the other hand, extreme nationalists (everywhere, not only in india) whip up a resentful frenzy and produce a list of slights that the nation has suffered at the hands of opponents (foreigners or minorities or antagonistic group of choice). they come to power, and institutionalize their vile agenda under the cloak of legitimate government. it goes on for at least as long as they are in power. many a time, they will abandon all semblance of due process. it is hard to call these people out or to protest — because they are ostensibly democratically elected leaders. the who’s who of evil tyrants of the 20th c. have been democratically elected — but that does not make them right. i’m not advocating the roughshod removal of democratically elected leaders at all. but one can at least recognize that they can let things go to hell in a handbasket, and also rig future elections with impunity as has happened in many countries. they can slowly destroy constitutions and trample dissenters, and the world gets there at the pace of hindi movie cops. a tad too late.
33 · Fish out of water said
I am from the south and partition and Pak is less discussed in south Indian movies and literature since south was not affected by it. North Indians and especially Punjabis and Rajputs suffered the most during partition because of their geographic location. Historically too they have faced a great turmoil because of the succesive muslim invasions. Movies such as Pinjar, Shaheed-e-mohabbat Buta Singh, Hey Ram etc depict the same.
Chachaji, just wanted to point out that the Muslims who left Eastern Punjab (i.e. India) for western Punjab (i.e. Pakistan) INTEGRATED COMPLETELY into general Punjabi society over there and today their descendants are not looked upon any differently than Muslims who were already living in western Punjab pre-Partition; in fact there is no ‘Eastern Punjabi descendant’ identity as such anymore in Pakistan and people intermarry freely (albeit often still maintaining tribal and ‘caste’ endogamy and also of course often marrying within the extended family as is their custom).
The URDU speakers who left India and moved to Pakistan on the other hand (i.e from Delhi, U.P., Bihar, and other regions including the South), and who were in no way native to any province (or part thereof) that became part of Pakistan, have clearly maintained a distinct ‘immigrant’ identity, and the label (now virtually and ethnicity) of ‘Muhajir’ still sticks to them. Those arrogant people migrated to Sindh and made the Muslim Sindhis 2nd class citizens in their own land. Of course the Muslim Sindhis weren’t so innocent, they forced the Hindu Sindhis to flee their own homeland. What a sordid mess.
Diasporic Sindhi Hindus are one of the world’s most amazing success stories…at least in financial terms.
That would entail showing Advani, whose vision for India I don’t agree with, the same consideration shown to Hamas/Kashmiri terrorists by the nominally Hindu Indian Left. It’s much more fun to dismiss the Hindu nationalists as evil & sexually frustrated.
Do you mean the “progressives” ?. I don’t think the Indian left shows consideration to the Kashmiri terrorists. Hamas, I have no idea.
RSS’ policy of bachelordom (I think) was behind the “progressives” dismissing Hindu nationalists as sexually frustrated. That’s another crazy policy of the RSS, somewhat like Gandhi’s brahmacharya.
42 · Amitabh said
43 · Ponniyin Selvan said I know a bunch of RSS guys and they don’t practice bachelordom or brahmacharya. Out of curiousity where did you hear that? I’m interested
Yes I am stereotyping the vast majority of Muhajirs and their arrogant cultural and political imperialism. I think it’s a sick joke that they can claim Karachi yet non-Muslim people who actually hail from the region and had lived in the region for centuries can not. And I don’t speak for SM, just expressing my own views. You’ll find a range of opinions here, some ‘liberal’ some not.
I know a bunch of RSS guys and they don’t practice bachelordom or brahmacharya. Out of curiousity where did you hear that? I’m interested
Isn’t that the policy (atleast for people who want to rise to the top)?. I have read that somewhere. All the top leaders of RSS are bachelors I think.
46 · Amitabh said
So would you go one step further and stereotype all Muslims?