''Ramchand Pakistani'' ( ur, ) is a 2008

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film directed by

Mehreen Jabbar Mehreen Jabbar (Urdu: م‍ﮩ‍رين جبار ) (b. 29 December 1971, is a Pakistani film and television director and producer based in New York City. She is a daughter of the Pakistani media-person Javed Jabbar.https://tribune.com.pk/story ...

and produced by

Javed Jabbar Javed Jabbar (Urdu: جاوید جبار ) is a Pakistani writer and politician.Nandita Das Nandita Das (born 7 November 1969) is an Indian actress and director. She has acted in over 40 feature films in ten different languages. Das appeared in the films ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth'' (1998), '' Bawandar'' (2000), '' Kannathil Muthamittal' ...

Rashid Farooqi Rashid Farooqui is a Pakistani actor who appears in Pakistani films and television series. He is known for his villainous roles such as Inspector Ibrahim in Laal Kabootar. Career Rashid Farooqui started his career as a theatre actor and later bec ...

, Syed Fazel Hussain,

Maria Wasti Maria Wasti (born August 14, 1980) is a Pakistani film, television actress and host. She currently hosts the game show ''Croron Mein Khel'' on the Pakistani television channel BOL Entertainment. Biography Early years Maria Wasti was born in Dar ...

and

Noman Ijaz Nauman Ijaz (Punjabi and ur, ) is a Pakistani television and film actor, TV anchorperson, and TV show presenter. He is the recipient of several accolades including 10 Lux Style Awards, 7 Hum Awards and a President's Pride of Performance, wh ...

in lead roles. The film is based on a true story of a boy who inadvertently crosses the border between Pakistan and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and the following ordeal that his family has to go through. Ramchand Pakistani was also released in India.Ramchand Pakistani (2008) on IMDb website
Retrieved 5 June 2019

Plot

Champa (

Nandita Das Nandita Das (born 7 November 1969) is an Indian actress and director. She has acted in over 40 feature films in ten different languages. Das appeared in the films ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth'' (1998), '' Bawandar'' (2000), '' Kannathil Muthamittal' ...

) is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

woman who is left desolate when her young son and husband disappear one day from their village at the India-Pakistan border near

Nagarparkar Nagarparkar ( ur, , sd, ننگرپارڪر), is a tehsil in at the base of the Karoonjhar Mountains in Tharparkar District in Sindh province of Pakistan. The historic Churrio Jabal Durga Mata Temple is situated here. The taluka is located at a d ...

, in the

Tharparkar Tharparkar (Dhatki language, Dhatki/ sd, ٿرپارڪر, ur, ), also known as Thar, is a district in Sindh province in Pakistan headquartered at Mithi. Before Indian independence it was known as the Thar and Parkar district. The district is t ...

district of the

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

province. The film depicts the crossing of the India-Pakistan border, during a period (June 2002) of war-like tension between the two countries, by two members of a Pakistani

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

as Champa * Syed Fazal Hussain as Younger Ramchand * Navaid Jabbar as Older Ramchand * Rashid Farooqui as Shankar *

as Kamla * Nouman Ijaz as Abdullah *

Adnan Shah Adnan Shah, well known as Adnan Shah Tipu or simply Tipu is a Pakistani actor known for his comic and villainary roles. Career Adnan Shah started his career in 1999 as a television actor and gained popularity through a sitcom titled "Sub Set Hai" ...

as Sharma * Adarsh Ayaz as Moti * Farooq Pario as Suresh *

Shahood Alvi Shahood Alvi ( Punjabi, Urdu:شہود علوی) (born in Multan, Punjab) is a Pakistan TV actor, Director and a Producer. He has been working in Pakistani television dramas since 1994. He started work in TV industry as an assistant of sound mixe ...

as Asif Hussain *

Zhalay Sarhadi Zhalay Sarhadi, also spelled Zille Sarhadi, (born on 11 June 1981) is a Pakistani actress, model, and former VJ. Her notable performance include the series ''Uraan'' (2010), '' Aks'' (2012), ''Madiha Maliha'' (2012), ''Digest Writer'' (2014), '' ...

as Lakshmi * Atif Badar as Lalu * Saleem Mairaj as Vishesh * Saif-e-Hasan as Murad * Tahiirz as VKS * 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 The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 2010.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack is composed by

Debojyoti Mishra Debojyoti Mishra (born 30 April 1963 at Kolkata) is an Indian music director and film composer. He became popular with his minimalist classical compositions for the Hindi film ''Raincoat'', directed by Rituparno Ghosh. He also worked on Bengali ...

and include the following songs:

Awards

This film won the following awards: *FIPRESCI Prize from the

International Federation of Film Critics The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

at the Osian Film Festival, July, 2008Awards for Ramchand Pakistani (2008 film) on IMDb website
Retrieved 5 June 2019 * Winner of Honourable Mention by the 13th Annual Satyajit Ray Award at the 2008 London Film Festival. * Best Actor for Rashid Farooqi at the KaraFilm Festival, Pakistan, 2009 * Winner of Audience Award at the

Fribourg International Film Festival The Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF) is an annual film festival in Fribourg, Switzerland. It is focused on selected films from Asia, Africa and Latin America. The Grand Prize is the main award of the Fribourg International Film Festival ...

, Switzerland, March 2009. * Winner of Special Mention by the Eucumenical Jury at the

March 2009. * Winner of Special Mention by the E-Changer Award at the

in March 2009 * Ramchand Pakistani received a silver medal in the feature film category at the 2012 SAARC Film Awards. * Rashid Farooqui received the award for best actor in the feature film at the 2012 SAARC Film Awards. * Ramchand Pakistani won Best Film Award on Pakistan Media Award in 2010.

Lux Style Awards

References

External links

*
Movie Review Ramchand Pakistani (2008)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramchand Pakistani 2008 films Films scored by Debojyoti Mishra Pakistani drama films 2000s Urdu-language films Urdu-language Pakistani films Lollywood films Films set in Sindh Films shot in Sindh Films shot in Pakistan Mehreen Jabbar's directions Films based on actual events Films about social class India–Pakistan relations in popular culture