''Such a Long Journey'' is a 1998 Indo-Canadian English language film based on the novel of the same name written by

Rohinton Mistry Rohinton Mistry (born 1952) is an Indian-born Canadian writer. He has been the recipient of many awards including the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 2012. Each of his first three novels were shortlisted for the Booker Prize. His ...

. The film is directed by Sturla Gunnarsson with a screenplay by

Sooni Taraporevala Sooni Taraporevala (born 1957) is an Indian screenwriter, photographer and filmmaker who is the screenwriter of ''Mississippi Masala'', ''The Namesake (film), The Namesake'' and Oscar-nominated ''Salaam Bombay!'' (1988), all directed by Mira Na ...

. The film received twelve

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

s nominations including the Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. The film was screened at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

Plot

Gustad Noble (

Roshan Seth Roshan Seth (born 2 April 1942) is a British-Indian actor, writer and theatre director who has worked in the United Kingdom, United States and India. He began his acting career in the early 1960s in the UK, but left acting the following decade ...

) is a Parsi bank clerk who lives with his family in Bombay (

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

), just before the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...

. At first, he seems to be a self-centered, self-involved, neurotic man, who is so tied up in his own pain for perceived slights both past and present that he cannot seem to connect with either friends or family. He is haunted by memories of his privileged youth and his father's fortune, which has been lost to the machinations of an unscrupulous uncle. He is baffled by the changes wrought in his eldest son, Sohrab (

Vrajesh Hirjee Vrajesh Hirjee (born 16 June 1971) is an Indian film and television actor. He is also a script writer,dubbing artist and doing commentary in vivo pro kabbadi league season 9. He has acted Hindi language films like '' Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein'', ...

), who refuses to attend the Indian Institute of Technology to which he has gained admittance, and worried about his youngest daughter, Roshan, when she falls ill. Other conflicts involve Gustad's ongoing interactions with his eccentric neighbors and his relationship with his close friend and co-worker, Dinshawji. Tehmul, a seemingly unimportant and mentally disabled character, is essential in Gustad's life, as he brings out his tender side and represents innocence in life. A letter that Gustad receives one day from an old friend, Major Bilimoria, slowly draws him into a government deception involving threats, secrecy, and large amounts of money. He then begins the long journey that sheds new light on all aspects of Gustad's life.

Production

The production of the film underwent several challenges related to casting, funding and concerns about censoring. These topics are covered in two interviews in Rungh: the first with the filmmaker Sturla Gunnarsson and the second with the actor

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare A ...

Cast

as Gustad Noble *

Soni Razdan Soni Razdan (born 25 October 1956) is a British actress and film director who works in Hindi films. She is married to film director Mahesh Bhatt and is the mother of Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt. Early life Razdan was born in Small Heath Birmi ...

as Dilnavaz Noble *

Om Puri Om Prakash Puri (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an Indian actor who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films as well as Bengali, Kannada,English, Punjabi and one Telugu film, as well as independent and art films and also starred ...

as Ghulam Mohamed *

as Major Jimmy Bilimoria *

Ranjit Chowdhry Ranjit Chowdhry (19 September 1955 – 15 April 2020) was an Indian character actor, known for his roles in television, movies, and theatre. He appeared in two episodes of ''The Office'', as Vikram, a telemarketer who worked with Michael, and w ...

as Pavement Artist *

Sam Dastor Sam Dastor is an Indian-born British actor best known for his appearances in British television series. Life and career Dastor was born in India and raised in a Parsi family of Zoroastrian faith, though he later converted to Christianity. He g ...

as Dinshawji *

Kurush Deboo Kurush Deboo (born 12 September 1963) is an Indian actor who has acted in many supporting roles in Hindi films and television series. He was first noticed as Shah Rukh Khan's character's loyal friend in ''Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa''. He is known fo ...

as Tehmul *

Pearl Padamsee Pearl Padamsee (1931 – 24 April 2000) was an Indian theatre personality as a stage actress, director and producer of English language theatre in Mumbai active in 1950s–1990s. She acted a few Hindi and English language films, including '' K ...

as Mrs. Kutpitia *

as Sohrab Noble *

Dinyar Contractor Dinyar Contractor (January 23, 1941 – 5 June 2019) was an Indian stage actor, comedian and Bollywood/ Tollywood actor. He acted in Gujarati theatre and Hindi theatre, as well as Hindi movies. He started acting at school and began his professio ...

as Rabadi *

Souad Faress Souad Adel Faress (born 25 March 1948) is a stage, radio, television and film actress based in United Kingdom. She is best known for her portrayal of the solicitor Usha Gupta, in the long-running BBC Radio 4 serial ''The Archers'' and for her ...

as Mrs. Rabadi *

Irrfan Khan Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020), also known simply as Irrfan, was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in In ...

as Gustad's dad * Anahita Uberoi as Gustad's mom *

Anupam Shyam Anupam Shyam Ojha (20 September 1957 – 8 August 2021) was an Indian film and television actor, who usually played villainous roles. He appeared as ''Thakur Sajjan Singh'' in the STAR Plus TV series ''Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya'' (2009 and 2021). ...

as milkman *Shazneed Damania as Roshan Noble *Kurush Dastur as Darius Noble *Noshirwan Jehangir as Inspector Bamji *Shivani Jha as Jasmine Rabadi *Madan as Bank Manager *Aileen Gonsalves as Lewie Coutinho *Sunny Bharti as Prostitute *Pratima Kazmi as Prostitute *

Madhav Sharma Madhav Sharma (born 12 November 1939) is an Indian-British actor. Early life Sharma studied at the Scottish Church College in Kolkata, India and later, at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in Bloomsbury, London. Following the death of his m ...

*Antony Zaki *Mehler Jehangir *Sohrab Ardeshir *Rashid Karapiet *Chatru L. Gurnani

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Such A Long Journey (Film) 1998 films Films based on Canadian novels English-language Indian films Canadian drama films British Indian films Indian-Canadian films 1998 independent films Films directed by Sturla Gunnarsson Films set in Mumbai Films about the Research and Analysis Wing Films with screenplays by Sooni Taraporevala English-language Canadian films 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films