A slow-burning drama that tackles important themes
THE American-Bangladeshi-Indian drama recently had its UK premiere at the London Indian Film Festival.
The story starts off in Australia with a man suddenly disappearing and leaving a woman distraught, before shifting to New York two years earlier. It shows him as a Muslim immigrant from Pakistan pretending to be a Hindu from India and getting romantically involved with the same woman, while working as a waiter. Through a further flashback, we learn about the man’s troubled past and
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Megan Mitchell, Tahsan Rahman Khan, Eisha Chopra Director: Mostofa Sarwar Farooki
him repeatedly not belonging, including his family being persecuted in Pakistan. Then someone from that past threatens his new life in America.
The slow-burning drama about a man forced by circumstance to repeatedly lie about all aspects of himself is an engaging story set in different countries that veers off into unexpected directions. What starts off as a romance between two mismatched individuals becomes a study of discrimination in its ugly forms. The beautifully shot film has a nice musical score by AR Rahman.
Actress Megan Mitchell delivers a strong turn as the Australian woman, falling for a man who has created this fake identity.
Acclaimed actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui delivers a multi-layered performance, but he looks too old for the well-written lead role and comes across as awkward with the English language scenes.
The other aspect of this film that may divide audiences is the ending. There was scope to round off this global story better. That doesn’t stop this from being an important film that shows how badly outsiders are treated in an increasingly divided world and what they need to do, just to survive.