The film was screened at the Busan International Film
Festival, the Mumbai Film Festival, and the International Film Festival of Kerala,
where it won The Silver Crow Pheasant Award for Best Debut Film in
International Film Festival of Kerala. The film bagged the Best Feature Film in
Hindi in the 60th National Film Awards 2012.The film was also screened at 24th
Palm Springs International Film Festival, California. The film is set for June,
2014 nationwide release across India.
Filmistaan is a delightful film. It has heart,
imagination and intelligence. It is a celebration of our enduring love affair
with Hindi cinema. And it is a touching exploration of the shared humanity
between Indians and Pakistanis.
Debutant director Nitin Kakkar, who has also written the
story, has created a comedy that is permeated by a profound sadness. Filmistaan
tells us that the lines between people and nations are as arbitrary as they are
permanent, but one thing unites us all — Bollywood. The film is about a wannabe
actor who is abducted by jihadis and taken to Pakistan. At first, Sunny Arora
(Sharib Hashmi) doesn’t realise that he has crossed the border. "Ghar,
khana-peena, shakalen sab same hain", he says.
Sunny brims with infectious good cheer. He makes friends
with his captors, the family in whose house he is kept hostage, and the
children in the village. Even when he is shot, Sunny doesn’t lose heart. His
love for movies and fellow human beings keeps him alive. Most of the narrative
takes place in one location but Kakkar imbues the space with texture. The
film’s beginning is bumpy and the end is stretched but, for most part, the
story moves at an even clip, alternating between smiles and tears.
At one point, Sunny is teaching his captors how to shoot
his own hostage video, because, he says, no matter what the film, one must
never compromise on quality. In another scene, he’s mouthing the entire
dialogue of Maine Pyar Kiya. Filmistaan wouldn’t be half as effective without
Hashmi’s stellar performance. Sunny is so engagingly sweet and sincere that he
lights up each frame. Hashmi has also written the film’s crackling dialogue.
But Filmstaan has impact because Kakkar has given all the characters flesh.
Inaamulhaq as Aftab, a Pakistani who sells pirated Hindi
movies, is impressive too. Even the jihadi abductors are people, not
straight-up villains. The other plus is that Kakkar isn’t lazy or over-the-top
with the Hindi movie referencing. Filmistaan truly touched the Bollywood fan in
me. Don’t be put off by the name or the lack of stars. This is a lovely little
film that will sneak into your heart.
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