Ramchand Pakistani

Ramchand is a young Pakistani boy who lives with his parents in a village on the Indian border. Doubly scorned, the family are not only Hindus in a country where 97% of the people are Muslims; they are also untouchables (members of the lowest caste). When they inadvertently venture over the border into India, Ramchand and his father are arrested by border guards as spies. The two are transferred to a jail where they spend an unbelievable five years. Based on a true story from 2002, RAMCHAND PAKISTANI traces the development of the son's relationship with his father and with the adults surrounding him in prison. He particularly warms to his female warden who must care for him though she detests him for being untouchable. As the years go by, Ramchand grows from a frightened child into a defiant young man. Parallel to the men's story is the heartbreaking plight of Ramchand's mother (played by Nandita Das), who doesn't know what's happened to them. RAMCHAND PAKISTANI is not a story about Pakistanis and Indians, or about Muslims and Hindus. It is a universal tale of people's frustration with fate and of the longing for freedom. (In Urdu and Hindi with English subtitles) – B.B.