Anwar : Dream of a Dark Night

- NDFS Desk


The world we live in is in the throes of a desperate quest for peace and tranquility. But it is increasingly losing its way in an intractable maze of violent conflicts, ethnic skirmishes, economic meltdowns and corporate scams. Here, hope dies first. But dreamers do continue to dream. Meet Anwar. Anwar is Delhi slum-dweller, rag picker and car cleaner. He is a mere speck in the big picture of this bitter ongoing global struggle. But his story of resilience is no less significant, no less remarkable. Anwar has left behind a mortgaged piece of agricultural land in his pretty village in pursuit of a dream. He wants to build a movie hall of his own in his sleepy hamlet on the Indo-Bangladesh border. So he slogs from dawn to midnight in the big, heartless city. Four years on, and many ups and downs later, Anwar’s dream is a reality. His village picture hall is up and running and people are streaming in… This film – a story as much of one man as of Everyman – is an attempt to celebrate a defiant dream that illumines a night of all-enveloping, impenetrable darkness.


Director: Anwar Jamal, Script: Saibal Chatterjee, Camera: S. Chockalingam, Editor:Archit Rastogi, Producer: Rajiv Mehrotra


(This film is premiering at 8 PM on September 17 at the Open Frame international film festival. Venue- Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.)