Director: Shyam Benegal; Writer: Khalid Mohamed, Shama Zaidi, Javed Siddiqui; Producer: Raj Pius; Cinematographer: Prasann Jain; Editor: Aseem Sinha; Cast: Farida Jalal, Surekha Sikri, Amit Phalke, Himani Shivpuri, Rajit Kapoor
Duration: 01:59:29; Aspect Ratio: 1.754:1; Hue: 193.307; Saturation: 0.056; Lightness: 0.232; Volume: 0.108; Cuts per Minute: 7.833; Words per Minute: 70.219
Summary: Benegal’s melodrama addresses the condition
of Muslim refugees in Bombay, an issue made
relevant by the Hindu Shiv Sena’s attacks on
minorities in the city as alleged ‘Pakistanis’.
Mammo, aka Mahmood Begum (Jalal), arrives
in Bombay unannounced to stay with her sister
Fayyazi (Sikri) and the latter’s orphaned
grandson Riyaz (Phalke). She was evicted from
her marital home in Lahore after her husband’s
death. Arriving on a temporary visitor’s visa,
she tries legally as well as through bribery to
convert the visa into one enabling permanent
residence, asserting her right to stay on as an
Indian national. The story is told through the
eyes of Riyaz, who initially resents her arrival in
their cramped Bombay flat. Mammo is
deported, but returns in the end, hopefully for
good.
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