Bandhak
Encyclopedia
Bandhak is a South Asian American film directed by Hyder Bilgrami
and produced by Ramzan Lakhani. It explores the theme of racism against South Asians in the United States in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks
through the story of Baldev Singh, an Indian immigrant in New York
who, facing harassment in his workplace, takes his boss hostage with a toy gun.
and India
; it was first screened at a California film festival on September 11, 2004, and was brought to India by the Indo-American Art Council. A press release from the distributor Digimax Studio describes it as the first Hindi film in the United States. One New Jersey film critic likened it to a South Asian version of Do The Right Thing
. Producer Ramzan Lakhani described his motivation behind the film in an interview with a local New Jersey
newspaper, stating that while second generation South Asian youth were producing many films in the United States, he hoped to target the immigrant first generation, and hence tried to tailor the film to Indian sensibilities, including Bollywood
-style dance numbers and the use of Hindi.
Hyder Bilgrami
Raised in a family whose prominent interests included acting, directing, art direction,and writing plays, it was a matter of time before Hyder started directing and producingplays in Hyderabad, India...
and produced by Ramzan Lakhani. It explores the theme of racism against South Asians in the United States in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
through the story of Baldev Singh, an Indian immigrant in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
who, facing harassment in his workplace, takes his boss hostage with a toy gun.
Critical response
Bandhak received media coverage in both the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
; it was first screened at a California film festival on September 11, 2004, and was brought to India by the Indo-American Art Council. A press release from the distributor Digimax Studio describes it as the first Hindi film in the United States. One New Jersey film critic likened it to a South Asian version of Do The Right Thing
Do the Right Thing
Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American dramedy produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee, who is also a featured actor in the film. Other members of the cast include Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, and John Turturro. It is also notably the...
. Producer Ramzan Lakhani described his motivation behind the film in an interview with a local New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
newspaper, stating that while second generation South Asian youth were producing many films in the United States, he hoped to target the immigrant first generation, and hence tried to tailor the film to Indian sensibilities, including Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
-style dance numbers and the use of Hindi.
Cast
- Farokh Daruwala
- Aasha Patel
- Murtuza Sabir
- Daman Arora
- Manoj Shinde
- Meenu Mangal
- Ramzan Lakhani