In Custody
– Ismail Merchant's feature directorial debut addresses a subject close to his heart: the expressive U..
Ismail Merchant's feature directorial debut addresses a subject close to his heart: the expressive Urdu language of Northern India, in danger of extinction as political trends and modernization obscure its contributions to Indian culture. Merchant 's treatment is wry and good humored , as his characters - an aging Urdu poet (Shashi Kapoor) and a worshipful young college lecturer - clash despite their shared passion for the beauty of words. Anita Desai adapted her novel with Shahrukh Husain, incorporating poems by Urdu author Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The movie won the President of India Gold Medal for Best Picture in 1994.(http://www.merchantivory.com/custody.html)
03 Jun 1994
Urdu, Hindi
Some material may not be suitable for children. Parents urged to give "parental guidance". May contain some material parents might not like for their young children.
An editor asks Deven, a teacher who loves Urdu poetry, to interview poet Nur Shahjehanabadi, an aging whale of a man. Deven goes to Bhopal from Mirpur to meet Nur, of whom he is in awe. He finds him living with feuding wives, visited by sycophants who drink his whisky and eat his food. Deven wants to record Nur for posterity and seeks funds to buy an aged tape recorder, to bribe Safiya, the elder wife, to get Nur into a room at a brothel for a week for the recording, and to feed Nur's pals who show up. Nur's beautiful second wife, Imtiaz, wants to be taken seriously as a poetess. Dever dismisses her and ignores his own wife and child much as Nur does. In the end, what is preserved?
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