NEW DELHI: Harud (Autumn), the film by debutante Aamir Bashir, which has been winning laurels in international festivals for the past two years, is finally getting a theatrical release on 27 July.
Bashir told indiantelevision that the film will be released with around 15 prints in PVR theatres in some parts of the country.
The Hindi film, which has earlier run into trouble with Central Board of Film Certification forcing the filmmaker to run his promos for the film on social networks instead of in theatres, is a stark picture of Kashmir where the people constantly live under the shadow of the gun.
Funded by the Hubert Bals Fund, the film was in the official selection in London and Toronto apart from the Mumbai International Film Festival. It was screened at the 54th BFI London Film Festival, 30th Fajr International Film Festival in Iran, 29th Munich International Film Festival and 54th San Francisco International Film Festival.
It stars among others Reza Naji, who was born in Tabriz in 1942 and began his artistic career when he was twenty. His breakthrough role was in "Children of Heaven" directed by the renowned Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi. In 2008 he won the Silver Bear at the Berlin film festival for his performance in the film "Song of Sparrows".
Others in the film include Shanawaz Bhat, Shamim Basharat, and Salma Asha.
The story of the film revolves around Rafiq and his family. He is struggling to come to terms with the loss of his older brother Tauqir, a tourist photographer, who is one of the thousands of young men who have disappeared since the onset of the militant insurgency in Kashmir. After an unsuccessful attempt to cross the border into Pakistan to become a militant, Rafiq returns home to an aimless existence. Until one day, he accidentally finds his brother‘s old camera.
The CBFC has objected to a promo carrying a scene that has the protagonists against a backdrop that reads: Aazadi. But the film given a U/A certificate has the scene. In the film itself, there were some dialogues that were removed.
Bashir said it is absurd to ban a promo after clearing the film.
Also see:
Harud promo faces Censor hurdle
