SYNOPSIS

Set against the backdrop of war between India and Pakistan, Nishad is a visually stunning film that depicts the sombre beauty of northern India’s snowy peaks and the hardships of the areas of Tibetan refugees. The story unfolds in a town near the north Indian border. Sati (Archanaa) and Gopi (Rajit Kapur) are a middle-aged couple. She teaches English to children at an exiled Tibetan government run school. Gopi works as a doctor in a government managed hospital and a local prison. Over the years, the couple has endured many hardships, among them the loss of their son Ashok. Ashok is a pilot in the air force who never fails to call them every week. Ashok's call itself gives Sati immense joy and its regularity brings her great comfort. One day, they get a mistaken phone call from the voice of a young boy who reminds them of another son they had lost long ago. This call awakens deep emotions and anxieties in a time of loss and mortality. The wrong calls keep coming. Each time, it is the same child's voice; the desperation in the voice is more sharply etched. Sati Gujral finds herself a prisoner to her own mental demons. As Sati’s familial love grows for the young boy, the calls from her remaining son end. The two emotions trigger a frantic bid to try and trace down the 'Gomati amma' but it is met with little success.....Sati Gujral's worry deepens. The next call is curt and brief. "The child passed away. The funeral is tomorrow". Are Ashok's calls too are going to a wrong number?"

Accomplished South Asian director Shaji N. Karun provides trance-like cinematography to capture the humanity that emerges in war zones and stark simplicity to love between family’s blood and otherwise.

TECHNICAL DATA

Director: Shaji N. Karun
Script: Shaji N. Karun, Valsalam-Vathussery
Producer: Sukhwant Dhadda
Cinematography: Hari Nair
Cast: Archana, Rajit Kapur, Geshe Thupten-Phelgyei
Music: Isaac Thomas Kottukapally
Runtime: 118 min. Color. Language: Hindi. Spanish Subtitles.