Bandhak
| Company type | Motion picture |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | Ramzan Lakhani |
Area served | United States, India |
Key people | Hyder Bilgrami (director), Ramzan Lakhani (producer) |
| Products | Film |
Bandhak is a South Asian American motion picture helmed by director Hyder Bilgrami and produced under the guidance of Ramzan Lakhani. The film explores themes of racial discrimination faced by South Asians in the United States following the September 11 attacks. It narrates the experience of Baldev Singh, an Indian immigrant residing in New York City, who resorts to holding his employer captive with a toy firearm after enduring harassment at his workplace.
Critical response
Bandhak attracted significant attention from media outlets in both the United States and India. Its debut occurred at a film festival in California on September 11, 2004, followed by screenings in India facilitated by the Indo-American Art Council. Distributor Digimax Studio highlighted it as the inaugural Hindi feature film produced within the United States. A critic from New Jersey likened it to a South Asian rendition of Do The Right Thing. Producer Ramzan Lakhani sought to appeal primarily to first-generation immigrants by integrating Bollywood-inspired dance sequences and Hindi-language dialogue, aiming to resonate with Indian cultural preferences distinct from those often portrayed by second-generation South Asian filmmakers.
Cast
- Farokh Daruwala
- Murtuza Sabir
- Daman Arora
- Manoj Shinde
- Meenu Mangal
- Ramzan Lakhani
Director
Producer
Music
- Shyam-Das
- Nicholas Noor