IMDb > In Custody (1994)

In Custody (1994) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   130 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 173% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Ismail Merchant
Writers:
Anita Desai (novel)
Anita Desai (script) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for In Custody on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
3 June 1994 (UK) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama more
Plot:
An editor asks Deven, a teacher who loves Urdu poetry, to interview poet Nur Shahjehanabadi, an aging whale of a man... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
NewsDesk:
(6 articles)
Shyne Remains In Custody Due To Immigration Status
 (From MTV Music News. 6 October 2009, 1:47 AM, PDT)
David Caruso's Stalker In Custody...Thank God
 (From Actress Archives. 22 February 2009, 7:49 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Unique and much misunderstood more (8 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Shashi Kapoor ... Nur

Shabana Azmi ... Imtiaz Begum

Om Puri ... Deven
Sushma Seth ... Safiya Begum
Neena Gupta ... Sarla
Tinnu Anand ... Murad
Prayag Raj ... Jain
Parikshat Sahni ... Siddiqui (as Ajay Sahni)
Sagar Arya ... Chiku
Alakh Nandan ... Trivedi
Yusuf Khurram ... Young Poet
Riju Bajaj ... Young Poet
Maza Bi ... Safiya's Attendant
Nayeem Hafizka ... Young Poet
Veerendra Saxena ... Young Poet
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Hifazaat
Muhafiz (India: Urdu title)
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Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
126 min
Country:
UK | India
Language:
Urdu | Hindi
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Sound Mix:
Dolby
Certification:
Singapore:PG | UK:15 | USA:PG
Company:
Merchant Ivory Productions more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful.
Unique and much misunderstood, 29 August 2005
9/10
Author: donelan-1 from United States

The first scene of an old man composing a poem, as he looks out the window of his decaying villa at the timeless Indian landscape, establishes that he is a great poet. The rest of the film shows us the price that he has willingly paid for his poetry, and the tragedy of writing in a dying language. The comic efforts of the school teacher to record the old man reading his poetry highlight the tragedy, and as the teacher becomes more and more entangled in the poet's life, he comes to understand (as we do) that none of the poet's sacrifices have diminished him, and that he has no regrets. Perhaps the most poignant scene is the teacher's interview with the poet's young second wife, who (unable to create poetry) performs his poems to music and passes them off as her own. Her response to his charge of plagiarism leaves him speechless, and reveals more about the position of women in Indian society than a dozen feminist studies. Perhaps the reason why this film received poor reviews is that everyone is looking for Hollywood (or Bollywood) stereotypes, and missing a very moving story that is told in a quiet and unpretentious way.

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