Such a Long Journey (1998)

Circa 1971, Gustad Noble lives in a one bedroom hall rented apartment in Byculla, Bombay. He travels to work everyday by Central Railway to Victoria Terminus and walks to Flora Fountain to ... See full summary »

Director:

Sturla Gunnarsson

Writers:

Rohinton Mistry (novel), Sooni Taraporevala

Stars:

Roshan Seth, Soni Razdan, Om Puri

4 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roshan Seth	...	Gustad Noble
Soni Razdan	...	Dilnavaz Noble
Om Puri	...	Ghulam Mohamed
Naseeruddin Shah	...	Major Jimmy Bilimoria
Ranjit Chowdhry	...	Pavement Artist
Sam Dastor	...	Dinshawji
Kurush Deboo	...	Tehmul
Pearl Padamsee	...	Mrs. Kutpitia
Vrajesh Hirjee	...	Sohrab Noble
Shazneed Damania	...	Roshan Noble
Kurush Dastur	...	Darius Noble
Noshirwan Jehangir	...	Inspector Bamji
Dinyar Contractor	...	Rabadi
Souad Faress	...	Mrs. Rabadi
Shivani Jha	...	Jasmine Rabadi

Storyline

Circa 1971, Gustad Noble lives in a one bedroom hall rented apartment in Byculla, Bombay. He travels to work everyday by Central Railway to Victoria Terminus and walks to Flora Fountain to his place of employment, namely the Central Bank of India. He has three children, Sohrab - who has finished his college studies and is now being admitted, much to his dislike, to Indian Institute of Technology (I.I.T.); while Darius, his second son, and daughter, Roshan, are school-going; his wife, Dilnavaz, looks after the children and the household. Their neighborhood is filthy, people urinate and defecate near the wall which encloses their building. Gustad asks a pavement artist to move near his building, draw pictures of religious Gods and Goddesses depicting the four main religions: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Sikhism. The Artist agrees, and soon the place is transformed into a huge temple where people of all religions come to pay their respects. It is only a handful of people who know ...

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | independent film

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Details

Country:

UK Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 October 1999 (UK)

Also Known As:

Un si long voyage

Filming Locations:

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$44,364 (USA) (24 March 2000)

Gross:

$92,943 (USA) (28 April 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amy International Artists, Film Works, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

More than 10 years after its publication, the novel by Rohinton Mistry, on which this film is based, was controversially removed from the syllabus of a university in India. In an ironic twist, the book ban followed a violent protest by a fringe political party which objected to sections of the book calling it a fringe political party that uses violent protests to stay relevant.

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Goofs

At the beginning, while Gustad is saying hi morning prayers, drops of sunlight fall on his face, from his brow to his chin. If the sun is rising, the sunlight should fall on him from chin to brow.

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Soundtracks

"Dil deke dekho"
Music by Usha Khanna, Majrooh
Performed by Mohammad Rafi

User Reviews

Uplifting Slice of Mumbai

This film was well scripted, well acted, and beautiful. It captures so much of what life is like for millions around the world not just in Bombay. We all have to deal with the human condition. We all have a parent-child relationship. We all have concerns about the quality of life in our immediate community, and are all ultimately affected by events on the international stage. I especially liked the philosophy of the street artist.

We have seen some of these actors before in bit parts in more mainstream films, but they all did such a fine job that I hope they continue to find parts in films worthy of their talents.