Man Push Cart (2005)

A night in the life of a former Pakistani rock star who now sells coffee from his push cart on the streets of Manhattan.

Director:

Ramin Bahrani

Writer:

Ramin Bahrani

Stars:

Ahmad Razvi, Leticia Dolera, Charles Daniel Sandoval

8 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ahmad Razvi	...	Ahmad
Leticia Dolera	...	Noemi
Charles Daniel Sandoval	...	Mohammad
Ali Reza	...	Manish
Farooq 'Duke' Muhammad	...	Duke
Panicker Upendran	...	Noori (as Upendran K. Panicker)
Arun Lal	...	Father-in-Law
Razia Mujahid	...	Mother-in-Law
Hassan Razvi	...	Ahmad's son
Mustafa Razvi	...	Pakistani Driver
Altaf Houssein	...	Altaf
Bill Lewis	...	Final Customer
Abdelrahma Abdelaziz	...	Friend at Bar
Ronak Ricky Patel	...	Newstand Worker
Shaana Levy	...	Club Worker (as Shaana Diya)

Storyline

Every night while the city sleeps, Ahmad, a Pakistani immigrant, struggles to drag his heavy cart along the streets of New York to his corner in Midtown Manhattan. And every morning, from inside his cart he sells coffee and donuts to a city he cannot call his own. He is the worker found on every street corner in every city. He is a man who wonders if he will ever escape his fate.

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Plot Keywords:

pakistani | coffee | push cart | immigrant | manhattan new york city | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pakistani Rockstar Atif Aslam's three songs were included in the film. "Aadat" is the main track while portions of the songs "Ehsaas" and "Yakeen" are also introduced in the film. All are taken from the album Jal Pari.

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Connections

Featured in Life Itself (2014)

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Soundtracks

Aadat
Written by Goher Mumtaz
Performed by Atif Aslam and Goher Mumtaz

User Reviews

Impressive and strong portrayal of loneliness

I saw the film at the festival Mannheim, and although I wanted to stay some minutes only to get a feeling for the film I eventually stayed until the end. The film has a captivating, almost entrancing rhythm, like a song, always coming back to the lonely refrain-image of the protagonist pushing his cart through NYC. To call it "sad" would be like calling "Taxi Driver" a sad film. Authentic is certainly more appropriate, maybe even wild. Not in matters of dynamics but in terms of consistency. No fear to show things as they are. In real life, people lose their loved ones and can't replace them, they don't kiss potential new loves although they probably should and they can't take care of other beings or give life to their own existence if they are merely a shell of their former self. And who can blame anyone for not doing something that seems to be so easy for one person but is very hard to achieve for somebody else? Brilliant photography and lyrical representations of loneliness in an overcrowded place.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Urdu

Release Date:

10 May 2006 (France)

Also Known As:

Czlowiek z budka

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,694, 10 September 2006

Gross USA:

$36,608

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$55,903

Company Credits

Production Co:

Noruz Films (I), Flip Side Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1