Tahaan (2008)

After his family's donkey is confiscated by a moneylender, 8-year-old Tahaan travels across conflict-torn Kashmir to find his beloved pet.

Director:

Santosh Sivan

Writers:

Santosh Sivan (story), Santosh Sivan (screenplay)

Stars:

Victor Banerjee, Purav Bhandare, Rahul Bose

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Victor Banerjee	...	Grandfather
Purav Bhandare	...	Tahan
Rahul Bose	...	Zafar
Ankush Dubey	...	Idrees
Rasika Dugal	...	Nadira
Rahul Khanna	...	Kuka Saab
Anupam Kher	...	Subhan Daar
Fatima Sana Shaikh
Dheirya Sonecha	...	Yaseen

Storyline

A tender fable about childhood innocence amid the realities of war is set against the rugged landscape of Kashmir, so long a flash point for the territorial claims of neighboring India and Pakistan. The title character, an eight year old mountain boy, often hears distant gunfire. But it is not until he goes on a quest to reclaim his beloved donkey, which has been confiscated as payment of his poor family's debts, that he is drawn toward a violence he has no capacity to understand.

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Plot Keywords:

donkey | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was originally titled " Dastaan".

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Soundtracks

Tahaan - Victory
(Theme)
Composed by Taufiq Qureshi
Courtesy of Super Cassettes Industries Limited (T-Series)

User Reviews

A must watch.. beautiful innocent smooth calm gripping experience..

Santosh Sivan's Tahaan is a beautiful joy-ride down a child's psyche and his perception of the world around him that rotates on the give-and-take policy.

"Tahaan's meaning is different in different languages. In some languages it means 'Merciful', in Bengali it means 'Tolerance' while in some other languages it means 'Curse'. Actually here the boy is named Tahaan. " says Santosh Sivan, the director of this films. His films (Tahaan, Before the Rains, Prarambha (short), Navarasa, Anandabhadram, Theeviravaathi: The Terrorist, Malli, Halo, Asoka..) have always been something I look forward to..

The tranquil valley, reverberating with the constant shelling and army beats sets the perfect foil which paradise on earth witnesses everyday, the affection with which both the militants and the separatists handle Tahaan's inquisitiveness rather asserts the fact that irrespective of what one is , one's heart melts in front of something so innocent and beautiful. Santosh Sivan strikes the right chord with this film, one wonders why such a palpable insight into Kashmir was missing in films dealing with the same issues..

This movie will give you an experience you can't find a substitute for.. watch it for its effort..

Details

Country:

India USA

Release Date:

5 September 2008 (India)

Also Known As:

Tahaan - Il ragazzo con la granata

Filming Locations:

Kashmir, India

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$135,989

Company Credits

Production Co:

Santosh Sivan Productions, iDream Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1