It’s seldom that we make introspective films laced with dark humour. It’s great to find such superlative effort from first time filmmaker. We need to invest in such cinema as it’s important that young filmmakers shouldn’t lose faith in their vision. Go watch the film to understand the futility of Partition and to laugh at our obsession with cinema. And yes, to support good filmmaking as well…

For an (almost) all new cast and first-time director, it’s commendable how ‘Filmistaan’ creates a vibrant frame in spite of relying (rather heavily) on the clichéd Bollywood dream.

So, head to the cinemas, you won’t regret it.

Filmistaan may win accolades from the critics and a thin section of the audience in the big cities but that’s about all. Save for a few multiplexes in the major cities, it can’t hope to score at all. Even if collections pick up, that will happen in a handful of cities only.

Scenes are elaborate without being flabby, and the humour in the dialogues and situations—never rising above the literal, but sharp—keep the film breezy.
Imagine a utopia which is neither India nor Pakistan, where a whole village laughs and cries watching Hindi films under the desert moon, and despite being hostage to religion-driven fanaticism, the hero uses a film camera to win hearts.

Small film with a huge heart (and unrealised potential) that deserves to be watched for some lovely moments