Nandita Das, Ramchand Pakistani Make an Impact

The South Asian community was out in force for the premiere of MehreenThe South Asian community was out in force for the premiere of Mehreen Jabbar’s (pictured right) Ramchand Pakistani on Monday night, and though the crowd was certainly engaged by the all-too-topical true story, in which eight-year-old Ramchand accidentally wanders over the Pakistani border with India and winds up imprisoned for almost five years, it was star Nandita Das (pictured left) who had the packed theater in the palm of her hand. Das drew an ovation for her almost-wordless performance as Ramchand’s mother, Champa, and got another round of applause upon opening her mouth to riff on Jabbar’s explanation of how she lassoed the Bollywood superstar into her debut feature. “I told Mehreen that I’d do the film, but only if I could play Ramchand,” quipped Das, who went on to note that this was, in fact, her second time performing for Jabbar, following a short film the two women had worked on together. According to the director’s father, Javed Jabbar, who also produced Ramchand Pakistani, Das isn’t the only person with Ramchand-envy. After fielding several questions about the fraught—though improving—relationship between India and Pakistan, and seconding his daughter’s wish for the film to help expose the plight of the many “forgotten prisoners” held by each country, Jabbar noted that one recent event in particular suggested that Ramchand Pakistani may already be making an impact. “Two Pakistani boys got fed up with their parents and decided to run away to India,” he said, a look of bemusement crossing his face. “They dug a tunnel underneath the border fence, and when they reached the other side, of course, they were detained by Indian soldiers. But perhaps because they knew that Ramchand was about to premiere,” he added, “the Indians let the boys go after only four days.” Lesson learned, no doubt.

Nandita Das, Ramchand Pakistani Make an Impact