In Custody (film)

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In Custody / Hifazaat
Directed by	Ismail Merchant
Produced by	Wahid Chowhan Paul Bradley (executive) Donald Rosenfeld (executive)
Written by	Anita Desai (novel) Shahrukh Husain
Starring	Shashi Kapoor Shabana Azmi Om Puri Sushma Seth Amjad Khan Mohammed Ali Parikshat Sahni
Music by	Zakir Hussein Ustad Sultan Khan
Cinematography	Larry Pizer
Editing by	Roberto Silvi
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Classics (US, 1994) Criterion Collection (US DVD, 2005)
Release date(s)	October 1993 (Tokyo Film Festival in Kyoto) 8 June 1994 (France)
Running time	126 minutes
Language	Urdu Hindi
IMDb profile

In Custody/Hifazaat (1993) is a film by Merchant Ivory Productions. It was directed by Ismail Merchant, with a screenplay by Anita Desai and Shahrukh Husain. It is based upon Desai's 1984 Booker Prize nominated novel In Custody.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1 Plot synopsis
2 Cast
3 Awards
4 Musicians and Vocalists
5 External links

[edit] Plot synopsis

Deven's (Om Puri) position as a professor of Hindi at a local college is only a means to an end. His first love is the Urdu language and in particular Urdu poetry. Deven's multiple (and often stymied) attempts to interview the great Urdu poet, Nur (Shashi Kapoor), acts as a metaphor for the clash between modernization and tradition.

[edit] Cast

Shashi Kapoor .... Nur
Shabana Azmi .... Imtiaz Begum
Om Puri .... Deven
Tinnu Anand .... Murad
Parikshat Sahni .... Siddiqui
Amjad Khan .... Musician
Mohammed Ali .... The Chief Guest

[edit] Awards

1993 : Tokyo Film Festival in Kyoto (Official Selection) nomination.
- No award, but President of jury Jeanne Moreau very fond of this, and she asked to make her starring film. Then they made The Proprietor in 1996.
1994 : President of India Gold Medal for Best Picture