Historic Pakistani film premiered in India

Kolkata: Film buffs in the city today got a rare opportunity to watch the Indian premiere of the 1959 historic Pakistani movie `Jago Hua Savera`, which has dialogues and songs by legendary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

Based on `Padma Nadir Majhi` (The Boatman on the River Padma), a story by Bengali novelist Manik Bandopadhyay, the film depicts a poignant tale of an impoverished fisherman who struggles to built a boat in Bangladesh. Credited as the first Pakistani film which had won international acclaim, the masterpiece by director A J Kardar had won eleven international awards, including one at the Moscow Film Festival. The film was screened at the ICCR auditorium as part of a tribute to Faiz on his birth centenary celebrations at the ongoing Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival. Faiz`s daughter Salima Hashmi, who was present on the occasion, told PTI that this was the first screening of the film in India. "Personally, it was very emotional moment because of the connections between Lahore and Kolkata and between Faiz, films and Kolkata. He (Faiz) spoke with great admiration for Satyajit Ray and his meeting with him," she said. The film`s young star cast had a rare casting combination of actors from the three neighbouring countries - India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. PTI