Road to Sangam

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Road to Sangam

Theatrical poster
Directed by Amit Rai
Produced by Amit Chheda
Written by Amit Rai
Starring Paresh Rawal
Om Puri
Pawan Malhotra
Javed Shaikh
Swati Chitnis
Music by Nitin kumar gupta and Prem Haria
Cinematography Dharam Gulati
Distributed by Shethia Audio Video Productions
Release dates
  • October 2009 (2009-10) (Asian Film Festival, Mumbai)
  • 29 January 2010 (2010-01-29) (India)
Country India
Language Hindi

Road to Sangam (Hindi: रोड टू संगम, Urdu: روڈ ٹو سنگم‎) is a 2009 Bollywood film written and directed by Amit Rai. The film features Bollywood actors Paresh Rawal, Om Puri and Pawan Malhotra.[1]

Road to Sangam is a simple story of a God fearing, devout Muslim mechanic named Hasmat Ullah (Paresh Rawal) who has been entrusted the job of repairing an old Ford V8 engine, not knowing the historic significance – that it once carried the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi which were immersed in the holy Triveni Sangam.[2]

The film was released worldwide on 29 January 2010.

Plot

A simple story of a God fearing, devout Muslim mechanic named Hashmat Ullah (Paresh Rawal) who has been entrusted the job of repairing an old Ford V8 engine, not knowing the historic significance – that it once carried the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi which were immersed in the holy Triveni Sangam. He is caught in a complex situation after a powerful bomb explosion rocks his town leading to the arrest of innocent Muslim youths of his locality. A work strike is called by the prominent leaders of his community, played by Om Puri and Pawan Malhotra, to protest against the unjust treatment meted out to the youths arrested by the police. Will he support the protest and abandon the repair of the engine or go against the wishes of his community? Thus begins his journey. A journey of Gandhian values, principles and patriotism.

Cast

  • Paresh Rawal - Hasmat Ullah
  • Om Puri - Mohammad Ali Kasuri
  • Pawan Malhotra - Maulana Qureshi
  • Javed Shaikh - Dr. Banerjee
  • Swati Chitnis - Aara
  • Masood Akhtar - Zulfikar
  • Yusuf Hussain - Gaffar

Awards and accolades

  • 9th Annual International Film Festival (South Africa), 2 – 8 November 2009 - (best first film director)
  • 5th Annual Macon Film Festival (US), 17 – 21 February 2010 - (best film)
  • 11th Annual MAMI (Mumbai Film Festival) (India), 29 October – 5 November 2009 - (audience choice)
  • 2nd Annual Radar Hamburg International Independent Film Festival (Germany), 2 – 7 November 2009 - (best film)
  • 1st annual Los Angeles Reel Film Festival (US), 30 December 2009 (3rd place for best film, best original score and production design)
  • The Gollapudi Srinivas National Award for best debutant director (Chennai, India), 2009
  • 6th annual White Sands International Film Festival (US), 15 – 18 April 2010 (feature length narrative)
  • 4th annual Mexico International Film Festival (Mexico), 21 – 23 May 2010 (Silver Palm Award)
  • 10th annual Nickel Independent Film Festival (Canada), 22 – 26 June (best drama)
  • 1st annual London Indian Film Festival (UK), 18 July 2010 (audience choice)
  • 7th edition Bollywood and Beyond Indian film festival (Stuttgart, Germany), 21 – 25 July 2010 (director's vision)
  • 1st annual Jagran Film Festival (North India), 5 June – 28 August 2010 (Paresh Rawal for best actor, best director and jury award)
  • 17th annual Star Screen Awards (Mumbai, India), 6 January 2011 (best story)
  • 17th annual Lions Golden Awards (Mumbai, India), 11 January 2011 (Lions Favourite International Acclaimed Film and Paresh Rawal for best actor)

Official selection and nomination in festivals worldwide:

  • Third Eye Asian Film Festival (Mumbai, India) 8 - 15 October 2009
  • International Film Festival Ahmedabad (Gujarat, India)
  • 11th annual Bare Bones International Film Festival (US) 15 – 25 April 2010
  • 20th annual Cinequest Film Festival (US) 23 February – 7 March 2010
  • Ekwa (Reunion Island) 22 – 28 October 2009
  • International Film Festival (Egypt) 4 – 8 April 2010
  • International Forum of New Cinema (Kolkata, India) 13 – 19 November 2009
  • Kerala Film Festival (Kerala, India)
  • Memphis International (US) 22 – 25 April 2010
  • Swansea Bay Film Festival (UK) 7 – 16 May 2010
  • 3rd annual International Festival of Independent Cinema Off Plus Camera (Poland) 16 – 26 April 2010
  • 15th annual Trivandrum International Film Festival (Kerala, India), 30 July – 5 August 2010
  • 3rd annual Indie Spirit Film Festival (US) 23 – 25 April 2010
  • 7th annual Salento International Film Festival (Italy), 3 – 12 September 2010
  • Norway Bollywood Film Festival (Oslo, Norway) 10 – 17 September 2010
  • Yes India Film Festival (Wellington, New Zealand) 7 – 10 October 2010
  • Yes India Film Festival (Auckland, New Zealand) 28 – 31 October
  • 17th Star Screen Awards (India)
  • Stardust Awards (India)
  • 56th Film Fare (India) 29 January 2010
  • Balaji - The Global Indian Film and TV Honours (Mumbai, India) 12 February 2011
  • 4th annual Hidden Gems Film Festival (Alberta, Canada) 29 January 2012

Production

Amit Rai first formed the idea for the film when he read a story about the restoration of the truck that carried Mahatma Gandhi's ashes to the Sangam by a Muslim mechanic. After he read about Gandhi's ashes being unearthed in an Orissa bank vault, he decided to write a script based on the idea.[3] To prepare for his role as an orthodox Maulvi, Pawan Malhotra watched Urdu language channels.[4] The film was shot on location in Allahabad. Tushar Gandhi makes a cameo appearance in the film[5] and many of the secondary characters are non-actor residents of Allahabad.

Marketing

In a unique gesture, the Indian Post & Telegraphs Department issued special envelopes on the release of the film. They also put up posters and advertisements in all the post offices in the country.[6]

Music

The music has been primarily given by two young directors - Nitin kumar gupta and Prem Haria. The 500-year-old song "Vaisnav Jan", which was a favourite of Gandhi, has been rearranged for this film. The music received the award for Best Foreign Film Original Score at Los Angeles Reel Film Festival.

Reviews

The film has received acclamation all over the world. Pratyush Khaitan called it the best Gandhi film of all time.[7] Another has termed it one of the six must see forthcoming films for 2010.[citation needed]

Awards

  • 2011 Star Screen Awards - Won[8]
  • Best Story - Amit Rai

References

  1. ↑ "Road to Sangam: Complete Cast & Crew Details". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 2009-09-26. 
  2. ↑ "Road to Sangam: Movie Synopsis". Yahoo! India movies. Retrieved 2009-09-26. 
  3. ↑ "'Road to Sangam' espouses Mahatma Gandhi's tenets at Cannes". Hindu. 23 May 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2009. 
  4. ↑ "Film viewing makes people appreciate art: Actor". Times of India. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2009. 
  5. ↑ Santhosh, K. (22 August 2009). "His experiments with truth". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 December 2009. 
  6. ↑ "'Road to Sangam' ties up with India Post". Press Trust of India. 29 January 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010. 
  7. ↑ Pratyush Khaitan
  8. ↑ "Winners of 17th Annual Star Screen Awards 2011". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 2011-01-07. 

External links

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