Karvaan (Hindi) [Shadows In The Dark]

I was really surprised by this one because even though there are a million movies about the 1947 India-Pakistan partition, this one feels totally different. Instead of just focusing on the usual stuff like the riots and the violence, it zooms in on a much more personal story about two families thrown together by fate. The director actually tackles the parts of partition people don't talk about as much, specifically what the women went through and, believe it or not, a gay and bisexual relationship. It shows how all that psychological damage from back then is still messed up today, and I’m honestly shocked an indie Hindi film had the guts to portray a queer bond like this.

The story follows a woman named Lajma in present-day Pakistan who decides to head back to India to visit her old family home where her aunt and uncle lived. Being there brings back a massive flood of memories, so most of the movie is told through flashbacks. We see her uncle escaping to Delhi during the partition, where he’s forced to share a space with a Muslim family that really doesn't want him there. Lajma and her mom eventually move in with him, too. While the family drama is happening, a huge part of the plot focuses on Gautam, who is Lajma's cousin. Gautam ends up falling hard for Jamal, the son of the Muslim neighbors. Jamal is this reckless, charming guy, and the two of them start a secret, consensual affair. But everything gets messy when Gautam realizes Jamal is also hooking up with Lajma. Jamal seems to be into both of them and is constantly questioning what he’s doing with his life. Eventually, Lajma’s rebellious streak gets her kicked out of the house, and she has to go find her own way in the world. The movie wraps up with Gautam and Lajma as old people, just sitting and talking about everything that happened.

I have to say, I was really impressed with how carefully the movie handled the relationship between Jamal and Gautam. It shows Gautam checking Jamal out and finally getting the courage to tell him how he feels. They hang out all the time, and Jamal is totally down for it when things get physical—it’s clear they’re both into it. But then Jamal meets Lajma and starts seeing her, too, and it feels like he either loves them both or he’s just such a rebel that he doesn’t care about the rules. You just don't see many Hindi films from that era showing two guys falling for each other like this. The movie jumps around in time quite a bit and swaps actors as the characters get older, which might be a little confusing, but I thought the mix of history and forbidden love was super interesting. This is the kind of indie movie that usually gets lost in the crowd, and I bet hardly anyone outside of film festivals has even heard of it. Having big names like Naseeruddin Shah and Kitu Gidwani is a nice touch, but the new actors playing the leads were the ones who really had to be brave to take this on. It’s a really nice look at morality and sexuality during a time when India was just starting to move into the 21st century.

It's a really bold and thoughtful indie film that digs into the complicated emotional and sexual fallout of the partition in a way most movies wouldn't dare. (6/10)