Sindhustan review : Of Sindh ke laal and Jhulelal

Rating: 4 stars

What : A touching documentary on the migration of the Sindhi community from Pakistan to Hindustan (India).

Where : Amazon ( in North America), Movie Saints ( for the rest of the world and India)

When: May 12, 2020.

Headline

Sindhustan– celebrity stylist Sapna Moti Bhavnani debut documentary is a beautifully inked intimate testimony that massages your soul.

Sindhustan documentary movie review

Sapna Moti Bhavnani gives a nostalgic human touch to that grossly inhuman immigration (the biggest in history as claimed by the documentary).

The origin of Sindh, the word Sindhi, Sufism, those good hearted swastika crocodiles, to Aloo Tuk, Sindhi Curry, Dahi Wada. The documentary traces the journey of the Sindhi community from Sindh province (now in Pakistan) with a heart.

The director goes through the testimonies of survivors and gets them imprinted as tattoo on herself in Madhubani etc.

The most striking part of this documentary is the humane touch and zero hatred expressed by the survivors. Yes there is pain but it’s not hate.

The ability by Sapna not to sensationalize the gross mayhem that happened in the name of religion is her major achievement.

Yes some devastatingly disturbing text from the history is shown in the beginning but what stays and registers in the eyes, mind and hearts of the viewer is the zest of survival. The haunting tales of those big swastik crocodiles, the origin of “Sufi” says in your memory.

In an interestingly smart move, Sapna uses tattoos to depict the Sindh culture and its geographical existence in those memories shared by survivors and experts as the curry in her household starts getting cooked.

This micro macro approach is a quality of filmmakers who are confident with their vision. Sapna shows her caliber as a story teller with a heart that has the sensibility of a curious child and productivity of a professional. Those tattoos, the delicacies getting prepared at home work as a perfect meta.

The audience most of the time sees the legs of Sapna and her face only appears when her journey finds its purpose – identity.

Whatever be you believe, faith or political view point, Sapna Moti Bhavnani’s Sindhustan cuddles the human in you. It’s difficult to ignore the impact those images and tattoos have. Sindhustan captures it with a pleasing emotional response, no hard feelings, just genuine feelings that cross boundaries like the Sufi culture – the ganga jamuna tehzeeb.

Bottom Line

Beautiful, compassionate and soothing that’s what Sindhustan is