In Custody

Ismail Merchant’s feature-length directorial debut is a wry, lyrical, comic drama about the tensions between contemporary and classical Indian culture, society, and domestic life, based on Anita Desai’s Booker Prize-nominated novel.

College tutor Deven (Om Puri), faced with the threatened extinction of the Urdu language — much prized by director Merchant for its beauty, sophistication, and its great literary tradition — sets out to rekindle interest in the language by recording Urdu’s greatest living poet, Nur (Shashi Kapoor) reciting his magical verse. But multiple problems block his path, among them Nur’s two shrewish wives, his own love of drink, and Deven’s incompetent use of the tape recorder, not to mention the bloated and embittered poet himself. This impossible task turns, however, into a cultural odyssey that follows a humorous and often moving path to an unexpected conclusion.

Awarded — 1994 President of India Gold Medal for Best Indian Film

UK / India / USA | English | 1994 | 126 mins | 2K Restored