Directed by Shonali Bose, with a powerful performance from Konkona Sen Sharma, Amu attempts to take us deep; giving a glimpse of the unanswered questions in India’s bloody past involving the innocent lives of thousands of Sikhs.
The film starts with its central character Kaju (Konkona Sen), an Indian American woman who returns to the country’s capital from Los Angeles for the first time since she was taken away when just a kid. In India, she is frequently reminded of her childhood in the slums of Old Delhi, what she would have been if she was not taken by her adopted mother Keya (Brinda Karat). While she is at a party with her cousin sister’s friends, she meets Kabir (Ankur Khanna) with whom she is drawn into a conversation about the 1984 riots in Delhi after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her own Sikh bodyguards. Kaju sets out on a journey to find what her real self was, who her parents were, and how was she involved in the deadly riots that brutally took away the lives of many Sikhs.
The storyline is amazing, backed by an excellent performance from the heroine. There is a mixture of the right amount of emotions and violence in the film which revolves around the central character. Konkona Sen’s performance is outstanding. Though being an Indian actress, her NRI accent is acceptable. (If you are wondering why the title Amu, well, it’s the name by which the main character was called when she was a kid). The mother-daughter relationship is very interesting and it is definitely a praiseworthy debut for Brinda Karat. The other cast in the supporting roles have given out their best except for Ankur Khanna who plays Kabir. He has to improve on his acting skills and this role definitely demands more from him. Some scenes are touching like when the young mother pleads for help from two Delhi policemen who remain by-standers while her Sikh husband is being massacred. The last scene shows the lead pair walking away from a Television set, reporting the 2003 Gujarat riots. People do not change even after hearing and seeing the worst.
Directed by Shonali Bose, with a powerful performance from Konkona Sen Sharma, Amu attempts to take us deep; giving a glimpse of the unanswered questions in India’s bloody past involving the innocent lives of thousands of Sikhs.
