In Custody/Muhafiz is a 1993 film by Merchant Ivory Productions. It was directed by Ismail Merchant, with screenplay by Anita Desai and Shahrukh Husain. It is based upon Desai's 1984 Booker Prize nominated novel In Custody.
Plot synopsis
Deven's (Om Puri) position as a professor of Hindi at a local college is only a means to an end. His first love is the Urdu language and in particular Urdu poetry. Deven's multiple (and often stymied) attempts to interview the great Urdu poet, Nur (Shashi Kapoor), act as a metaphor for the clash between modernization and tradition.
Cast
Shashi Kapoor... Nur Shahjenabadi
Shabana Azmi... Imtiaz Begum
Om Puri... Deven Sharma
Parikshat Sahni... Siddiqui
Amjad Khan... Musician
Sushma Seth... Safiya Begum
Neena Gupta... Sarla Sharma (Deven's Wife) Tinnu Anand... Murad
Awards
1993: Tokyo Film Festival in Kyoto (Official Selection) nomination
1994: National Film Award
Special Jury Award: Shashi Kapoor
Best Art Direction: Suresh Sawant
Musicians and vocalists
Sultan Khan - sarangi
Sunil Das - sitar
Ulhas Bapat - santoor
Ronu Majumdar - flute
Fazal Qureshi - tabla
Taufiq Qureshi - percussion
Pyush Kanojia - keyboard
Zakir Hussain - tabla
Sadiq Qureshi - daf
Vocalists
Suresh Wadkar, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan
The film also features poetry by Faiz Ahmad Faiz.
References
External links
In Custody at Merchant Ivory Productions
Film review - New York Times Archives
Obituary of Ismail Merchant which provides background and context for the story
1993 films
1993 drama films
1990s Hindi-language films
Urdu-language Indian films
1990s Urdu-language films
Films based on British novels
Films directed by Ismail Merchant
Merchant Ivory Productions films
Films whose production designer won the Best Production Design National Film Award Films that won the Best Costume Design National Film Award 1994 drama films 1994 films Faiz Ahmad Faiz