AMAR BEL (इस्मत चुग़ताई की अमर बेल) - AN ADAPTATION OF ISMAT CHUGHTAI'S TIMELESS CLASSIC

Amar Bel is a modern-day adaptation of Ismat Chughtai's timeless classic

Film By: Adil Bhatt, Atif Khan, Chaavi Mangleek, Murtaza Ali Khan, Russell Fazal

Starring: Gurleen Kaur, Athar Saeed, Neera Bakshi, Pooja Sharma, Sapna Sharma, Kajal Shoas Suri, A. M. Thokchom, Syed Afsar Hussain, Kabeer Khan, Gagan, Sahin Choudhary, Umar Khan, Arpana Mangleek, Sonia Goel, Mridula Goel, Amreen Sheikh, Rajeev Kukreja

Voiceover: Ritu Rajput

Makeup: Vridhi Kapani

Location Courtesy: Vimal Kapani, Arpana Mangleek, Jamia Millia Islamia, Hookah Paani Baithak Café, Prag Distilled Water Ice Factory

About Ismat Chughtai's Amar Bel

Amar Bel (The Eternal Vine) touches upon the strategies and domestic politics two sisters employ to gain control over their only brother. The word Amar Bel refers to a fast growing parasitical vine that has the ability to deplete any tree of its life. In the play it refers to the young second wife that the two sisters bring into the household for their much older brother, who is robbed of his peace of mind by the young woman’s innocent charm and beauty.

Amar Bel is a part of Ismat ki Do Kahaniyaan, a compilation of two stories by Ismat Chughtai that address religious prejudices (Kaafir) and societal and domestic oppression (Amar Bel). The two stories bear an aesthetic continuity in their economical style of presentation and also present a common thread of the author’s indisputable ability to convey very tangible day to day concerns with subtlety and humour. The use of colloquial Urdu and the colourful employment of language drawn from the domestic is an example of the author’s mastery not only over the language but also of identifying concerns drawn from her very environment.