"Amu," a new movie about the 1984 anti-Sikh Delhi riots in the wake of the assassination of Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, is opening today in the U.S. in limited release. It is written, produced and directed by Shonali Bose and the cast includes Konkona Sen Sharma (seen at right).
Here are excerpts from various U.S. reviews (more to come as the movie expands).
"Amu," the ambitious debut feature by Shonali Bose, wears its political heart on its sleeve and is unafraid to tackle big topics: identity, history, truth, injustice.
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"Amu" wants to do many things at once: to find the personal in the political, to meld the two and to indict the Indian government. Ms. Bose, who also wrote the screenplay, isn't yet a skilled enough filmmaker to weave these threads together seamlessly.
Still, this movie has moments of considerable charm (Kaju and her cousin explaining some facts of modern life to their grandmother; a boy dancing to a Bollywood song until the electricity goes off) and of real power (the riot sequences, seen from a child's perspective)
NY Post review by V.A. Musetto
"Amu" fails to grab the imagination as it unfolds in familiar TV-movie fashion. Still, Bose - a 19-year-old student in New Delhi when Gandhi was slain - deserves praise for trying to shed light on events that the Indian government to this day would like to keep hidden.
