Hot take: Sindhustan

‘Sindhustan’ is a documentary about the Sindhi community in India and Pakistan. First-time director Sapna Moti Bhavnani’s project started with a personal quest to learn more about her culture, eventually leading her to get her legs covered in tattoos telling the story of this mass migration. What should make for engaging viewing is however reduced to a jumble of disjointed impressions due to amateurish camerawork and overwrought symbolism.

In an attempt to avoid showing her face, it is her legs that interview her subjects, which turns out to be unintentionally comical. The documentary weaves in archival footage, contemporary interviews, arty filler shots, musical interludes and text in a way that does not quite add up to any solid emotion. None of the stories told by her subjects are particularly moving or new, and limiting this footage to only about one or two questions per person robs this film of much-needed depth. It is a sincere attempt undone by gauche filmmaking.

Genre: Documentary

Language: English/Hindi

Runtime: 1h 4min

Year of release: 2019

Streaming Platform: Moviesaints.com

Hot take is a series in which I offer my first impressions of films from India and around the world.