ESCAPE FROM TALEBAN

Starring: Manisha Koirala, Nawab Khan & Vineeta Malik
Director/s: Ujjal Chatterjee & Vijay Nopani
Producer/s: Ashok Khemka & Vijay Nopani
Music: Babul Bose
Lyrics: Mehboob

RATING: 5/10

Since the September 11th incidents all media attention has been focused on Afghanistan. Therefore it's hardly a surprise that a film depicting life in the conflict torn country has now been made with Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala in the lead role.

'Escape from Taliban' is based on a true story of Sushmita Bhandopadhaya, the woman who married Afghani national Jaanbaaz Khan. The film stems from the account of Sushmita as recorded in her autobiographical Bengali novels 'Kabuliwalar Bangali Bau' and 'Afghan O Ami'.

Blinded by love, Sushmita leaves her hometown Kolkata and follows Khan to Sarana, a small town about 18 hours away from Kabul, Afghanistan, only to find hatred and disrespect towards women in the country and was even forced to covert to Islam. The film deals with Sushmita's struggle and final escape after six years in the country from the restrictive Taliban regime.

Director Ujjal Chattopadhyay, who has directed two national award winning Bengali films, believes the film will attract much controversy due to the sensitivity of the subject. An interesting element about the film is that it is the first film in English with helpings of Pashto to be made in Mumbai.

'Escape from Taliban', the story of the plight of an Indian wife in Afghanistan, is the third film in recent times based on controversial real life stories. Shekar Kapoor's 'Bandit Queen' and Jagmohan Mundra's 'Bawandar' recreated harrowing incidents from the lives of Phoolan Devi, a bandit turned MP who was killed last year and Bhanwari Devi, a social activist who was raped by villagers for trying to prevent child marriages.

The fact that 'Escape from Taliban' is based on a true life story adds credibility to the film and may attract the interest of the public after watching Afghanistan and its people on TV over the past months. The film brings to light the harsh reality of terrorism in the Taliban that has only recently been brought into world view.

SCHEDULED RELEASE DATE: ________

PREVIEWED BY ZAHRA NAYANI