''My Pure Land'' is a 2017

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

-language British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by British Pakistani filmmaker

Sarmad Masud Sarmad Masud, also known as Sam Masud, is a British filmmaker whose 2017 movie '' My Pure Land'' was the first Urdu language film nominated by the UK for a Foreign Language Oscar award. Personal life Sarmad Masud was born in Bradford to immigrant ...

. It was selected as the British entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

at the

90th Academy Awards The 90th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2017, and took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was held on March 4, ...

, but it was not nominated. It was the first time the United Kingdom had submitted an Urdu-language film.

Inspiration

British-Pakistani filmmaker Sarmad (Sam) Masud, born in

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

to immigrant parents, based the film on the life of Nazo Dharejo, after reading a 2012 story in

The Express Tribune ''The Express Tribune'' is a daily English-language newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the flagship publication of the '' Lakson Group'' media group. It is Pakistan's only internationally affiliated newspaper in a partnership with the '' Intern ...

that called her "the toughest woman in

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

." Masud describes the film as "a modern-day feminist Western set in Pakistan, based on the extraordinary true story of one woman and her family who defended their home and land from 200 bandits."

Plot

Nazo Dharejo lives on a farm in rural Sindh, with her parents, two sisters, and an older brother. Early in the film, her father encourages his daughters as well as his son to value the land and be prepared to defend it: ""No matter what happens, you need to protect this land. This isn't just land. This is your honour." After Nazo's father and brother are arrested, a scheming uncle tries to lay claim to the family farm. Nazo, with her mother and sisters, defends their land, even when it is attacked by 200 mercenaries, hired by the uncle.

Reception

After its debut showing at the 2017

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...

, ''My Pure Land'' was selected as the British entry for the

at the

, marking the first time the United Kingdom had submitted an

language film. Although it did not become one of the Academy's nominees, the "Oscar connection" helped to boost the film's profile. Reviewers generally praised the film's beauty, its emotional impact, and the acting of Pakistani dancer

Suhaee Abro Suhaee Abro (, ) is a Pakistani dancer and actress. She specialises in the field of dance and is a trained classical dancer. Suhaee works in television plays, theatre, documentaries and music videos. She won the Best New Television Sensation ...

as the teenaged protagonist Nazo Dharejo. The extensive use of flashbacks was interesting to some and confusing to others. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' gave the film two stars out of five, calling it "a good idea gone slightly awry." ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', giving it four out of five stars, called the film "lyrical, heart-poundingly tense and strikingly feminist." On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on reviews from 17 critics.

Cast

as Nazo * Salman Ahmed Khan as Amir * Tanveer Hussain Syed as Baba * Razia Malik as Waderi * Tayyab Ifzal as Zulfiqar * Eman Fatima

References

External links