Anamika Haksar’s indie film Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon gets more shows in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore

Veteran theatre personality Anamika Haksar’s award-winning debut feature film, Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon, will be screened in Ahmedabad and Bangalore. The film has also got an additional two shows in Mumbai. After having its international premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, the film premiered at Soho House Mumbai on June 7 and had a limited theatrical release in India. 

The producer-director, Anamika was overjoyed with the responses. She said, “It is an unprecedented moment for our film that it ran full houses for a whole week. It is also a breakthrough for Indie cinema in India.” 

The film, which stars veteran theatre artistes, like Ravindra Sahu, Raghubir Yadav, Lokesh Jain and K Gopalan, follows four main characters: a pickpocket, a vendor of sweet and savoury snacks, a labourer-activist, and a conductor of 'Heritage Walks’. Patru, the pickpocket, decides to take people on alternative walks, showing them the underbelly of the city but this causes trouble with local merchants and the police. He decides to conduct one last ‘Dream Walk’ when Lali, the labourer-activist, too joins the fray, giving a speech urging workers to unite. They land in jail. The professional actors blend with 350 street people to create what seems like a surreal tale of truth.

Shiladitya Bora, the distributor of the film, said, “We are thrilled and amazed by the response after the theatrical release. With back-to-back packed houses throughout the week in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, etc, it reconfirms our belief that there is a space for all kinds of cinema. If all the stakeholders – creators, distributors and exhibitors come hand in hand and try to get the attention of the core audience the film is made for, it is possible to make even small independent film work.”

Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon had its World Premiere at the MAMI Mumbai Film festival and was selected for the exclusive New Frontier section at Sundance Film Festival 2019. The film was slated to release in 2020 but got pushed due to the pandemic.

The film is produced by Gutterati Productions and distributed by Platoon One Films.