Anwar is the story of a young man, an artist, who leaves his home and everything he knows in order to escape a world he no longer recognizes. All he ever wanted was a love story, Instead, his mentor abandons him and his best friend and his one true love betray him. Devastated, emotionally exhausted, he takes refuge in an old building, only to wake up the next morning to find his world turned upside down. Mistaken for a terrorist, Anwar finds himself in the midst of an unusual set of circumstances that resonate deeply with the modern Indian Condition and indeed with the Human Condition in this present-day global village.
Acting
Siddharth Koirala's shattered vulnerability is devastating.
Direction
Manish Jha builds dread through quiet, poetic frames.
Score
Roop Kumar Rathod's music haunts long after.
Director
Manish Jha
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released during peak post-9/11 Islamophobia, it captures a specific Indian Muslim alienation rarely depicted in mainstream cinema. The 'unusual circumstances' mirror real cases of mistaken identity terror arrests across India.
Siddharth Koirala is Manisha Koirala's brother; their real sibling dynamic adds unsettling layers to their on-screen mentor-protege relationship that collapses into abandonment.
IN
