Most of us always identify Pakistani films as reflections of their essentially Muslim culture, we saw the same with Khuda Kay Liye. But Ramchand Pakistani, as the name suggests, talks about an issue, which was never discussed, in both the Indian and Pakistani cinemas before – the issue of poor Dalit Hindus in ‘Muslim’ Pakistan.
However, the movie is not there to make a statement about the Dalit issues or religious 
sentiments in India or Pakistan. It is there simply to show people the intricacy and beauty of the human bonding in a politically hostile environment.
A Pakistani director may have directed the film, but the film doesn’t take sides. It doesn’t decide what is right or wrong, it doesn’t the political hostility and it doesn’t criticize the legal and social systems on both sides of the border. It is secular and non-judgmental.
It simply tells the tale of a small innocent Pakistani Hindu family that become victims of political hostility between the two countries. 7-year-old Ramchand (Syed Fazal Hussain) and his father Shankar (Rashid Farooqui) accidentally cross the border and enter India where they are arrested by the border security on pretext of spying. The are imprisoned in Gujarat for five years while Ramchand’s mother Champa (Nandita Das) helplessly waits for her husband and son.
Its amazing how director Mehreen Jabbar, focused purely on the evolution of Ramchand in the prison and his relationship with his father and with the jail’s female warden Kamla. Champa’s struggle for survival all alone is also very beautifully depicted.
Overall, its an amazing movie, superb storytelling, screenplay and direction. The performances by all the actors are commendable.
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