Echoes of a Divided Land: Gurvinder Singh’s ‘Rehmat’ Captures the Raw Pulse of Modern Punjab

In the heart of rural Punjab, where the weight of history often presses heavily against the fragility of the present, filmmaker Gurvinder Singh has captured something profoundly haunting. His latest feature, Rehmat, which makes its world premiere this week in the Concorso Internazionale at the 79th Locarno Film Festival, is more than a cinematic endeavor; it is a visceral examination of displacement, inherited trauma, and the slow erosion of a society caught between past glory and present despair.

As the sole Indian feature in the festival’s prestigious main competition, Rehmat enters the race for the Golden Leopard (Pardo d’Oro) carrying the gravity of a region that refuses to be silenced. Adapted from the poignant short stories of acclaimed Punjabi writer Ajeet Cour, the film weaves three distinct, yet thematically tethered, narratives that explore the psychological landscape of contemporary Punjab.

The Haunting Reality of Location

The filmmaking process for Rehmat was marked by a sobering, real-life tragedy that underscored the film’s central themes of loss. The house selected as the ancestral home of the protagonist, Rashid Ali, was inhabited by a local family who welcomed the crew with open arms. Shortly after the first encounter, the family suffered an unimaginable loss: their 19-year-old son died of a drug overdose.

"When I looked at him, the first thought that ran in my mind was that he was on drugs," Singh recalls. "And he died of an overdose within two months. What else do I need to say? How can that not affect you as a filmmaker planning a film in that scenario? How can you avoid depicting such a state of affairs?"

This incident, while tragic, serves as a grim mirror to the "bleak" reality Singh observes in modern-day Punjab. The director speaks candidly about a generation lost to a lack of imagination, where the pride of land ownership and caste identity has curdled into a false sense of entitlement. "The gender discourse is abysmal, especially in the villages," Singh adds. "No wonder so many young girls are escaping to the West."

A Career Defined by Oral History and Closure

Gurvinder Singh is no stranger to the landscape of trauma. Three decades ago, he began his journey by documenting the folk ballads and oral histories of Punjab. His debut feature, Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan (Alms for a Blind Horse), premiered at the Venice Film Festival 15 years ago, marking him as a singular voice in Indian parallel cinema.

Rehmat feels like the culmination of this long-standing dialogue with his homeland. While Singh did not personally experience the 1947 Partition, he grew up in the shadow of its aftermath—the militancy of the 1980s and the 1984 anti-Sikh carnage in Delhi.

"Frankly speaking, this film offers me a closure," Singh admits. "I feel it has brought out all that I needed to express about the divided land and its people." This sense of personal resolution is rooted in his affinity for Ajeet Cour’s work, which deals extensively with the "uprootedness" experienced by his grandparents’ generation, who migrated from Lahore to Delhi.

Naseeruddin Shah: A Masterclass in Empathy

The film is anchored by a commanding performance from legendary Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah, who portrays Rashid Ali—a Punjabi Muslim man who left India before the Partition and returns to his birthplace after a lifetime in England.

Shah’s decision to join the project was a leap of faith, made long before the script was fully realized. "I’d seen and been deeply moved by Gurvinder’s films," Shah explains. "His cinematic sensibility and his take on the turmoil in his home state made profound statements. I just thought I’d like to be part of such films."

For Singh, the casting process was a collaborative evolution. "I approached Naseer without having written the script, only having a vague outline of the character," Singh says. "His acceptance gave me the possibilities to expand and flesh it out, knowing the kind of conviction, intellect, and charisma he would bring. It was a new territory for me."

On set, the directing style was minimalist. Singh opted to observe the veteran actor rather than provide explicit guidance, noting that Shah’s mastery over physical gestures and the handling of objects turned the character into a "personal expression."

For his part, Shah embraced the inherent contradictions of the role. A non-Punjabi speaker, he utilized his status as an outsider to mirror Rashid’s own detachment. "I agree I don’t have the Punjabi heartiness and I don’t look Punjabi," Shah notes. "But I think that helped to identify Rashid as an outsider. Actors aren’t psychoanalysts; one must be able to empathize with the character’s situation."

Aesthetic Choices: The Power of the Long Take

Rehmat is defined by Singh’s signature preference for long, unbroken takes—a stylistic choice that finds a willing partner in Shah. The director argues that the "sense of uninterrupted time" afforded by these takes creates a different quality of attention for the audience.

"Perhaps life is also like that," Singh muses. "Our ways of seeing and engaging keep altering."

Shah, who draws on his extensive experience in theater, agrees. "I love long takes. It fits beautifully with my stage work. Frankly, I don’t believe there’s a great difference between stage and film acting if truth is what you’re looking to find."

The visual language of the film is further enhanced by the locations themselves. Beyond the ancestral home, the crumbling 19th-century school buildings and the desolate, untended lanes of the village acted as characters, reshaping the narrative during location scouting.

An Ensemble of Truth

The film’s authenticity is bolstered by a stellar supporting cast, including Suvinder Vicky, Mita Vashisht, Navjot Randhawa, and Diya Kamboj. A particularly notable inclusion is the celebrated Punjabi poet Jaswant Zafar, who makes his acting debut at age 60.

"Whenever I have cast a non-actor in a major role, it is fully knowing that the person will play himself or herself on screen," Singh says of casting Zafar. "He has all the natural qualities I had imagined in Harjap and a profound sense of the feelings that he carries, both as a common man and as an intellectual."

Production and Future Outlook

Rehmat is the inaugural project for Pavo Films, a Paris-based production company launched by Andrei Cosmin Illes and Némésis Srour. It represents a significant international collaboration between India’s Vahao Studio and the European firm, ensuring the film finds a global platform.

For Naseeruddin Shah, whose career dates back to the seminal parallel cinema movement of the 1970s, Rehmat is a vital addition to the cultural canon. "I believe it’s important that these films get made," he asserts. "Even if not widely seen now, they will remain as a testament."

As for Singh, the future remains an open canvas. Having arrived at filmmaking through a "conspiracy of the universe," he finds himself returning to his roots. "I am not sure what I want to do after this," he reflects. "I grew up painting and writing. I am painting again these days."

Rehmat stands as a haunting, beautiful, and necessary piece of cinema—a testament to a director who refuses to look away from the scars of history, even when the reality of the present threatens to overwhelm the frame. It is a work that demands not just to be seen, but to be felt, serving as both a requiem for a lost past and a mirror for a fractured present.