Simply Perfect

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Amu is the story of a 21-year old American-Indian girl who on her staycation in India uncovers unsettling facts about her past - her roots, her identity, where she belonged. This fiction tale is woven around the true events of the 1984 Sikh genocide. A gripping narrative makes this film a compelling watch. The one hour and twenty minutes had my undivided attention. And the performances only added to it. Konkana Sen leaves me spellbound with every film. She's no different here. She plays any part with so much ease I forget I'm watching a film. Brinda Karat, our firebrand political leader and social activist, plays Konkana's mother and she it does adequately.The film explores and questions the happenings of the '84 riots, stories of which I've heard in my childhood days. Reason why I could so relate to the film. (Stories of sikhs being pulled out of houses and burnt alive, of hindus helping hide away sikhs in their houses, of wailing women and children, of widowed women being rehabilitated in what's now called the "Widow Colony"). A documentary Widow Colony was also made on this subject in 2005. It was screened at various film festivals abroad.The censor board created much noise at the time of Amu's theatrical release giving it an A-certificate and cutting out a few scenes/dialogues for reasons obvious (that you'll find out in the film and here but the film-makers gave a raw, unpeppered account of all that had happened in their DVD version in 2008 (which was not allowed to be shown on TV).Amu premiered at the Berlin and Toronto Film Festivals in 2005. Since then, it has won numerous awards and accolades including 2 National Film Awards in the Best Feature Film and Best Director (English language) categories.Pat on the back to director Shonali Bose and producer-cum-husband Bedabrata Pain (who directed Chittagong) for showing the audacity to make a film without compromising on the facts. The film steers clear of clichés and only focuses on telling the story. And it does that brilliantly! Source: http://www.balconyrow.com/2013/07/amu-2005-movie-review.html

Well I haven't yet watched this movie but I would surely like to watch it. I would like to appreciate director for such a bold and courageous effort. And the bad thing is that masses would watch it as just another work of art or ....... sadly in the so called largest democracy of the world there is no democracy at all. minorities in Punjab, eastern states, Kashmir have suffered thru successive Indian governments and continue to do so. My heart and feelings are with all those unfortunate but brave people who stood out for their self-respect and civil rights. SHAME on fascist people who still thrive freely !!! It is a blot on the image of India until justice is done to those innocent people

In Amu, a twenty-one year old Indian girl named Kaju goes back to her homeland after eighteen years to discover her roots. Adopted at age three by doctor Keya, Kaju was taken to the United States to escape the political turmoil of 1984 riots in India. Upon Kaju's return, she soon discovers that her stroll down memory lane has some obstacles and at the end awaits a bitter truth about her family.Most of the cast fit their roles wonderfully, especially Konkona Sen Sharma as Kaju and Brinda Karat as Keya. Ankur Khanna did seem out of place as Kabir, whose Keanu Reeves' (The Matrix, Constantine) type of unenthusiastic, hardened character wasn't played out well in this dramatic film.The story also seemed a bit weak, especially the tie between Kaju's background and the 1984 riots in India. The history of the riots was summed up in a few short dialogues and an approximate 10-minute clip during the climax. The dialogue for Kabir also seemed a bit repetitive as he frequently asked the same question concerning the 1984 riots.The directing was another great element in this film along with the great performances by Sharma and Karat. The scenes were well staged; especially the scene with the dancing boy and the scenes at the train station. The flashbacks that Kaju experienced were also exceptional and helped the story give a sense of depth, the feeling that something deeper has happened that Kaju's relatives are hiding from her.With the exception of Kabir's roles and the slightly melodramatic tone in some of the scenes, Amu was directed well and great performances by the other main and supporting characters. Amu also showed the true political chaos that corrupts India today. Eight out of ten.

The fact that Indian movies are much more viewable is shown best by movies like Amu appearing in theatres.Amu is about Kajju's (Konkona Sen's) exploration into her past. Right from the time I saw her in Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, I have regarded her as an excellent actress. This movie is no different. Excellent, flawless acting bu Konkona who plays an Indian girl who has grown up in the US and comes back to India.The acting by the grand mother of Kajju is interesting with some sharp dialogues 'how do girls pee from pants?'. The step mother's role is played excellently as well. However, the actor playing the boy friend to Kajju is far from satisfactory with his expressions. The screenplay also leaves a lot to be desired as a movie just about 90 minutes long has enough scenes in between which could have been edited to make the flow of scenes smoother.The movie is about how Kajju slowly finds out about the dark riots of 1984 where Sikhs were mercilessly killed in Delhi. The politicians are shown as supporting the riots and the policemen doing nothing to help. It is a shocking reality which makes one wonder how human we really are.And it is ironic that just as Kajju seems to come to terms with her tragic past, a newscaster from NDTV is shown on TV reporting about a train being burnt down in Godhra. That was the beginning of the gruesome riots of Gujarat which occurred in 2003. It seems we really will never learn from the past.