Ismail Merchant's feature directorial debut addresses a subject close to his heart: the expressive Urdu language of Northern India, in danger of extinction as political trends and modernization obscure its contributions to Indian culture. Merchant 's treatment is wry and good humored , as his characters - an aging Urdu poet (Shashi Kapoor) and a worshipful young college lecturer - clash despite their shared passion for the beauty of words.

In Custody (1994)

★ 5/10 April 15, 1994 126 min

ComedyDrama

Director: Ismail Merchant  ·  Writers: Anita Desai, Shahrukh Husain

Ismail Merchant's feature directorial debut addresses a subject close to his heart: the expressive Urdu language of Northern India, in danger of extinction as political trends and modernization obscure its contributions to Indian culture. Merchant 's treatment is wry and good humored , as his characters - an aging Urdu poet (Shashi Kapoor) and a worshipful young college lecturer - clash despite their shared passion for the beauty of words.

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Director

Ismail Merchant

Cast

Shashi Kapoor Nur Om Puri Deven Shabana Azmi Imtiaz Begum Neena Gupta Sarla Sushma Seth Safiya Begum Tinnu Anand Prayag Raj Parikshat Sahni Sagar Arya Yusuf Khurram Riju Bajaj Nayeem Hafizka