Movie ‘Ghanti’ deals with the ongoing threat to the Sindhi language and the need of Sindhi speakers to interact in their mother tongue in India

Ahmedabad, Gujarat

A new Sindhi short movie titled ‘Ghanti’, has recently been released in India that deals with the ongoing threat to the Sindhi language and the need of Sindhi speakers to interact in their mother tongue, in the present cosmopolitan milieu. Short movie ‘Ghanti’ of 25 minute duration has been produced by Urmika Wadhwa. The film was screened at the 18th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF), held in June 2024 that showcased emerging talents in student filmmaking.

 Synopsis of the Film

Ghanti is a short film adapted from a story of the same name. The story is written by Harish Vasvani, recipient of the Sahitya Akademi award for contribution to Sindhi literature.

It follows the journey of Baba, an old Sindhi man living in Ahmedabad with his son’s family, who longs to speak to someone in his mother tongue, before he dies.

Among Hindu Sindhi migrants today, the language is nearing extinction, as the only remaining speakers of the language are members of the grandparent generation.

The film attempts to raise awareness about this dying language and also seeks to ask – what happens when a thing as rich as a language and a culture dies? How do speakers of that language communicate authentically? And what account shall we keep of its loss, in the future.

In today’s increasingly homogenizing world, Ghanti brings to the spotlight the subtle, unspoken sentiments and predicaments of being from a minority Diaspora community alienated from its

Filmmaker’s Bio

Urmika Wadhwa was born in New Delhi. She did her Bachelors of Arts in English and Masters of Arts in Sociology from University of Delhi. After that she worked with the Government of India as a public sector consultant at Quality Council of India, an autonomous body under the government. After working with various central ministries for 2.5 years, she joined the National Institute of Design as a Film Student.

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Published under International Cooperation with "Sindh Courier"