Directed by:
Shyam BenegalCinematography:
Govind NihalaniCast:
Shashi Kapoor, Nafisa Ali, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Jennifer Kendal, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Sushma Seth, Deepti Naval, Rajesh Vivek, Tom AlterPlots(1)
Junoon is one of cinema's most intelligent and engaging explorations of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After witnessing the bloody murder of her father, Anglo-Indian Ruth Labadoor is abducted by Pathan chieftain Javed Khan. Held in the suffocating confines of his home – part-prison, part-sanctuary – Ruth has to negotiate Javed's increasing obsession with her and the resentment it instils in his wife (Azmi). Based on Ruskin Bond's novella A Flight of Pigeons, it's the relationships between women that lie at the heart of the story as unexpected allegiances develop and sympathies shift. Azmi, in particular, is tremendous, prowling the house at night like a jilted tiger ready to pounce. Shyam Benegal and cinematographer Govind Nihalani brilliantly mix the claustrophobic with the epic, gentle moments of domesticity with fear and horror. (London Film Festival)
(more)Cast
Shashi Kapoor
Best movies:
The Tramp (1951)
Jinnah (1998)
Siddhartha (1972)
Nafisa Ali
India
Naseeruddin Shah
India
Shabana Azmi
India
Best movies:
1947 : Earth (1998)
Amar Akbar Anthony (1977)
The Chess Players (1977)
Jennifer Kendal
UK
Best movies:
Far Pavilions, The (1984) (series)
Heat and Dust (1983)
The Home and the World (1984)
Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Best movies:
1947 : Earth (1998)
Pinjar (2003)
Jodhaa Akbar (2008)
Sushma Seth
India
Best movies:
Tomorrow May Never Come (2003)
Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sorrow (2001)
Tamasha (2015)
Deepti Naval
India
Best movies:
Lion (2016)
You Don't Get Life a Second Time (2011)
Bang Bang! (2014)
Rajesh Vivek
India
Best movies:
Jodhaa Akbar (2008)
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)
Bandit Queen (1994)
Tom Alter
India
Best movies:
Gandhi (1982)
Amar Akbar Anthony (1977)
The Chess Players (1977)