Land Gold Women is a 2011 English-language film written and directed by Avantika Hari, a graduate of the London Film School. The film is produced by Mumbai-based Vivek Agrawal. It is the first film in English that deals with the issue of honor killings. The film won India’s National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English for Director Avantika Hari and Producer Vivek Agrawal. The award was presented by the President of India, Mrs. Pratibha Patil. Land Gold Women was shot entirely in the UK and is an Indo -UK production made under the production banner Avantika Hari and Vivek Agrawal now run A Richer Lens together.
Plot
Set in modern Birmingham, Land Gold Women revolves around a small British Asian family caught between their traditional past and the tumultuous, faction-driven present. Nazir Ali Khan, a soft-spoken, 45-year-old professor of History at a University in Birmingham, emigrated from India in the 1980s. He made Birmingham his home with his conservative wife Rizwana and their two children, Saira, 17 and Asif, 14. He indulges their interests in all things English and Western but now finds himself increasingly nostalgic about his roots. Saira, with a year to complete her graduation, is excited at the prospect of going to university to pursue her interest in Literature. She also hopes that this will give her more time to spend with David, her aspiring writer boyfriend. At this critical juncture in her life, Nazir finds himself feeling increasingly conflicted at the thought of his daughter going out into the big bad world. His fears are further strengthened by the arrival of his older brother Riyaaz from India. A staunch traditional man, Riyaaz arrives with a proposal of marriage for Saira. A man of his word, who takes great pride in his roots, Riyaaz doesn’t intend on taking a ‘no’ for an answer. With the threat of an illicit relationship looming over his head and the prospect of getting cut off from the rest of his family, Nazir finds himself at the brink of a terrible decision to make: Should he save face? Or save his daughter?
The film has been screened at the International Film Festival of India IFFI held in Goa. At IFFI, the film was part of the Indian Panorama section which selects 26 of the Best feature films from the country. It also screened at the European Film Market and the Berlin Film Festival. Land Gold Women won the Foreign Correspondence Association 'Purple Orchid' Award for Best Feature Film at the Asian Festival of First Films in Singapore. The Award was won by the film for "An Engaging Story line which reaches out to an International Audience". The film benefited from a strong performance by the cast, a compelling story line and a well crafted production. It also won the award for Best Script/Screenplay for Avantika Hari. The film was further nominated in the Best Producer and Jury Best Film Awards. In the North American circuit, it got the Royal Reel Award for Excellence in Film making at the 2010 Canada International Film Festival, the Best of Show Award at Indie Fest and won 3 awards at the Reel Heart International Film Festival held in Toronto, Ontario. The awards were, Best Film, Best Actor for Narendra Samra and Best Cinematography for David Rom. The film has received numerous nominations in various categories at International Film Festivals. The soundtrack of the film was nominated for an Award at the East End Film Festival held every year in London. The film also received a nomination for Best UK first Feature for Avantika Hari.
Reception
"Land Gold Women is not a film for feeble-minded or those looking for Bollywood style happy endings", writes Preeti Arora.
