Qissa

Qissa is a Indian-German drama film and it was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival where it won the Netpac Award for World or International Asian Film. Set amidst the ethnic cleansing and general chaos that accompanied India's partition in 1947, this sweeping drama tells the story of Umber Singh, a Sikh, attempting to forge a new life for his family while keeping their true identities a secret from their community. Uprooted by the religious violence that came with partition in 1947, Umber and his family moved to a safer locale in an attempt to forge a new life for his family while keeping their true identities a secret from their community by bringing up his fourth daughter as a son. It is here that the story takes a remarkable turn. History and folklore come together in this tale set in the aftermath of the Partition of India. As Umber's daughter is raised as a boy, the characters are propelled with greater and greater urgency towards their inevitable fates.