Garm Hava

Followed by a Post-Screening Dinner with Mehfil. The ticket includes both the film screening and the dinner afterwards.

M. S. Sathyu, India 1973, 136 min. Hindi, Urdu with English subtitles

Introduced by Dr. Salma Siddique.

Curated by Schayan Riaz as part of the SINEMAplural fellowship

Garm Hava (Hot Winds) is a landmark of South Asian cinema and one of the most profound films on the Partition of India and Pakistan. Directed by M. S. Sathyu and starring Balraj Sahni, it tells the story of Salim Mirza, a Muslim businessman who chooses to remain in post-Independence India, even as his family migrates across the new border to Pakistan. The film quietly captures the lingering wounds and devastating trauma of Partition by touching on themes like displacement, loss and nationalism. It couldn’t be more topical in today’s climate of polarization and propaganda.

Dr. Salma Siddique is research faculty at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, specializing in South Asian popular cinema, Islamicate screen cultures and immigrant media. She is the author of "Evacuee Cinema: Bombay and Lahore in Partition Transit 1940-1960".