Idiot (1992 film)

Summary

Idiot is a 1992 Hindi drama film based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1869 novel, The Idiot.[1] It was directed by Mani Kaul and starred Shah Rukh Khan and Ayub Khan-Din. The film debuted at the New York Film Festival in October 1992. In this version of the tale, placed in contemporary Mumbai, Prince Miskin (Khan-Din) is a man whose epilepsy is mistaken for idiocy.

Idiot
Directed byMani Kaul
Written byAnup Singh
Hemendra Bhatia
Rajeev Kumar
Based onThe Idiot
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
StarringShah Rukh Khan
Ayub Khan-Din
CinematographyPiyush Shah
Edited byLalitha Krishna
Music byVikram Joglekar
D. Wood
Release date
  • 8 October 1992 (1992-10-08)
Running time
165 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

Cast edit

Production and release edit

The film was first released as a four-part television mini-series on state-run Doordarshan channel in 1991, and despite it outing at debuted at the New York Film Festival in October 1992, it was never commercially released.[2][3] In 1993, it was not part of the 24th International Film Festival of India but was shown privately to some festival delegates.[4] It was screened at the Mumbai Film Festival in October 2016 with the title "Ahamaq".[5]

Reception edit

According to the New York Times, "it turns a literary masterpiece into a numbing soap opera as incoherent as it is technically crude."[6]

Awards edit

References edit

  1. ^ Derek Malcolm (14 July 2011). "Mani Kaul obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  2. ^ Holden, Stephen (8 October 1992). "Review/Film Festival; Dostoyevsky's 'Idiot,' by Way of Bombay". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  3. ^ Anupama Chopra (2 October 2007). King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema. Grand Central Publishing. pp. 44–. ISBN 978-0-446-50898-8.
  4. ^ Jain, Madhu (15 February 1993). "Reflecting reality". India Today. New Delhi: Living Media. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Shah Rukh Khan's unreleased film Ahamaq to screen at MAMI". 17 October 2016. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
  6. ^ Holden, Stephen (8 October 1992). "Dostoyevsky's Idiot by way of Bombay". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Critics Award for Best Film". Indiatimes. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014.

External links edit