Raakh Redux
Directed by Aditya Bhattacharya,
India, 2011, 114 Minutes, Hindi (with English subtitles), New York Premiere
Cast- Aamir Khan, Supriya Pathak, Pankaj Kapur, Jagdeep, Master Ahmed Khan, Naina Balsaver

One night in an unnamed Indian city, young Aamir Hussein(Aamir Khan) is forced to watch in impotent frustration as his girlfriend Neeta is brutally gang-raped in an assault led by the scion of the Karmali mafia family. Aamir’s inability to do anything about the crime sees him leave home and sink into the city’s underbelly where he encounters the flotsam and jetsam of the decaying metropolis, chief amongst who is taciturn ex-cop P.K., who, having his own axe to grind against the Karmali clan, helps the boy Aamir become a man and exact revenge. Writer/Director Aditya Bhattacharya’s dystopian vision of modern India made Raakh an instant cult classic when released in 1989 and immediately became a benchmark film for gangster noir from which celebrated directors like Sudhir Mishra, Ram Gopal Varma and Vinod Chopra drew inspiration. The film was one of Bollywood multi-hyphenate Aamir Khan’s first starring roles and won for him a Filmfare award Best Actor nomination and a jury mention at the Indian National Awards. Pankaj Kapur won the National Award for Best Supporting Actor. The film also marked the debut of Sreekar Prasad, who won the National Award for Best Editing and ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan.

The New York Indian Film Festival will be the first to see Raakh in a spanking digital copy, specially re-mastered at Reliance Media Works and struck to coincide with this 22th anniversary.

This version of Raakh was re-edited by filmmaker Chandan Arora, editor Ram Gopal Varma's Company.

Aditya Bhattacharya is an independent writer/director/producer based in Mumbai and Rome. Bhattacharya’s award winning films have played internationally including at: The Rotterdam Film Festival, SXSW, The Cairo Int’l Film Festival, Seattle and Goa Film Festivals. He has been an actor, renowned chef of Indian cuisine in Rome, Italy and a prolific photojournalist. His directorial debut 'Raakh' was Indian superstar, Aamir Khan's first starring role and the first Hindi feature for acclaimed cinematographer Santosh Sivan and for India’s leading editor, Sreekar Prasad. 'Senso Unico,' his sophomore feature is the only Italian film ever made by an Indian. Following that Aditya made 'Dubai Return', starring Irrfan Khan, which is presently awaiting release.

Aditya has recently joined the newly formed Los Angeles and Mumbai based,Tulsea Pictures as its Chief Creative Officer. TULSEA Pictures is a global independent studio blending practices of the East and West. Aditya is a founding member of the Indian Independent Filmakers.. He has served on the Entertainment Committee of the 115 year old, Confederation of Indian Industries and twice on the script committee of the National Film Development Corporation.

Recently called “one of Bollywood’s brightest directorial stars” by Screen International Magazine, Aditya is currently in development and pre-production on a slate of films including 'The Singh Enterprise,' a NY based feature about a Sikh gang-lord in Brooklyn to be written by William Finkerstein ( 'Bad Lieutenant- Port of Call New Orleans,) with producer Leslie Holleran ('Chocolat,' 'Cider House Rules'); the Bombay-based, BMW (Bombay’s Most Wanted) with Irrfan Khan & lensed by Lisa Rinzler ('Menace II Society,' 'Pollock'); and 'Rewinder,' a pop-reincarnation story starring and featuring music by Indian American pop sensation, Sid Khosla.

Aditya is the grandson of Bimal Roy, one of the pioneers of Indian cinema, and the son of Basu Bhattacharya, a noted independent filmmaker.