Umrika

Plot

The film begins with Udai (Prateik Babbar) leaving his village for the United States. Following the death of his father, Udai's younger brother Ramakant (Suraj Sharma) realises that the letters his family has been receiving from Udai have been forged by his father and uncle, and learns that Udai vanished when he reached his port city, Mumbai. He embarks upon a journey to locate his brother.

Cast

Release

Shortly after its premiere, the film was sold by sales agent Beta Cinema to France, Germany, Austria, Australia, South Korea and numerous other territories, making it one of the most widely distributed Indian independent films of recent times that was incidentally, never released in India. The film had its European premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, 2015 .

Critical reception

Kenneth Turan of The Los Angeles Times called Umrika a "warmly intelligent film" and included it in his 25 Films of note at Sundance 2015. Variety praised the film, giving kudos to "Nair’s soundly constructed script and deft handling of a very good cast." The Hollywood Reporter stated Nair has managed to incorporate several big and abstract topics — including what ties us to our families and place of birth and the extent to which these things are important — into a story in which they become highly personal for the characters.

Awards