Set in Delhi s Manju-Ka-Tilla, Tibetan film opens at Toronto fest
Set in Delhi s Tibetan settlement at Manju-Ka-Tilla this film is the couple s follow-up to their 2005 film Dreaming Lhasa.
Inspired by the shooting incident of 2006 on Nangpa La Pass - between Tibet and Nepal - where Chinese guards fired and killed 16-year Tibetan girl Kelsang Namtso escaping to India "The Sweet Requiem" tries to bring the Tibetan refugee crisis into the world s consciousness.
The protagonist of this film is 26-year-old Dolkar (played by Tenzin Dolker) whose family has had suffered a similar fate as the girl killed by the Chinese guards.
As the film s plot unfolds Dolkar was eight when he father took the heart-breaking decision to leave her mother back in Tibet and escape with her to India with a small group of Tibetans. But on the treacherous snow-clad escape route through mountain passes their guide Gompo betrays her father.
The bitter memories of their escape and treachery by Gompo keep haunting Dolkar as grows into a young woman till she comes face to face with the man who betrayed them.
Driven by revenge as Dolkar chases the aging Gompo through the back alleys of Majnu-Ka-Tilla parallel political intrigues too become part of the larger plot as she finally confront Gompo .
Speaking after the premiere of the film Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam said their film aims to draw attention to the criss confronting Tibetan refugees.
"The killing of the 16-year-old by Chinese guards was the trigger for us to make this film to highlight the crisis Tibetans face " said Tenzing Sonam who lives in Darjeeling.
"My family was one of the first Tibetan refugees. We came to India with the Dalai Lama and I was born in India. The tragedy continues."
Apart from Manju-Ka-Tilla the couple shot parts - the escape from Tibet - in Ladakh.
(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at gurmukh100@gmail.com)
--IANS gurmukh/nv/vm
