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If Khuda Kay Liye was a fine example of fledgling independent cinema from Pakistan – distinct from the Lollywood’s mindless masala – then Ramchand Pakistani by debutante director Mehreen Jabbar is sure sign that quality cinema from our neighbours are surely getting revived, thanks to a young breed of filmmakers who have largely cut their teeth through television and are socio-politically conscious.

Ramchand Pakistani had its first public screening in the Subcontinent at the 10th Osian’s Cinefan Festival of Asian Cinema in New Delhi on 12th July – three weeks before it becomes the first Pakistani film to have simultaneous release on August 1 in both the countries – and wowed viewers with its sensitive storytelling shorn of any melodrama.

Based on a true incident of a young Hindu Dalit boy from a village across the border from Gujarat, who had inadvertently crossed the international border along with his farmer father at …