In Custody (film)
# In Custody (film)

In Custody/Muhafiz is a 1993 film by Merchant Ivory Productions. It was directed by Ismail Merchant, with screenplay by Anita Desai and Shahrukh Husain. It is based upon Desai's 1984 Booker Prize nominated novel In Custody.

## Plot synopsis

Deven's (Om Puri) position as a professor of Hindi at a local college is only a means to an end. His first love is the Urdu language and in particular Urdu poetry. Deven's multiple (and often stymied) attempts to interview the great Urdu poet, Nur (Shashi Kapoor), act as a metaphor for the clash between modernization and tradition.

## Cast

* Shashi Kapoor... Nur Shahjenabadi
* Shabana Azmi... Imtiaz Begum
* Om Puri... Deven Sharma
* Parikshat Sahni... Siddiqui
* Amjad Khan... Musician
* Sushma Seth... Safiya Begum
* Neena Gupta... Sarla Sharma (Deven's Wife)
* Tinnu Anand... Murad

## Awards

* 1993: Tokyo Film Festival in Kyoto (Official Selection) nomination
* 1994: National Film Award
   * Special Jury Award: Shashi Kapoor
   * Best Art Direction: Suresh Sawant

## Musicians and vocalists

* Sultan Khan - sarangi
* Sunil Das - sitar
* Ulhas Bapat - santoor
* Ronu Majumdar - flute
* Fazal Qureshi - tabla
* Taufiq Qureshi - percussion
* Pyush Kanojia - keyboard
* Zakir Hussain - tabla
* Sadiq Qureshi - daf

### Vocalists

* Suresh Wadkar, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan

The film also features poetry by Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

