Amu (2005)

78% of critics liked it
(23 reviews)
73% of users liked it
(1,284 ratings)

Seeking to uncover the mysteries of her past, a 21-year-old, Delhi-born American woman travels to India to seek out her long-lost relatives in this politically charged drama from filmmaker Shonali Bose. Kaju (Konkona Sensharma) was only three years old when she was swept away to America by her… More Seeking to uncover the mysteries of her past, a 21-year-old, Delhi-born American woman travels to India to seek out her long-lost relatives in this politically charged drama from filmmaker Shonali Bose. Kaju (Konkona Sensharma) was only three years old when she was swept away to America by her adoptive mother -- but Kaju was never given a definitive reason for her hasty departure or an answer to the question of what fate befell her original birth parents. As the visibly Americanized Kaju seeks out her relatives in hopes of discovering the truth about her past, she learns that the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the violent chaos that subsequently swept the streets of Delhi sparked a series of events that would change her life forever. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 42 min.
Directed By: Shonali Bose
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Mar 17, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Dec 2, 2008
Studio: Emerging Pictures

Critic Reviews

John Anderson, Newsday
Shot with remarkable confidence and an understated eloquence.
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
Less about finger-pointing than a plea for India to confront its past.
Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times
An admirable labor of love that stumbles dramatically but gets along on its sincere good intentions.
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
[Amu] is clearly a labor of love for the activist filmmaker, as she breaks all the traditional inhibitions of Bollywood to remind the world of -- and, for most of us, reveal for the first time -- one of the most shameful episodes in Indian history.
Joshua Katzman, Chicago Reader
In Shonali Bose's tightly constructed debut feature (2005) a young Indian-American woman from Los Angeles returns to Delhi for the first time since childhood to visit her relatives.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Fails to grab the imagination as it unfolds in familiar TV-movie fashion.
Maitland McDonagh, Miss FlickChick
The 1984 Delhi riots [are worked into] into the story of an American-raised college graduate who returns to her South Asian roots and is shocked by what she finds.
Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
A work of evident passion and outrage, Amu is also remarkable for its humanism and persuasive, natural presentation.
Chuck Wilson, L.A. Weekly
The flashback sequences are vibrant and intense, and the film's long closing shot is so dense with feeling for a nation and its people that Bose deserves to be noted as a filmmaker to watch.
Joshua Land, Time Out New York
The movie has its share of wobbly moments, and the resolution feels a bit like a cop-out.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
[Though] undermined by uneven performances, preachy digressions and a handful of clunky scenes, it's nonetheless compelling on a personal level.
Noel Murray, AV Club
The flat, pat talk is symptomatic of Amu's overriding problem: It has no sense of personal style.
Prairie Miller, WBAI Web Radio
1984 may have a certain negative meaning to Westerners ever since Orwell immortalized that futuristic dystopia. But for India's Sikhs, 1984 has a far more dreaded historical significance, and one oddly buried here deep within their collective memory.

Read all 13 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Leo L

An intriguing movie that follows a young woman's journey into discovering the mystery about her past. With a new friend in tow, Kabir helps Kaju try to discover the truth about the range of secrets that her mother isn't telling her. Her search leads to a shocking… More
An intriguing movie that follows a young woman's journey into discovering the mystery about her past. With a new friend in tow, Kabir helps Kaju try to discover the truth about the range of secrets that her mother isn't telling her. Her search leads to a shocking realization about her true identity and those she has long forgotten about. Konkona Sen Sharma, Ankur Khanna, Brinda Karat, Choiti Ghosh, and Yashpal Sharma stars. Worth seeing!!