Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 10: Kashmiri actor-turned-director Aamir Bashir returned with his first feature in 12 years in “The Winter Within”, a taut art house drama making its world premiere at Busan International Film Festival in South Korea on Sunday.
In the film’s first English-language trailer, shared exclusively with a Hollywood Reporter on the eve of the premiere, actress Zoya Hussain, playing domestic helper Nargis, is revealed in a state of inward grief amidst Kashmir’s harsh but majestic winter landscapes. The Winter Within’s star, Hussain, hails from India, where she is best known for her breakthrough performance in Anurag Kashyap’s acclaimed boxing drama The Brawler.
“The Winter Within” portrays suffering of a Kashmiri woman ‘Nargis’ in a militancy hit area. In Srinagar, Nargis works as a domestic helper for a middle-class family. Her husband, Manzoor, has disappeared after joining the armed rebellion against the Indian State. When her employer discovers that Nargis’ husband is a militant, she is fired from her job and is left with no choice but to return to her village.
There, Nargis weaves the shawl that Manzoor had begun, in the hope that he will return. Yaseen, a handicrafts trader, supports Nargis by giving her work. One day Manzoor reappears. Nargis devotes herself to rehabilitating Manzoor back to health even as he battles his demons.
Bashir, who was born in Kashmir, began his film career as an actor. He had a recurring role in Netflix’s first India original series ‘Sacred Games’ before making his directorial debut in 2010 with ‘Harud’ (Autumn), which became a festival favorite, playing at Toronto, Rotterdam and Fribourg. It later won the best Urdu feature film prize at India’s 60th National Film Awards.
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