I – Proud to Be an Indian

I – Proud to Be an Indian
Directed byPuneet Sira
Written byPuneet Sira
Vekeana Dhillon
Sohail Khan
Jay Verma
Screenplay byPuneet Sira
Vekeana Dhillon
Sohail Khan
Story bySohail Khan
Produced bySohail Khan
StarringSohail Khan
Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Aashif Sheikh
Hina Tasleem
Tim Lawrence
CinematographyDev Verma
Edited byRakesh Kumar Singh
Chirag Jain
Music byDaboo Malik
K. C. Loy
OZ & JKEYZ
XLNC
Production
company
Release date
  • 13 February 2004 (2004-02-13)
Running time
145 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguagesHindi
English

I – Proud to Be an Indian is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language action drama film written and directed by Puneet Sira and produced by Sohail Khan.[1][2][3]

The film, about racism against Asians in London, was shot in a span of thirty days in the UK and was budgeted between Rs. 4.5 crore and Rs. 5 crore.[1][2]

Plot

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A Sikh couple alights from a bus at night on an isolated street. The woman is pregnant. They are followed by racist goons and are attacked.

"I," along with his father, reach London. They go to the house of their son, who is living along with his wife, son, and teenage daughter. Later, they see the news and learn that the bodies of a Sikh couple were found and it was a suspected racist attack. They attend the last rites of the deceased couple.

Later on, the goons attack an Indian store owner. These goons believe that England belongs to white people. The family has to taste racism when Kamal is cornered and humiliated. She returns home in shock. "I" learns of this and beats up three white racist goons. His brother doesn't lodge a police complaint out of concern for his family's well-being and safety. He tells "I" to keep quiet for the safety of the family, which "I" reluctantly agrees to.

"I" is attacked by a group of Pakistanis (whose leader Aslam runs a boxing club) because he suspects him of stealing his sister's necklace. He lets him go after his sister confirms 'I" saved her from a white racist group who tried to attack and assault her, in the process leaving her necklace behind, which "I" finds. "I" finds out after an outing with the sister that one of the attackers was the sister's brother. Later on, "I" goes to the boxing club and challenges Aslam to a boxing match, which results in a respectful draw between the two. "I" reminds Aslam they are from the same culture, traditions, and part of the world, and even if they are from different countries, their people should always stick together and fight against racism and inequality and not side with the racists out of fear and just to lead a peaceful life.

The fight and this advice from "I" lead to the two having respect for each other and eventually lead to them becoming close friends. Aslam, after the powerful advice from "I," ultimately gains the courage to stand up to the racist group, killing one of their members, but this leads to his death by the gang. Later on, "I" fights Cain (the gang leader of the racist group), and "I" wins.

Cast

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References

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  1. ^ a b "I - Proud To Be An Indian". Bollywood Hungama. 13 February 2004. Archived from the original on 9 February 2009.
  2. ^ a b "Fighting racism in 'I'". Sify. 2 January 2004. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012.
  3. ^ "Newcomers undeterred by the flop wave". Sify. 19 February 2004. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012.
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