Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s No Land’s Man has been 11 years in the making. But the acclaimed Bangladeshi filmmaker believes that the Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer, which examines identity crisis, is an urgent theme in today’s divisive world. “We have tried to portray the two sides of identity. For instance, when I recently went to a café, the lady at the counter warmly addressed me as Farooki bhai. However, when I was walking in Manhattan, a guy walking by gave me a cold look, as if almost telling me, ‘Are you one of those terrorists?’ We have created a strange world where we love someone or hate them just because of who they are, and not because of what they have done. The 21st century will probably be remembered as a clash of religions and ideas, which is sad,” says the director.

Mostofa Sarwar Farooki