Refugee

Story:

Refugee is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film written and directed by J. P. Dutta. It marked the debut of both the leading actors, Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor. The film also starred Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty and Anupam Kher. Refugee was an average grosser at the box office and was the fifth highest-grossing film of that year.

PLOT

Bihar-based Manzur Ahmad and his family had migrated to East Pakistan after the partitioning of India in 1947. However, after the formation of the state of Bangladesh in 1971, he and several other people were forced to relocate to the western part of Pakistan. To do this by land, they will have to cross India. The route from Dhaka leads to Guwahati in India then to Delhi then to Ajmer then to Bhuj, and then on to Haji Peer in Pakistan.

They get as far as Bhuj, but afterward, they are assisted by an agent known only as “Refugee”, who helps them trek their way across the Great Rann of Kutch to Pakistan. Refugee considers his clients as mere items of luggage and refuses to be emotionally involved with them and their stories. Then he meets Nazneen Ahmed, the daughter of Manzur Ahmed, and falls in love with her.

Police on both sides of the border are aware of the illegal refugee traffic and the Indian police regularly question Refugee and his elderly father Jan Muhammad. One day, Refugee helps four men enter the Indian side of the border. These men enlist the help of Refugee’s brother to get to Delhi. Shortly thereafter, explosions take place in trains, buses, and buildings in the Indian capital.

Refugee crosses the border once again to visit Nazneen. She asks him to take her with him since her father wants her to marry Mohammad Ashraf, a Pakistan Rangers Officer. While crossing the border through the Rann they are captured by Pakistani Rangers. Refugee is beaten and sent to India on a camel. The Indian BSF captures him and gets him treated in the hospital. The Indians inform him that he unknowingly helped terrorists cross into India and caused several deaths. Refugee joins the BSF and fights the terrorists who laid siege to his village.

The film ends with Nazneen giving birth to Refugee’s child at the border between the two nations. Indian BSF and Pakistani Rangers personnel discuss the child’s nationality in a lighter vein.