Private Project

I am, Mehmood

“Mein, Mehmood” is a film that is dedicated to the life of hardworking immigrants all over the world.

Through the happenstances in the life of one such immigrant, the film talks about the deep identity crises arising in people from the subcontinent, from their inability to read, write or speak a popular language (in this case English) and the subsequent socioeconomic effects of this.

The film traces the life of Mehmood, a simple middle-aged immigrant from the Indian subcontinent who like many others from his generation has left his home for the Middle East, to provide a better life for his family.

A tele-caller with a tourism company that is badly hit by the pandemic, Mehmood, struggles to meet monthly sales targets of converting random strangers into potential customers. His inability to converse fluently in English severely limits his ability to converse with potential clients, thus putting his job in jeopardy. Meanwhile, thousands of km away, back home, Mehmood’s wife waits for him to send some money home for their daughter’s education.

Through Mehmood, we can feel the agony of hundreds and thousands around the world whose access to leading a respectable life gets inhibited due to their inability of learning a particular language.

The title of the film, “Mein Mehmood”, loosely translating to “I am Mehmood” almost ironically points out their search for an identity in an ever-changing world where they are unable to even properly emote in words to a wider audience.

Thus, what remains inside is a scream waiting to come out.

  • Prataya Saha
    Director
    Just Another Day, The Good Wife
  • Prataya Saha
    Writer
    Just Another Day, The Good Wife
  • Ozair Abdul Aleem
    Key Cast
    "Mehmood"
  • Black Book Media
    Production House
  • Red Polka Productions
    Production House
    Just Another Day, The Good Wife, Dear Papa, Nirjan, Slapped, The Newly Weds
  • Ozair Abdul Aleem
    Cast
  • Anshulika Kapoor
    Cast
  • Abhishekh Saravanan
    Cinematography/Edit/Colour
  • Apurv Prasanna
    Sound Design
  • Adrian Valentine Rodrigues
    Sound Engineer
  • Ishir N Mehta
    VFX
  • Sounak Sen Barat
    Voice Over Artists
  • Bidushi Roy
    Voice Over Artists
  • Madhavan Unni
    Voice Over Artists
  • Aparna Elizabeth Joseph
    Production Assistant
  • Karthik Bhandare
    Original Score
  • Ali Baba
    BTS
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Mein, Mehmood
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 11 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 2, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    3,482 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United Arab Emirates
  • Country of Filming:
    United Arab Emirates
  • Language:
    Bengali, English, Hindi, Malayalam, Urdu
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Prataya Saha

Prataya Saha is an independent filmmaker, Tedx performer, theatre director & photographer based out of India and UAE.

He was featured in The Week, India's leading news magazine twice in 2021.
In August 2022 he was featured in Desi Blitz, an award-winning British Asian magazine in London.

Prataya's directorial debut was Anna's Weekend in 2016 which got selected in festivals in US and China. He is now 12 short films old with his films selected in 90+ film festivals around the world, winning around 25 awards, including the prestigious New York Asian Film Festival, Oaxaca Film Fest, Woodpecker International Film Festival, Cardiff International Film Festival, Oscar Qualifying festivals like Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival, Bengaluru International Film Festival, etc.

Films streaming on OTT:
4 films on Disney+Hotstar
4 films on Hungama Play
4 films on Mx Player
1 film on Starzplay, Middle East
A record three of his films have been accepted in Viddsee.com, South East Asia’s largest online independent film curators.

His 5th film, ‘Dreamer 2’ was screened by Shamiana Shorts, India's only dedicated and fastest-growing short film club that showcases the finest shorts from India and all over the world, including Oscar-nominated /winning films.

Two commercial music videos he directed in 2021 went viral on T-Series with over 14 million views.

He has also worked on numerous corporate advertisements.

Over the years his work has been extensively covered and published in most National Newspapers including Times of India, The Hindu, Deccan Chronicle, Deccan Herald, The New Indian Express & The Economic Times.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Growing up in the 90s in India was like being in a potpourri of different cultures. The advent of cable TV brought the entire world to the living room for most people who could afford a TV. Slowly, watching western pop culture, songs, sports and educational programmes largely promulgated in the English language became an integral part of life.

Thus, the familiarity with the English language became so ubiquitous that a large generation of children even started thinking as clearly in English as in their respective mother tongues.
Little did I realize then, that this was not so for a humungous number of people and the answer lay in the socioeconomic divisions in a still-developing country with the size of a subcontinent.

Although, by and large, children like me, who lived in the urban areas, picked up the English language with great elan and fluency opening economic corridors hither-tho unseen in previous generations, there were a greater number of people who remained behind, so to speak, with little or no cognizance of the English language, thus creating a divide visible in the quality of life led by them vis-a-vis the ones who were fluent in the language. Many of these people who were left behind, would then leave the country to pursue blue-collar jobs in developing countries in order to get a better life.

“Mein, Mehmood”, shot entirely in Dubai, is a tribute to all those who were “left behind” just by not putting enough effort into learning a language whether by circumstance or intention.

Language (be it any language) should ideally be (among other things) an instrument of communication and a portrayal of culture and bring people together!

It is genuinely a very honest effort over a span of 36 hours, with the shoot spanning real locations as we wanted to be very authentic to the script and the visuals.