Prasun Chatterjee’s stunning debut film Dostojee (Two Friends, Bengali with English subtitles), is one of the most lyrical and poignant films I have seen in a long time. It is an Indo-Taiwanese collaboration that has been at over 20 film festivals worldwide, including the BFI London, Goteborg and Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festivals, and the International Film Festival of Kerala. It is about the charming friendship of two little boys, Palash (Asik Shaikh) and Shafikul (Arif Shaikh), both 8, living in a small village in Murshidabad, on the Indo-Bangladesh border. Their faraway village still feels the impact of the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and the Bombay Bomb Blasts of 1993. And yet, the friendship of the innocent boys survives every  challenge —unlike adults, who are quick to take leave of their senses, and become putty in the hands of religious and political bigots. The film, with English subtitles, released in cinemas all over India on Friday. I highly recommend that you see it this week itself, as this poetic gem is up against other studio-backed strong contenders, including the superb Godavari (Marathi) and the Marvel-backed Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Neighbours Palash and Shafikul, son of a Hindu priest and Muslim weaver, enjoy a rich childhood, despite poverty—gambolling by the river, flying kites and gawking at Amitabh ‘Bochchon’ at the local ‘video parlour’. Following news of the Babri Masjid and Bombay Bomb Blasts, the adults in this Muslim-majority village decide to build a Chhota Babri Masjid, while Hindus decide to build a Ram temple. But Palash secretly enjoys sweet semai that Shafikul shares at Eid, and Shafikul, after secretly attending the Ramjatra on the Ramayana, asks the actors smoking together backstage: Are you not enemies? “No, we’re good friends. We just have to dress like enemies for our bread and butter,” Ravana replies. Palash and Shafikul’s friendship will survive the greatest tragedies, but will the adults ever learn? Even Palash’s Hindu priest father, keen to adapt, says, “I’ll have to read the scriptures to learn the rituals of Ram worship,” as Ram is more popular in North India than in the East (where Durga and other Hindu gods are more popular).