Geetika Narang Abbasi has always been a fan of Hindi films and songs and had wondered why in spite of Hindi cinema’s enormous cultural impact around the world, there aren’t enough films made on the films. “We don’t even have documentaries on our major stars,” points out the director, whose last documentary was the 2012 Much Ado about Knotting about the matchmaking industry in India. While watching the film Apartment some years ago, she spotted Kishore Bhanushali, a Dev Anand lookalike, and the idea of making a film on these imitation artistes, who were once very popular, took hold. “There was a time when one saw these people during stage shows, in Lehren, in film magazines and advertisements. I wondered where they were now.”

Abbasi’s new documentary Urf, which will premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam later this month, takes a peek into the lives and stories of these doubles, combining the director’s interests in Hindi cinema and questions of identity.