It earned accolades, standing ovations, and executive produced by Hollywood’s creme de la creme, yet remained unseen in India for six months. Director Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice Of Hind Rajab finally opened in cinemas on Friday (June 19) across 80 screens in India. While the film hasn’t secured a wide release or packed halls from day one, distributor Manoj Nandwana says the initial response has been encouraging, with interest emerging from unexpected corners of the country.

Nandwana says curiosity around the movie is steadily building despite its limited release. He urges people to judge the film after watching it rather than relying on what is written about it.

“See what message the film is trying to give. Even foreign ministry officials who watched it before the Central Board of Film Certification [CBFC] screening, said that it was a completely different film from what they had expected,” he shares.

The distributor believes younger audiences are driving the interest, especially in smaller towns. In Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, a group of nearly “100 people approached a theatre because they wanted to watch the film”.

Calls from Nagpur also pleasantly surprised him, considering it is a foreign-language film. “In Chennai, a few shows are already houseful. A lot of people between 15 and 30 years of age are returning to cinemas. That’s a good sign for the industry,” adds Nandwana.

The 2025 docudrama traces the real-life tragedy of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl trapped in a bullet-riddled car in Gaza City, surrounded by he dead relatives.