BOMBAY TIMES (December 29, 2019)

Remember all those Hindi films about ‘Kumbh ke mele mein bichchade huye bhai’ or parents separated from their kids only to be reunited later? Well, something similar happened with a Somalian film director, who had given up hope of finding a print of his debut feature film.

In 1984, Said Salah Ahmed made a film called A Somali Dervish. This was his debut film and, Salah, now 74, had last seen it in 1985 in Abu Dhabi, after which it was considered lost.

So, when he spotted cans of the film reel at the National Film Archives of India (NFAI) in Pune, Salah was speechless! It was an emotional reunion of the film with its director who came all the way from USA to search for it. “I am so emotional that I have no words to express my joy and happiness on finding these film reels. It is like finding your lost child after so many years,” he said, adding, “This was my first film and it is very special because the film is a documentation of the revolutionary Somali Dervish Movement under the leadership of Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, who was revered by Somalis as a national hero. There is not a single print of my film available anywhere else in the world and I am truly grateful to the NFAI for having preserved the film.”

The film, 4 hours and 40 minutes long, has dialogues in seven languages including Somali, Arabic, Italian, English and Hindi. The movie included an actual descendant of Mohammed Abdullah Hassan as its star and featured interviews of several participants of the revolution. It was edited and processed in the Bombay Lab in Mumbai in 1983-84.

Speaking about how the film was found, NFAI director Prakash Magdum said, “A few months ago, we received a query from award-winning filmmaker and photographer Mark Brecke who is working on a documentary that focuses on Somali cinema. In turn, Mauli Singh, the field producer of the documentary, Somalia In the Picture, which is tracing the lost film heritage of Somalia destroyed during the war, visited us and a search was undertaken through our database that resulted in this rare find. We are thrilled to discover a Somali film in our collection which is so important in the history of Somalia.” The negatives of the 35mm film were deposited in NFAI several years ago after Bombay Lab closed down.

“I have been working on a film project on Somali cinema and filming the remains of the Somali film industry and cinemas. The project is supported by UNESCO and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Finding this prestigious feature film has been the most incredible story on Somali cinema,” said Brecke.

Like in many Hindi films, this story had a happy ending, especially for Salah.

A file photo of 61 Somalian pirates held on-board an Indian Navy ship after they were intercepted in the Arabian Sea on March 14, 2011

Journey of merchant navy officer Audumbar Bhoi, whose ship was attacked by pirates, to roll next year
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 16, 2017)

Hasee Toh Phasee director Vinil Mathew is teaming up with acclaimed-writer Sudip Sharma, whose repertoire boasts of films like NH10 and Udta Punjab, for a gritty drama based on true events and involving piracy on the Somalian high seas. The film produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur, will be narrated through the eyes of a young Indian merchant navy officer, Audumbar Bhoi, whose ship and crew were attacked by Somalian pirates. The film will roll in the second half of 2018 and follows Audumbar as he navigate through unimaginably perilous circumstances while dealing with personal challenges.

“It is a thrilling, dramatic and emotional journey. We couldn’t have asked for a better director than Vinil to tell this story. His work in advertising is amongst the most accomplished I’ve seen,” Siddharth told Mirror, adding that having Sudip on board as screenwriter is a huge advantage. “Sudip unfailingly creates memorable characters, inhabits them in authentic worlds, and in the process creates strong conflicts and riveting drama.”

Audumbar, a budding writer himself, had pitched his story to a few writers at an entertainment conclave. Siddharth was clear that the story would have to be vetted by the many branches of the shipping industry as well as the merchant navy, and when the gravity of the issue, at its peak in 2010-2011, was verified, he decided to recreate it on screen.

The film is inspired by an attack on Audumbar’s ship while he was travelling from the Nairobi port of Mombasa to a port in the UAE. Both Vinil and Sudip conducted intensive research, interacting with multiple Indian merchant navy officers to understand their lives as well as the impact of Somali piracy on many Indian families.

Sudip who usually steers clear of commissioned projects, jumped at the opportunity to write this one. “The narrative has the potential to be a tense hostage drama and survival story, and lets you explore Somalia and maritime piracy, a world hitherto unseen in Hindi films,” he points out.