My Pure Land

Bill Kenwright Presents MY PURE LAND Based on a true story Written and directed by Sarmad Masud Starring: Suhaee Abro Eman Malik Syed Tanveer-Hussain Razia Malik Atif Akhtar Bhatti Tayyab Azfal Ahsen Murad INTERNATIONAL SALES: Independent Sarah Lebutsch [email protected] 195 Wardour Street, London W1F 8ZG, UK +44 207 257 8734 SHORT SYNOPSIS MY PURE LAND is a film based on a true story. A young woman called Nazo and her mother and sister are called to defend their home after a bitter family feud leads to her father’s incarceration. In their isolated farmhouse in Pakistan, the women find themselves surrounded by armed men hired by their Uncle Mehrban to take back the land. When Nazo’s resistance leaves two of the men dead, an enraged Mehrban calls in a local ragtag militia - two hundred armed bandits. But even with only a handful of bullets left, Nazo refuses to give in… LONG SYNOPSIS A secluded house in a rural village in Pakistan, NAZO DHAREJO (18yrs), a strong and proud girl is stood AK-47 in hand with her mother WADERI (50) beside her outside the gates to their home warning her Uncle MEHRBAN (40) and his few men not to step any closer. Mehrban says he won’t leave, the place is rightfully his. Gun fire follows as both parties duck for cover. Nazo closes the gate behind her and tells her sister SAEDA (16yrs) to head upstairs and fire from there, already upstairs firing is ZULFIQAR (20), a friend of the family. One of the men has managed to creep into the back of the house and catch Nazo by surprise, they exchange fire and he is hit, he falls to the floor unconscious. Nazo grabs his pistol and runs out of the room. KHUDA BAKSH (“BABA”) (50) is quickly driving his old white car along a dirt road where it is stopped by Nazo and Saeda; both are stood in the middle of the road dressed as boys and holding AK-47’s. Nazo slowly approaches the driver’s side of the car, she gestures with her gun for him to lower the window, Khuda Baksh waits for a moment and then puts his foot down on the gas and accelerates away. Nazo and Saeda chase after him via a shortcut through some fields. Khuda Baksh jumps out of his car and heads to the rooftop of a house, from where he playfully lets off some fireworks in the direction of the girls, they look at each other and smile. Nazo and Saeda arrive on the rooftop where Khuda Baksh asks them what happened; they have guns so why didn’t they stop him? The girls can’t take him seriously, they say he’s their dad; they aren’t going to shoot at their own family. Khuda Baksh tells them this is their land and they need to protect it, no matter what. Mehrban manages to grab a handful of bullets from the boot of his car before Nazo fires in his direction to make him retreat. He heads back to his men and tells them the women won’t actually shoot anyone; they are only firing to try and scare them away. Khuda Baksh and his son are attending a funeral. Mehrban is also there and is watching them closely, there is no love lost between them. Zulfiqar is still firing from upstairs doing his best to help, but Nazo is too stubborn to acknowledge it or thank him. Nazo looks on in hope as a police jeep arrives. The officer shakes hands with Mehrban, they make small talk before the officer drives away without arresting anyone. Mehrban shouts out to the house that no one is coming to save them; this is their last chance to leave. Nazo fires manically in his direction and instead tells him that this is his last chance to leave. Mehrban directs two of his men to keep a lookout while he gets on a motorbike and heads off to get more recruits. Khuda Baksh and his son walk away from the funeral, as Khuda Baksh gets into his car he is confronted by Mehrban and his men; they want to know when he plans to leave the house. Khuda Baksh tells them he has no intention of leaving. He helped to build the house with his own hands, it’s his and after him it will belong to his children and their children after them. Mehrban points out whatever happens from here is now Khuda Baksh’s fault. With only two men outside, Nazo sees an opportunity to steal bullets and another gun from the boot of Mehrban’s car. She somehow manages to make her way back without getting hurt. Khuda Baksh is helplessly looking on through the bars of a jail cell as his son is dragged in by the same police officer we saw earlier. Despite pleading his innocence his son is beaten, and then ruthlessly shot dead. Later, Nazo and Saeda arrive and fall to pieces in fits of tears as they hug their dead brother. Khuda Baksh tells them they need to be strong, they are now his sons and on the day he dies they will have to bury him. And he insists they need to promise they will not show any weakness, not even shedding a single tear… Mehrban returns to the house with 20/30 more men acquired via the help of a notorious local bandit. Zulfiqar recognises him; he is the same man who once offered to help Khuda Baksh. Khuda Baksh and Mehrban are sat opposite a village elder trying to settle their dispute. He tells them they are their father’s first born sons but from different mothers, so it’s questionable who deserves what. He also says until one or two people are killed neither he nor the police can get involved. On the way home Khuda Baksh meets the notorious bandit, who offers to help him. A weak looking Khuda Baksh has been moved to a larger prison where a young boy named HAMZAH (15) offers him a way out; Hamzah claims for a small amount of money he can either buy his freedom, or have people on the outside bribed or even killed on his behalf. Zulfiqar shoots one of the bandits dead as he tries to climb over the boundary wall, but he himself is wounded in the process. Zulfiqar and Nazo do what they can to barricade all the doors and sit tight hoping the bandits won’t try to enter again. During the quiet moment Zulfiqar asks Nazo if she realises they were once promised to each other when they were younger. Nazo says she will only marry him under three conditions; 1) They live in this house. 2) She’s allowed to study and work. 3) She’s allowed to travel. Zulfiqar agrees, impressed and amused by the demands. The frustrated bandit leader sends for further reinforcements. Before the sun goes down the house becomes surrounded by a further 200 armed men, who all sit tight waiting for night fall. Khuda Baksh has fallen ill in prison; he is rushed to hospital where he passes away amongst a crowd of sick people without anyone even noticing. Nazo and her sister are the only two women attending the funeral procession, the rest are all men. As they arrive at the grave yard they are told no women are allowed, but they have no intention of leaving. They watch as their father is lowered into the ground, neither Nazo or her sister shows any emotion, not even shedding a single tear. With night having fallen, the bandits begin their assault. Nazo and her family are doing their utmost to keep the bandits at bay, but with ammunition running low their Mother has decided surrendering is not an option, Nazo is given three bullets by her Mother, they would rather die than be thrown out of their own home. Nazo loads her gun, closes her eyes and takes a moment, her mind drifts away and she is now outside walking amongst the bandits listening to her Father telling her an old folk tale. She follows the sound of his voice in hope of finding him at the end. Instead she awakes back in the room with her Mother and sister waiting for her to fire. She again closes her eyes and hears her Father telling her “It will all work out. You can’t fight destiny, destiny is God.” Nazo opens her eyes and prepares to fire the gun at her Mother. Outside it appears as though the cavalry have arrived a moment too late, the charge is being led by Hamzah driving Khuda Baksh’s white car. The local police officer arrives in the morning and shouts out to Nazo and her family to put their weapons down and to leave peacefully. They are breaking the law being in the house and on this land. There is no response; he asks if anyone knows if they are even still alive. A moment later Nazo opens the gate and steps outside with her AK-47 in hand. Anger and pain drips from every word she says “You want men? Here, take us. Arrest us. You want guns? You can take all our guns. But we have the papers for this house... This is my father’s house. This is my father’s land. This house is mine.” Nazo has no intention of going anywhere. She stares out and meets the eye of anyone who dares look back at her.

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