Patang (1994)

Patang, meaning kite, is a social drama set among the poor who live alongside the railway lines and coal yards in Bihar. Shabana Azmi plays a widow raising her son in a world where survival depends on petty theft, the goodwill of powerful men and the corruption that runs through the railways and the police. Om Puri and Shatrughan Sinha play men whose interests cross hers. Director Goutam Ghose, a leading figure of Bengali parallel cinema, shot the film with a documentary eye for real places and faces. Patang won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and was shown at international festivals.