Kali Salwar

Kali Salwaar English title The Black Garment is a 2002 Hindi film directed by Fareeda Mehta, set in Mumbai, and starring Sadiya Siddiqui, Irrfan Khan, Kay Kay Menon, Vrajesh Hirjee in main roles. The film is based on several short stories by Saadat Hassan Manto, one of the greatest modern Urdu writers. The interior of the film is painted by Bhupen Khakhar, a famous Indian painter. The stories take place in the underbelly of Mumbai formerly known as Bombay.

One evening, as she solicits from her balcony she beckons a man. This man, Shankar Irrfan Khan, inverts their relationship with his wit and worldly wisdom. The downtown and back streets where Sultanas story unfolds is peopled by characters of varying hues, styles and makeup. One of these is Mohammad Bhai the Godfather whose story converges with Sultanas though they never meet. Between all these people, goods, favours and money constantly change hands and destinies are continuously transacted. From these skeins of chance meetings, seductive glances, elliptical encounters, graceful gestures and witticisms Kali Salwaar the film unfolds. Plot, colour, identities thicken and dissolve.Kali Salwaar, based on the writings of Saadat Hasan Manto, marks Filmmaker Fareedas directorial debut. An alumnus of both the Tata Institute of Social Science TISS, Mumbai from where she passed out in 1984 and the Film and Television Institute of India FTII, Pune from where she graduated with specialization in Film Direction in 1989, it has been years of hard work in getting this film across to the screen. Consciously doing away with Mantos romanticized image of being drunk and depressed and creating legendary stories of the partition, Fareeda set about creating Mantos world through his characters using a contemporary setting to let audiences relate to issues like displacement and marginalization which are very valid even today. Manto has been used as a character in the film as he flits in and out of the frame interacting with his characters. A highlight of the film are the set interiors designed by well known artist Bhupen Khakhar. ........

Source: Wikipedia