Product Details

• Actors: Shashi Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Om Puri, Sushma Seth, Neena Gupta
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Hindi (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Merchant Ivory
• DVD Release Date: April 19, 2005
• Run Time: 126 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0007PAMGU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #173,238 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "In Custody - The Merchant Ivory Collection" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Based on the Booker Prize-nominated novel by Anita Desai, In Custody—producer Ismail Merchant’s directorial debut—is a wry, lyrical drama about the contemporary Indian culture. Nur (Shashi Kapoor) is considered the greatest living Urdu poet, and Deven (Om Pore) hopes to rekindle interest in the language by recording Nut reciting the magical verse. But multiple problems block Deven’s path, the greatest these being Nur’s two shrewish wives, his love of drink, and the vastly bloated poet himself. Deven’s monstrous task quickly becomes a central odyssey that follows humorous paths to an unexpected conclusion.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Excellent movie, awful DVD, April 22, 2005

By 

M. Desai (Cary, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Custody - The Merchant Ivory Collection (DVD)

This is one of the most disappointing releases I have ever had the misfortune to come across. The movie is very beautiful, with masterful performances by all concerned. The music is sublime, one of the best in a long while in Hindi/Urdu cinema. Enough has been written about the movie by previous reviewers, I agree with most of the comments.

So here's the reason for the low rating: the DVD is just awful. The widescreen transfer is alright - not the sharpest nor with really good colors. But the bad part is that it's Letterboxed widescreen, NOT Anamorphic as specified here on Amazon. That means on widescreen TV's you need to watch it in zoom-mode (or equivalent). And that brings us to the next problem - the subtitles CANNOT be turned off. That not only means you have the irritation of having English subtitles always there, but also that the lower portion of the subtitles get cut off in the zoom mode.

The sound is also just Mono (not Stereo, let alone 5.1) - the music is therefore just wasted. It makes the whole experience just not worth it.

All in all, NOT a DVD I was expecting from the Merchant-Ivory Collection. Certainly not worth having the Criterion name associated with the DVD.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Disregard Maltin - this is well worth seeing., August 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In Custody [VHS] (VHS Tape)

While it's a little slow moving at times, this film is beautifully written and has a wonderful cast. There's a lot of gentle humor and some wonderful scenes such as the poetry concert, and Om Puri's hapless attempts at recording Shashi Kapoor. Kapoor has really put on the pounds, but he's quite a presence in this. Stick with it and it will reward you with a very moving ending. This was one of my favourite films the year it came out and I've seen it a couple of items since then.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent film -- disregard Leonard Maltin, January 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: In Custody [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This film tells a simple, at times poignant tale with gentle humor, and without needless melodrama. The acting by Shashi Kapoor, Om Puri and Shabana Azmi is superlative. I just wish that the director had shown us more of the atmosphere of Bhopal, where the film is set.

I would highly recommend this movie.