Hari Om 2004

This light and lively road movie tours the architectural and topographical splendours of Rajasthan with auto-rickshaw driver Hari Om and a beautiful French passenger, Isa. She’s taking a break from her preoccupied businessman husband when she jumps on board, unaware that her frantic driver is on the run from gambling creditors. Their accidental romantic adventure is underscored with a wistful realism: while these two reach out to help each other along the way, there’s always a respectful, cross-cultural wariness between them. Bharatbala, a photographer and commercial director has made this début feature with international audiences in mind, offering up stunning scenery, cheerful blasts of Indo-pop, sexy European leads and an appealingly unkempt performance from Bollywood comic Vijay Raaz, best known in the west as the wedding planner in Monsoon Wedding. 

“Beautifully evokes the gap between Indian and Western culture even as it tells a touching and timeless tale of three people trying to understand each other a little better.” — Hollywood Reporter