A soon-to-be-released movie, Dilli Dark, looks at the forgotten history of Africans in India. The comedy movie is expected to premiere at the 31st New York African Film Festival which will take place from May 8th to 14th. This follows its feature at the First Feature Competition of the 27th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.
The Indian-Nigerian film written and directed by Dibakar Das Roy talks about the life of a Nigerian man, Michael Okeke, who suffered racism in India due to his skin colour. Living and studying for his MBA in Delhi, Okeke was also into selling cocaine at night. Faced with the challenges of trying to blend into Indian society, Okeke obtains a white powder which he soon realises won’t help his skin to become lighter.
According to writer Eoghan Lyng. “The film has many comedic moments, and although everyone gets to utter a gag or two, Ohlyan is the one with the best comic timing. She flits between spiritual queen and fashion queen, selling her mantras on television, enjoying the arched eyebrows as she does so. In one hilarious set piece, she starts a fight with a burly man in the hope of picking up the cocaine that will help her sell her ‘guidance’.”
The movie casts Nollywood actor, Samuel Abiola Robinson (Michael Okeke), and Bollywood actors, Geetika Vidya Ohlyan, Stutee Ghosh and Shantanu Anam.
I expect this movie to begin streaming soon and I also anticipate how the Nigerian audience will relate to the synergy between India and their country to create this film.
This is not the first time Nollywood and Bollywood will collaborate to make a film. In 2020, ‘Namaste Wahala’, a story of love, romance, laughter, tears and family set over two diverse and rich cultures was released. It stars Richard Mofe Damijo, Ibrahim Suleiman, Sujata Segal, Ruslaan Mumtaz, and Ini-Dima Okojie.
