{ "id": "epmn1s1snb", "slug": "anhe-ghore-da-daan", "title": "Anhe Ghore Da Daan", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema", "label": "Indian films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.films-in-other-indian-languages", "label": "Films in other Indian languages", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.films-in-other-indian-languages" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.films-in-other-indian-languages", "label": "India · 2001 to 2020: Films in other Indian languages", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.films-in-other-indian-languages", "path": [ { "id": "geo.ind", "label": "India", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001", "label": "India · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema", "label": "Indian films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.films-in-other-indian-languages", "label": "Films in other Indian languages", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.films-in-other-indian-languages" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Anhe Ghore Da Daan (Alms for a Blind Horse) is a 2011 Punjabi drama directed by Gurvinder Singh, adapted from Gurdial Singh's 1976 novel, produced by NFDC with Mani Kaul as creative producer; it premiered at Venice and won the Golden Peacock and three National Film Awards.", "snippet": "Anhe Ghore Da Daan (Alms for a Blind Horse) is a 2011 Punjabi drama directed by Gurvinder Singh, adapted from Gurdial Singh's 1976 novel, produced by NFDC with Mani Kaul as creative producer; it premiered at Venice and won the Golden Peacock and three National Film Awards.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.indian-cinema.films-in-other-indian-languages", "markdown": "# Anhe Ghore Da Daan\n\n**Anhe Ghore Da Daan** (English: *Alms for a Blind Horse*) is a 2011 Indian Punjabi-language drama film directed by Gurvinder Singh, based on the 1976 novel of the same name by the [Jnanpith Award](https://www.edgepedia.org/jnanpith-award)-winning Punjabi writer [Gurdial Singh](https://www.edgepedia.org/gurdial-singh)[1](https://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/punjabi-film-bags-golden-peacock-award/story-sbQcp9kANH3Yv7xGQKLQvM_amp.html). Produced by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) with the late filmmaker Mani Kaul as creative producer, it was Singh's debut feature and the first Punjabi film screened at the Venice International Film Festival[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/punjab-was-crying-out-for-an-alternate-depiction-filmmaker-gurvinder-singh/articleshow/15404335.cms) • [3](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/first-punjabi-film-at-venice-film-fest/). It went on to win the Golden Peacock at the 43rd [International Film Festival of India](https://www.edgepedia.org/international-film-festival-of-india) and three National Film Awards[1](https://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/punjabi-film-bags-golden-peacock-award/story-sbQcp9kANH3Yv7xGQKLQvM_amp.html).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director / debut | Gurvinder Singh's first fiction feature, made in Punjabi in 2011[4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/p/gurvinder-singh/) |\n| Source | 1976 Punjabi novel of the same name by Gurdial Singh, the language's sole Jnanpith Award winner[1](https://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/punjabi-film-bags-golden-peacock-award/story-sbQcp9kANH3Yv7xGQKLQvM_amp.html) • [5](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/write-angle/) |\n| Producer | National Film Development Corporation (NFDC); Mani Kaul as creative producer[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/punjab-was-crying-out-for-an-alternate-depiction-filmmaker-gurvinder-singh/articleshow/15404335.cms) |\n| Premiere | Orizzonti section, 68th Venice International Film Festival, 2011; the first Punjabi film shown there[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/first-punjabi-film-at-venice-film-fest/) • [6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/movie-details/previews/anhey-ghorey-da-daan/articleshow/15341379.cms) |\n| Major awards | Golden Peacock, 43rd IFFI 2012; Special Jury Award and $50,000 Black Pearl trophy, 5th Abu Dhabi Film Festival; three National Film Awards (59th)[1](https://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/punjabi-film-bags-golden-peacock-award/story-sbQcp9kANH3Yv7xGQKLQvM_amp.html) • [7](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/punjabi-film-bags-jury-award-at-abu-dhabi-fest/) • [8](https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?lang=2®=48&relid=80734) |\n| Cast | Samuel John, Mal Singh, Sarbjeet Kaur, Dharminder Kaur; most actors were non-professional villagers[9](https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/anhey-ghorey-da-daan-why-regional-cinema-doesnt-get-media-attention-415329.html) |\n| Setting | A village on the outskirts of Bathinda, Punjab, where the film was shot[6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/movie-details/previews/anhey-ghorey-da-daan/articleshow/15341379.cms) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Story and setting\n\nThe film chronicles a day in the life of a Dalit Sikh family in a village on the outskirts of Bathinda, where villagers work the fields of the local landlord[6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/movie-details/previews/anhey-ghorey-da-daan/articleshow/15341379.cms) • [10](https://www.bbk.ac.uk/events/event/7169/anhey-ghorhey-da-daan-alms-for-a-blind-horse). The landlord has sold his plots to an industry that demolishes the house of a villager who refuses to vacate; the elderly farmer Mal Singh joins his community in demanding justice from the landlords responsible[6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/movie-details/previews/anhey-ghorey-da-daan/articleshow/15341379.cms) • [10](https://www.bbk.ac.uk/events/event/7169/anhey-ghorhey-da-daan-alms-for-a-blind-horse). His much older son Melu, played by the theater actor Samuel John, works as a cycle rickshaw puller in the nearby town, where the rickshaw pullers have gone on a strike that has turned violent; father and son are both left uncertain about their futures[6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/movie-details/previews/anhey-ghorey-da-daan/articleshow/15341379.cms). The family also includes the wife (Dharminder Kaur) and daughter Dayalo (Sarbjeet Kaur)[11](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/entertainment-others/anhey-ghorey-da-daan/lite/).\n\nThe title refers to a practice in the Malwa region in which Dalits and members of the Scheduled Castes beg for alms at the time of lunar and solar eclipses, crying out \"anne ghore da daan\" while people of higher castes donate grain; the novel, according to Gurdial Singh, shows how changing times forced Dalits out of villages in search of work, and the conflicts and social changes that followed[5](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/write-angle/). A fight breaks out during a lunar eclipse in the film's synopsis[12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/anhey_gorhey_da_daan).\n\n## Production\n\nGurvinder Singh read the novel in 1999 and wrote the script in 2009[13](https://caravanmagazine.in/vantage/writing-cinema-completely-different-interview-gurvinder-singh). A 2001 graduate of the [Film and Television Institute of India](https://www.edgepedia.org/film-and-television-institute-of-india) in Pune, he had spent 2002 to 2006 traveling through Punjab documenting folk ballads and oral narratives, and became a close associate of Mani Kaul after assisting at a 2005 FTII masterclass[4](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/p/gurvinder-singh/). Gurdial Singh's only condition for the adaptation was that the novel not be tampered with[5](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/write-angle/).\n\nThe film was made at a budget of Rs 20 million (Rs 2 crore), funded by the NFDC, and shot in 45 days in a village near [Bathinda](https://www.edgepedia.org/bathinda)[9](https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/anhey-ghorey-da-daan-why-regional-cinema-doesnt-get-media-attention-415329.html). Singh cast local villagers rather than known actors, saying he wanted people close to the characters[9](https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/anhey-ghorey-da-daan-why-regional-cinema-doesnt-get-media-attention-415329.html). Satya Rai Nagpaul was the cinematographer and Catherine Lamb composed the music[8](https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?lang=2®=48&relid=80734) • [14](https://hyderabadfilmclub.org/newsletter/HYFIC%20NOVEMBER%202017.pdf). It was commercially released in India in August 2012 by NFDC in association with PVR Director's Rare[9](https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/anhey-ghorey-da-daan-why-regional-cinema-doesnt-get-media-attention-415329.html). Reported runtimes differ across listings: 109 minutes in the NFDC catalog, 112 minutes in a Birkbeck screening note, 113 minutes in a film society newsletter, and 1 hour 52 minutes on Rotten Tomatoes[15](https://www.nfdcindia.com/catalogue/NFDC%20-%20Feature%20Films%20Catalogue%202024.pdf) • [10](https://www.bbk.ac.uk/events/event/7169/anhey-ghorhey-da-daan-alms-for-a-blind-horse) • [14](https://hyderabadfilmclub.org/newsletter/HYFIC%20NOVEMBER%202017.pdf) • [12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/anhey_gorhey_da_daan).\n\n## Style and reception\n\nCritics described the film as slow, sparse, and meditative. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express, rating it four stars, called it \"not so much a film but a slow-moving painting\" and noted that dread builds through silences and scant dialogue rather than speeches, in a style reminiscent of Singh's mentor Mani Kaul[11](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/entertainment-others/anhey-ghorey-da-daan/lite/). Rachel Saltz of The New York Times wrote that it \"shows us unhurried bits of daily life and lived-in faces but remains firmly on the outside\"[12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/anhey_gorhey_da_daan). An academic chapter by Anuja Jain in *Indian Cinema Beyond Bollywood* ([Routledge](https://www.edgepedia.org/routledge), 2018) reads the film as a tribute to Kaul that evokes his *Uski Roti* (1970) in form and language, portraying a village family battling poverty, feudalism, and industrial development[16](https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/19868).\n\nThe film's depiction of Dalit Sikhs drew particular attention. Gupta wrote that in the village \"their troubles are not taken into account, and if they are given a hearing, it is accompanied by humiliation\"[11](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/entertainment-others/anhey-ghorey-da-daan/lite/). Singh himself said the film tried to evoke the effect of years of subordination on struggling masses, \"about silently witnessing, devoid of the power to change or influence the course of destiny\"[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/first-punjabi-film-at-venice-film-fest/). Reactions in Punjab were divided; Singh reported that some viewers understood nothing while others had seen it five times, and that young aspiring filmmakers treated it as a learning text[13](https://caravanmagazine.in/vantage/writing-cinema-completely-different-interview-gurvinder-singh).\n\n## Awards and festival history\n\nThe film premiered in the Orizzonti competition section at the 68th Venice International Film Festival in 2011, the first Punjabi film ever shown there[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/first-punjabi-film-at-venice-film-fest/) • [6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/movie-details/previews/anhey-ghorey-da-daan/articleshow/15341379.cms). It then screened at the Busan, BFI London, Abu Dhabi, and Tromso festivals in 2011, and later at [Rotterdam](https://www.edgepedia.org/rotterdam), Munich, and other festivals[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/punjabi-film-bags-jury-award-at-abu-dhabi-fest/) • [6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/movie-details/previews/anhey-ghorey-da-daan/articleshow/15341379.cms).\n\nAt the 5th Abu Dhabi Film Festival it won the Special Jury Award in the New Horizon competition, a jury headed by the Iranian-Kurdish filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi, receiving the [Black Pearl](https://www.edgepedia.org/black-pearl) trophy and a cash prize of $50,000; the citation praised \"its visual style and a poetic journey indicating a new and intriguing voice to emerge from the cinematic landscape of India\"[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/punjabi-film-bags-jury-award-at-abu-dhabi-fest/). The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's annual report records this as the first time a Punjabi film won an international award[17](https://mib.gov.in/sites/default/files/2024-08/annualreport2011-12-english.pdf).\n\nAt the 59th [National Film Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-awards) for 2011, the film won Best Direction (Gurvinder Singh, Swarna Kamal with Rs 250,000), Best Cinematography (Satya Rai Nagpaul), and Best Feature Film in Punjabi, making it the first Punjabi film to win three National Film Awards together[8](https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?lang=2®=48&relid=80734) • [18](https://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/punjabi-film-bags-national-award/story-UNn0DRRNykLqholEmXXWpK.html). In December 2012 it became the first Punjabi film to win the Golden Peacock for Best Film at the International Film Festival of India, carrying a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 4 million (Rs 40 lakh) shared equally between the director and the producer[1](https://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/punjabi-film-bags-golden-peacock-award/story-sbQcp9kANH3Yv7xGQKLQvM_amp.html).\n\nThe novel was later translated into English by Rana Nayar, who has translated many of Gurdial Singh's works; the film's acclaim prompted the translation so the story could reach a non-Punjabi audience[19](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/alms-and-the-men/).\n\n## References\n\n1. [Punjabi film bags Golden Peacock award, Hindustan Times (December 1, 2012)](https://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/punjabi-film-bags-golden-peacock-award/story-sbQcp9kANH3Yv7xGQKLQvM_amp.html)\n2. [Punjab was crying out for an alternate depiction: filmmaker Gurvinder Singh, Times of India (August 8, 2012)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/punjab-was-crying-out-for-an-alternate-depiction-filmmaker-gurvinder-singh/articleshow/15404335.cms)\n3. [First Punjabi film at Venice Film fest, The Indian Express (July 29, 2011)](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/first-punjabi-film-at-venice-film-fest/)\n4. [Gurvinder Singh, Festival de Cannes profile](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/p/gurvinder-singh/)\n5. [Write Angle, The Indian Express (December 18, 2010)](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/write-angle/)\n6. [Anhey Ghorey Da Daan preview, Times of India (August 3, 2012)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/movie-details/previews/anhey-ghorey-da-daan/articleshow/15341379.cms)\n7. [Punjabi film bags jury award at Abu Dhabi fest, The Indian Express (October 26, 2011)](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/punjabi-film-bags-jury-award-at-abu-dhabi-fest/)\n8. [59th National Film Awards for the Year 2011 Announced, Press Information Bureau](https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?lang=2®=48&relid=80734)\n9. [Anhey Ghorey Da Daan: Why regional cinema doesn't get media attention, Firstpost (2012)](https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/anhey-ghorey-da-daan-why-regional-cinema-doesnt-get-media-attention-415329.html)\n10. [Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan / Alms for a Blind Horse, Birkbeck, University of London event page](https://www.bbk.ac.uk/events/event/7169/anhey-ghorhey-da-daan-alms-for-a-blind-horse)\n11. [Anhey Ghorey Da Daan review, The Indian Express (August 10, 2012)](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/entertainment-others/anhey-ghorey-da-daan/lite/)\n12. [Anhey Gorhey da Daan, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/anhey_gorhey_da_daan)\n13. [\"Writing and cinema are completely different\": An interview with Gurvinder Singh, The Caravan](https://caravanmagazine.in/vantage/writing-cinema-completely-different-interview-gurvinder-singh)\n14. [Anhe Ghore Da Daan feature, Hyderabad Film Club newsletter, November 2017](https://hyderabadfilmclub.org/newsletter/HYFIC%20NOVEMBER%202017.pdf)\n15. [NFDC Feature Films Catalogue 2024](https://www.nfdcindia.com/catalogue/NFDC%20-%20Feature%20Films%20Catalogue%202024.pdf)\n16. [Jain, Anuja (2018). Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan: the politics and legacies of new wave movement in contemporary Indian cinema, University of St Andrews repository](https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/19868)\n17. [Annual Report 2011-12, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India](https://mib.gov.in/sites/default/files/2024-08/annualreport2011-12-english.pdf)\n18. [Punjabi film bags National Award, Hindustan Times (2012)](https://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/punjabi-film-bags-national-award/story-UNn0DRRNykLqholEmXXWpK.html)\n19. [Alms and the Men, The Indian Express (June 23, 2013)](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/alms-and-the-men/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Films in other Indian languages*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/anhe-ghore-da-daan", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/anhe-ghore-da-daan.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Anhe Ghore Da Daan\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/anhe-ghore-da-daan. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Anhe Ghore Da Daan](https://www.edgepedia.org/anhe-ghore-da-daan)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/anhe-ghore-da-daan](https://www.edgepedia.org/anhe-ghore-da-daan). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Anhe Ghore Da Daan\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/anhe-ghore-da-daan. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Anhe Ghore Da Daan is a 2011 Punjabi drama directed by Gurvinder Singh, adapted from Gurdial Singh's 1976 novel, produced by NFDC with Mani Kaul as creative producer; it premiered at Venice and won the Golden Peacock and three National Film Awards." }