Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, who won the hearts of the audience with his incomparable performances in recent films like ‘Made in India: A Titan Story’ and ‘Main Vyapar Aagao’, is ready to shine on the international stage once again. National Award winning filmmaker Gurvinder Singh’s upcoming Punjabi film ‘Rehmat’ has been selected in the Main International Competition section of the prestigious Locarno Film Festival 2026. The film will have its grand world premiere in Switzerland, where it will compete against select films from around the world for the festival’s highest honor, the Golden Leopard.
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The selection of the ‘I’ll Be Back’ actor’s film also marks India’s return to the main competition of Locarno after four years. The previous Indian film to be included in this section was Mahesh Narayanan’s ‘Ariyippu’ (2022). This year, ‘Rahmat’ will compete with new films from filmmakers like Hong Sang-soo, Denis Coté, Maria Back, Nelson Yeoh and Basil da Cunha.
What is ‘Rahmat’ about?
Set in today’s Punjab, ‘Rehmat’ tells three interconnected stories that explore themes of hope, loss and belonging. One story follows a young woman who secretly shelters an injured stranger while hiding from the police. The second story is about a family trying to get back together after the head of the family goes missing. The third story is about an elderly man who comes to a village and reveals himself to be God.
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Naseeruddin Shah plays the character of Rashid Ali, whose family left Punjab before its partition in 1947. Decades later, after spending most of his life in England, he returns to the village where he was born.
‘Rehmat’ is based on the stories of Ajit Kaur
The script of the film is based on four short stories by famous Punjabi writer Ajit Kaur – ‘Na Maro’ (Dead End), ‘Akkhaan’ (Eyes), ‘Chhutti’ (On Vacation) and ‘Ek Paar Ghat Tourna’ (I’ll Go One Step Less).
The cast of the film also includes Suvinder Vicky, Meeta Vashishtha, Diya Kamboj and Navjot Randhawa. Punjabi poet Jaswant Zafar is entering the world of acting with this film. ‘Rahmat’ is also the first project of Paris-based Pavo Films. The production company was started earlier this year by Cosmin Iles and Nemesis Sroer.
Naseeruddin Shah’s work front
It is worth noting that Naseeruddin Shah won everyone’s heart with his consistent performances in the mini-series ‘Made in India: A Titan Story’ and Imtiaz Ali’s film ‘Main Wapas Aaunga’. Now this experienced actor is going to add another achievement to his list of successes. For information, let us tell you that the 2026 Locarno Film Festival will be organized from 5 to 15 August, in which the film ‘Rahmat’ will compete for the ‘Golden Leopard’.
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