By Taran Adarsh, March 15, 2011 – 08:38 IST

Generally, the prints of Hindi films are sub-titled for the international markets. The sub-titling helps the Indian diaspora and also those residing in foreign countries comprehend the film better, so that they get the real feel of the story and characters. But Sanjay Suri and Onir’s I AM will be released with English sub-titles in India. Surprised, are you, but there’s a solid reason behind it.

In keeping with the diverse stories being narrated in the film, the characters speak in languages other than Hindi in several vital sequences in the film. For instance, the first story features Nandita Das and Anurag Basu [the director enacts the role of a doc in the film] conversing in Bengali [this story is set in Kolkata], while the second story has Manisha Koirala and her on-screen parents conversing in Kashmiri [this story is set in Srinagar]. Similarly, there are portions in Kannada as well, besides English and Hindi, of course.

Any other film-maker in Onir’s shoes would’ve gone ahead and shot those portions in Hindi, but Onir thinks differently and it is this authenticity that makes the stories appear authentic in I AM. Hence, the need for sub-titles.

BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM