A film dealing with the homeless issues.

July 2007 — The press screening of the film "CHATH - A Roof Without Walls" took place at one of the screening theaters at the Laugh Factory near Times Square in New York City. CHATH is the first production of Magnapex Media and Entertainment and is directed by Hyder Bilgrami and Tirthankar Das of New Jersey.

Dealing with the unexplored subject of homelessness, the event drew much curiosity even before the screening. Das, the producer of the film and one of the directors, presented a short briefing of the film before the screening. Shot in just 5 days during the peak winter of 2006, the primary motivation behind its making was to tell a story that has never been told through a feature film - the story of homelessness, its roots, its impact on human lives and emotions and the reality that homelessness is more of an emotional and mental phenomena rather than just an economic condition. Chath delves into the dynamics of the relationships between 3 homeless Indians in USA. The three different personalities clash and this raises pertinent questions about life and existence, and about dealing with life's failures.

The screening took 97 mins. A Q&A session followed the screening during which the directors answered questions from the press. They pointed out that CHATH has been inspired by real-life incidents and experiences of the homeless and strongly felt that people should be aware of this problem that has a huge bearing on our society. Hyder and Das personally met with homeless people including Indians in New York City to get a better perspective on their issues. A part of the press did feel that the film was too "on-the-face". The directors responded by saying that it was their intention to follow a direct approach. "Some of the incidents that homeless people have experienced in real life are even more disturbing and horrendous than what we have shown in the film. The bitterness and trauma they experience often results in drug abuse and serious mental abnormalities and deviations" - Hyder and Das remarked.

The filmmakers plan to organize selective theater screening in USA and India and then release the film on DVD. The film has been already screening in two International Film Festivals (Bollywood International Film Festival, Cape Town and South Asian International Film Festival, New Jersey) and has been submitted for many more.

The cast of the film, Sanjay Malhotra and Liyakat Khan also shared their experience while filming CHATH. Both of them attributed their decision to act in the film to the realistic nature of the subject of homelessness.

In the end, the directors and cast were given a big round of applause. CHATH - A Roof Without Walls is scheduled for release by the end of July 2007in USA and in November 2007 in India.

Magnapex Media & Entertainment
15 Middlesex Ave
Edison NJ 08817

Hyder Bilgrami
hyderb@gmail.com
732-419-2906