Sangam / Excerpt

A Film by Prashant Bhargava

Music by Qasim Naqvi

Inspired by the site of pilgrimage in India, SANGAM is a film about the struggle to maintain faith in the reality of the American Dream.

Official Selection
SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

Audience Award
SHORT SHORTS ASIA

Mention Du Jury International
CLERMONT FERRAND FILM FESTIVAL

Best Narrative Short
SAN DIEGO ASIAN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL

Best Short Subject - Honorable Mention
NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL

Best Director - Prashant Bhargava
AMERICAN THEATER OF HARLEM FILM FESTIVAL

Best Actor - Hesh Sarmalkar
ROME INT. FILM FESTIVAL (GEORGIA)

Best Short - Finalist
ASIAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

SYNOPSIS

Sangam is a site of pilgrimage in Allahabad, India where three rivers meet – the Ganges, the Jamuna, and the mythical Saraswati. The rivers converge but their colors do not mix. It is believed by bathing at this confluence, one receives strength and freedom. In January of 2001 at the Kumbh Mela, over thirty million made a pilgrimage to Sangam.

Raj has arrived to New York from Bihar, India. Determined, he has left his family, culture, and a troubled past in hope of finding the American Dream.

Vivek, a disillusioned Indian American, grapples with the dreams laid out by his parents and the void of making those material dreams a reality. He seeks meaning by reliving fleeting childhood memories of visiting Sangam.

Raj and Vivek cross paths on a New York subway train. As each longs for what the other takes for granted, they must confront the currents that bind and divide them.

Sangam is a meditation upon the struggle to maintain faith as first and second generation immigrants. Textured in aesthetic and meaning, a traditional narrative is woven with experimental techniques - still photography, super 16, super 8, and motion design/animation.