Director Rahul Aijaz’s debut film “Sindhu Ji Goonj” (Indus Echoes) premiered at the 17th annual Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF) in January this year. It received rave reviews, highlighting its somber filmmaking and beautiful cinematography.
In about a week’s time, on Friday the 12th of September 2025, the film will grace Pakistani theaters as well. So, we caught up with Rahul Aijaz to learn more about the film and his journey to get it to theaters.
What is Sindhu Ji Goonj About?
The film explores many subjects from love, yearning, and even climate change. As an anthology, the film circles the Indus River through several intertwined stories.
However, Rahul Aijaz prefers that the audience “let the stories take you wherever and the audience is guaranteed to have a wonderful time with this amalgam of fascinating characters, passage of time, poetry, landscapes of Sindh and most importantly, the Sindhu darya.”
From Black and White to Colour
The teaser for “Sindhu Ji Goonj” was released in 2023. Filmed in a 4:3 aspect ratio, and completely in Black and White, it set the stage for a very different debut to what Pakistan’s own directors are known for.
Even its poster which shows a single fishing boat on the river, harkens back to Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s “Jago Hua Savera”; “a coincidence, a good one at that.” It is serendipitous that the film is a co-production with Bangladesh (read below).
Shamoon Abbasi came on board very early as executive producer when no one else believed in it.
“He supported us when we didn’t have any support yet and I’ll always be grateful for that. Nothing but respect.”
Between that and the film’s premiere in January of 2025 at JIFF, and now in September in Pakistan, several things have changed.
First, the film’s colour palette is now muted/washed out, though the 4:3 aspect ratio remains.
“I’m a sucker for black-and-white film but during the post-production process, I realized that the essence of the stories and the mood of the film came out more effectively in washed-out colours. It’s a fine balance between full color and completely monochromatic where it adds the positives of each and gives it a unique feel.”
Aijaz consulted with his friend and colourist Saulo Ruben Aroca Rosas and credits him with bring out “this haunting vibe in the images that they are imprinted in your mind.”
From Pakistan to Korea
After shooting “Sindhu Ji Goonj”, Aijaz travelled to Busan for a fellowship at the International Film Business Academy (IFBA). He studied for 7 months at the Busan Asian Film School and met several collaborators who helped him in the post-production process.
He credits this team for a lot of valuable creative input and resources to help finish the film.
Among these are:
Paul Battle of BigMeta Films (co-editor and post-production producer) – Korea
Saul Ruben Aroca Rosas (colourist) – Korea
Tanveer Hossain of Green Screen (VFX) – Bangladesh
The entire post-production was done online. And of course, finding a distributor for an offbeat film like this one took some time.
Hence, the delay between the first teaser and release. Fortunately, Anthem Films (headed by Mohammad Kamran Jawaid) was up to the task. “Akhtiar Ali Kalwar and Zaid Aziz are his executive producers.” Aijaz even partnered with the Climate Action Center in Karachi to arrange a special screening for NAPA.
“Everyone involved is irreplaceable in my eyes.”
The Indus Lives and Brings Life
The Indus River, originally called Sindhu, is the reason that civilization exists in this region. The river is mentioned throughout the region’s history, from the Indian Epic Mahabharata and the sacred Hindu texts, the Rigveda and the Puranas, to Al-Biruni’s Kitab Al-Hind. Even texts from China, Afghanistan and ancient Babylon mention the river and its surrounding civilizations.
Today, the river is still important for many people’s livelihoods. It is a source of fresh catch, and irrigation for crops as well as a source for fertile soil for plains.
Rahul Aijaz anthropomorphizes the river, saying “She isn’t particularly good or evil. Maybe neither, maybe both, but not one or the other. She feels emotions like we do – love, sorrow, loneliness, guilt, etc.”
Does Art Mirror Life or…
In the film’s trailer, one character recounts his father saying that if the Indus was divided amongst all of Sindh, each person would only have a blanket’s worth.
While he wrote the script in 2022, this dialogue takes on a new meaning with the current turmoil the people of the Indus face due to the new irrigation canals being carved out of the river.
“…the truth is we have always exploited and cut the river according to our own needs. This isn’t the first time the state is doing that…Dialog such as the one you mentioned do specifically talk about such issues.”
So, is all art political? Is art for art’s sake non-existent today?
“I do believe in art for art’s sake but with the current state of the world, I think it’s almost impossible for art not to be political…So, to answer your question, yes if talking about the river’s rights and people’s suffering is political, I don’t mind being political. For me, I am describing reality.”
Another character in the film mourns having to leave the Indus to improve his life; yet he opines there’s nowhere else to go. Several families in Sindh are forced to leave their lands every year to escape famine, poverty, and unemployment; but very few escape it for good. The Indus provides some sort of stability and calm through this ordeal.
“Who leaves home willingly? No one. But at times, it’s necessary for survival. But then again, the yearning for home, for Indus, always remains in hearts. So, when you’re far away, the memories of home provide comfort but also survivor’s guilt. If you’re close and still suffering, that is no good either. There are complex paradoxical emotions at play here.”
Going the Masters’ Route or Carving Your Own?
The trailers show that Aijaz prefers the work of the classical masters like Ray or Kurosawa rather than more commercial fare. While he surely admires them, he gravitates more to Tarkovsky, Lynch and Herzog.
“These three are my film gurus who have taught me everything without ever knowing that I exist. Everything they do is majestic and timeless and extraordinary.”
That discussion, however, warrants a whole different article.
He also mentions the modern filmmakers Anand Gandhi (Ship of Theseus) and Bruno Dumont (Hors Satan, Camille Claudel 1915) as inspiration.
However, he believes that his own style comes through in “Sindhu Ji Goonj” because the film is rooted in his own experiences, culture, and origins.
“…from there, I forget about all the inspiration and influences and just do what the ideas tell me to do and follow where they lead me.”
He opines that improvisation, feelings and intuition inform his craft more than anything else. Despite all sorts of planning, something very different happens when one is shooting.
From Film Journalist to Film Maker
Rahul Aijaz has written for publications like Express Tribune and IGN Pakistan. On the way he’s also written articles about films. He’s even written for some publications in Korea, but filmmaking was his true calling.
“I stayed connected to film and culture reporting and reviewing and interviewing everyone. So being a journalist helped me understand the film industry better too.”
So, is it daunting now making films that other journalists will judge?
“I am okay with it. First and foremost, I make films which make me happy. Because if I am happy, that feeling is there and that feeling will transfer to the audience and critics and everyone who watches it.”
For his first film, the reception has been unanimous praise. At Jaipur, audiences and critics lauded his work, and at NAPA, it played to a packed house. Yet, Pakistan is a very fickle market. And arthouse films rarely do well, no matter how well made (Shah, Laal Kabootar, In Flames, Chikkar, Gunjal, etc.)
And What of the Revival of Sindhi Cinema?*
Rahul Aijaz makes it very clear. This is not a revival, but a rebirth of the cinema of Sindh.
“And this rebirth should show us that our cinema has also evolved over time. We can’t just keep telling terrible stories of dacoits and bad comedies, copied from decades-old Punjabi cinema.”
He reiterates the points that have been made time and again about Pakistan’s cinema scene in general. More frequent mid-to-low budget features will lead to higher audience footfalls and a growing appreciation for independent cinema.
“…it can hopefully lead to a film movement, which we so desperately need in Pakistan. So that we don’t just rely on a couple of major blockbusters to recoup all the money for cinemas…”
“Sindhu Ji Goonj/Indus Echoes” will hit theaters all over Pakistan on the 12th of September, 2025.
*=”Sindhu Ji Goonj/Indus Echoes”
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