A Thousand Desires Like These
A sweeping Hindi political romance traces three young lives as idealism, desire, and authoritarian repression collide across India’s turbulent late-1960s and Emergency era.
Overview
A tale of love and revolution set against the backdrop of political turmoil.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- intimate
- politically charged
- thoughtful weekend viewing
- political cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as an overwhelming, finely crafted, and memorable political drama that turns a lost generation’s history into emotionally textured cinema.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Geeta, Siddharth, and Vikram’s romantic and personal choices become inseparable from the Marxist struggle and the Emergency.
Student activism and left-wing resistance give way to arrests, surveillance, and the Emergency’s destruction of political freedoms.
Geeta’s attachment to Vikram and Siddharth unfolds across political upheaval, separation, and changing loyalties.
The film’s account of late-1960s activism and the Emergency functions as a remembrance of ideals and lives overtaken by repression.
Films like A Thousand Desires Like These, and why
The Year of Living Dangerously
Shared attributes include politically engaged drama, youthful idealism, and romance shaped by national upheaval.
The Lives of Others
Both are emotionally intense historical dramas where intimate relationships intersect with authoritarian politics and social unrest.
Doctor Zhivago
Both combine sweeping political change, conflicted friendships, and romantic entanglements across a turbulent modern history.
Garam Hava
Shared attributes include Indian political history, generational disillusionment, and textured romantic drama.
Movie Details
- Director
- Sudhir Mishra
- Release Date
- 2005-05-15
- Runtime
- 117 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (16)
Cast
- Kay Kay Menon
- Chitrangada Singh
- Shiney Ahuja
- Ram Kapoor
- Yashpal Sharma
- Sandeep Kulkarni
- Arif Zakaria
- Anupam Shyam
- Saurabh Shukla
- Gajraj Rao
Common questions
- What is A Thousand Desires Like These about?
- A sweeping Hindi political romance traces three young lives as idealism, desire, and authoritarian repression collide across India’s turbulent late-1960s and Emergency era.
- What is A Thousand Desires Like These like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of A Thousand Desires Like These as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is A Thousand Desires Like These violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in A Thousand Desires Like These as mild.
- What did critics think of A Thousand Desires Like These?
- Critics broadly praised the film as an overwhelming, finely crafted, and memorable political drama that turns a lost generation’s history into emotionally textured cinema.
- Which films are like A Thousand Desires Like These?
- Films with a similar feel include The Year of Living Dangerously, The Lives of Others, Doctor Zhivago, and Garam Hava.
- How long is A Thousand Desires Like These?
- A Thousand Desires Like These runs 117 minutes.
