i have never written a review but felt obligated to after watching this film. i had heard very nice things about this movie but was surprised how disappointed i felt leaving the cinema. one question, why cast Indian girl for nri Indian? she had the accent down, but still - aren't there talented actors from America? also, who is the horrible guy playing kabir. he is awful! he spoils so many scenes of the film.<br /><br />the mother brinda karat is good as is yashpal sharma from lagaan. the film seems to catering to outside Indians and somehow loses the effect of being powerful for the Indian audience and the outside Indian audience.<br /><br />i must admit i thought the flashback scenes were powerful. director bose is promising but she should never write again. the dialogue is pretentious and the impact is minimal. still, she extracts competent performances with those restrictions.<br /><br />the music is okay and the production value is decent. the riots had so much history and i was waiting for a film other than trash like hawayein to offer justice and honesty to what transpired back then. amu offers a glimpse and that's it. i wish the entire film was the flashbacks - it had the chance to make intelligent powerful cinema without the forced formula.<br /><br />in the end, amu may be made with heart but the result is heartless for the audience.