Pankaj Tripathi's award-winning film, Mango Dreams, to be released in India on THIS date

Pankaj Tripathi's award-winning international film, Mango Dreams, which also features Sameer Kochhar and Ram Gopal Bajaj, is set for its Indian release on Open Theatre on May 16.

The film, which is helmed by American director John Upchurch, stars Tripathi as a Muslim auto rickshaw driver, who forms an unlikely bond with a Hindu doctor as they embark on a journey across India in search of the doctor's childhood home. The cast also includes Samir Kochhar, Rohini Hattangadi, SM Zaheer, and Farah Ahsan.

As the film gears up for release on an independent Indian platform, Upchurch says, "The story explores the relationship between two brothers – India and Pakistan – separated at birth. The tense Indo-Pakistani relations serve as a metaphor for the conflicts plaguing many parts of the world. However, Mango Dreams offers a glimmer of hope for reconciliation. Although the movie is set in India, the story is universal. The original story was set in America, but the film could be set anywhere in the world where divisions exist.”

Pankaj Tripathi's performance in Mango Dreams earned him the Best Actor Award at the Capetown International Film Market and Festival in 2017. The film has also garnered recognition at numerous international film festivals worldwide, including the Arizona International Film Festival 2016, London Asian Film Festival 2017, and Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival 2017.