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There are films that entertain, films that inform, and then there are films that leave you struggling to find words long after the screen goes dark.

On June 23, I watched The Voice of Hind Rajab at PVR Irrum Manzil in Hyderabad. I had been meaning to watch it for days, but if I am being honest, I was also gathering the courage to do so. I knew the story. Like millions around the world, I had read about six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab and heard snippets of the tragedy that unfolded in Gaza. Yet nothing prepared me for the experience of watching her story on the big screen.

What struck me first was not the film itself, but the atmosphere inside the theatre.

I have attended countless screenings over the years, but I have rarely witnessed a theatre this silent. There were no loud conversations, no rush to collect belongings as the credits rolled, no eager movement toward the exits. Instead, there was a stillness that felt almost collective. People sat quietly, some with teary eyes, others simply staring at the screen as if trying to process what they had just witnessed.

That silence said more than applause ever could.

Scenes from theatres show the film’s impact, watch below

Directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, The Voice of Hind Rajab is based on the real final emergency calls of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl trapped inside a car in Gaza while rescue workers desperately tried to reach her. The film stars Saja Kilani, Motaz Malhees, Amer Hlehel and Clara Khoury, but what makes it especially haunting is its use of Hind’s real voice recordings.

The film reminds viewers that behind every headline, statistic and breaking news alert is a human story. A child. A family. A life that deserved protection.

One scene in particular stayed with me. Hind is introduced as a child studying in a ‘butterfly class.’ It is a simple detail, almost ordinary. Yet that innocence becomes one of the film’s most devastating truths. A child whose biggest concern should have been school, play and dreams for the future suddenly finds herself trapped in the machinery of war.

Perhaps that is what makes the film so difficult to watch.

Based on the real events of January 29, 2024, the story follows Hind after she becomes trapped in a car alongside members of her family. The film incorporates dramatized scenes alongside real-life recordings to reconstruct the desperate attempts to save her. The tragedy extended beyond Hind herself. The paramedics who set out to rescue her, Yusuf Al-Zeino and Ahmed Al-Madhoun, also lost their lives.

The details are heartbreaking, but the film never allows viewers to look away from the human cost of conflict.

Many people may wonder why they should watch a film about a tragedy they have already read about online. The answer became clear to me today. Social media posts are fleeting. News headlines come and go. But cinema has a unique ability to make audiences sit with a story, to listen, to feel and to remember.

Watching The Voice of Hind Rajab is not simply watching a film. It is bearing witness.

As I left the theatre, I noticed something else. The screening was nearly full. In a city often associated with commercial blockbusters and mass entertainers, audiences had shown up for a film centred on the life of a five-year-old girl whose story many believe the world should never forget.

That gave me hope.

Whether you agree with every political perspective surrounding the conflict or not, this film asks something far more fundamental of its audience, empathy.

The credits rolled hours ago, but I am still thinking about Hind Rajab, Hanood.

Some films deserve applause. This one deserved a different ending.

One final thought.

A film like The Voice of Hind Rajab does not have the luxury of hundreds of screens or dozens of shows every day. In Hyderabad alone, it is currently running in only a handful of theatres with just a few screenings. Despite that, the show I attended at PVR Irrum Manzil was nearly full, proving that audiences are willing to show up for stories that matter.

If you have been thinking about watching it, do not postpone it. Films like these often disappear from theatres before word of mouth has a chance to spread.

Go watch it. Not because it will change the past. Not because it offers easy answers. But because bearing witness matters. Because behind every headline is a child whose story deserves to be heard.

The least we can do for Hind Rajab is make sure her voice is not lost in the noise of the world.

Hyderabad theatres screening The Voice Of Hind Rajab

• PVR Superplex Inorbit
• PVR: Irrum Manzil, Hyderabad
• PVR: Musarambagh, Hyderabad

Ticket prices are also quite affordable, except for the PVR Superplex screening. Check BookMyShow for show timings and availability.