Amardeep wrote a short review of Acting Like a Thief:
I downloaded and watched the clip, and would definitely recommend it: another glimpse on how how the other half (or, to be more precise, the other three-quarters!) lives in India. At a simple level, it’s interesting just to hear these people talk. At times they are speaking the language of an aggrieved minority, focusing on the way they are victimized by the police and by the mainstream communities that surround them. But at other moments they acknowledge (and even embrace) their community’s “dakku” legacy. Some of the folks interviewed seem morally complicated (particularly the older lady who shows up in the second half of the clip). To me this makes the documentary different from others that have focused on minority or SC/OBC communities in India.
I really appreciate this because I’ve seen some of those ernest Indian documentary films he speaks of and we looking to do something a little different. Not just morally complex, but (dare I say it) … entertaining. One of the reasons we are raising money to go back and shoot more is that we think we can really make something that will reach a wide audience, and not just be shown to activists and graduate students!
