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. . .And They Dared to Dream marks the sophomore film effort of former Satyajit Ray student Subrata Sen -- his debut feature being the 2001 film The Girl. Orphaned Turni (Nilanjana Sharma in her film debut) has been under the care of her grandfather since her parents' deaths. Life in her grandfather's house is beginning to take a zealously religious turn as shady "holy man" Tantra (Dipankar De) has moved in and taken control of the household -- with the assistance of Turni's aunt, Jogini (Baishakhi Marjit). Turni's friends -- Shomeo (Bollywood star Firdous Ahmed) and Siddharta (Subrata Datta, also in his feature film debut) -- see through Tantra's plans. They alert Turni to the fake holy man's apparently sinister plot, which includes trying to wrest control of the house from Turni's grandfather. As the trio set about to get even with Tantra, Jogini steps in and forces the young woman to enter into an initiation rite that will brainwash the girl into joining Tantra's cult. Shomeo and Siddharta are forced to once again intervene in order to save Turni and her family from ruin. . . .And They Dared to Dream was selected for inclusion into the 2002 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.