About the title
The film is based on the poem of the same name by Mirzo Tursun-zade about the clash of two cultures, two worlds — traditional Tajik culture and the new Soviet culture invading it — and about the formation of self-awareness of the Tajik peasant (dehkan) in the 1920s–30s... Poor Hasan had to reconsider and endure much before he was able to make sense of the changes that had taken place in his life, to understand that the old traditions and customs had become a thing of the past. Bent by poverty and disenfranchisement, he found within himself the strength to stand up against the Basmachi.