Cast: Purav Bhandare, Anupam Kher

Direction: Santosh Sivan

Come to the path of Allah, come for prayers, come for success. With this simple invocation begins director-cinematographer Santosh Sivan’s visual poem Tahaan, a film set in Kashmir. It goes on to narrate the story of a little boy, Tahaan, who loses his donkey and sets out to get it back. The director uses the power of prayer to guide the little boy. At the beginning of the film, the faithful invoke the Lord to show them the right path! This is a pr ayer that comes to the rescue of the little boy later in the film. A far cry from Mani Ratnam’s Bombay which too used the same verses in an inappropriate manner, Santosh uses the words for their healing effect, as a guiding force for the boy, who, in his quest to get his donkey back, is befriend by a young militant. The boy would get the donkey back if he could carry grenades from one village to another! He does not quite understand the significance of his action. The only pointer is provided by the verses in the background. We know the kiddo won’t do anything wrong, but the journey is exhilarating.