The quest begins - Firaaq
Powerhouse performance: Firaaq
Genre: Drama
Director: Nandita Das
Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Raghubir Yadav, Deepti Naval, Shahana Goswami
Storyline: The film takes a look at the ravaged lives of ordinary people after the riots in Gujarat.
Bottomline:All is not lost in the fight against hate.
It is an honest quest to discover humanity in darkness. We seem more concerned about Muslims killing Hindus and Hindus giving it back to Muslims when the point of concern should be man is killing man.
Nandita Das says it clearly and imaginatively, as she makes an assured directorial debut. Set in the aftermath of the Gujarat violence, the film weaves the stories of some ordinary people whose lives are ravaged forever in the mayhem.
A lot has been said about the carnage, but what sets Nandita’s work apart is her well-etched characters give an insight into the lives of the victims whose voices are drowned in the cacophony of breaking news.
These are feeble voices making pertinent points — people who are considering giving up their identity to find majority acceptance, people who still feel music can bind one another, people who are haunted by their inability to save their fellow beings, people who trusted their neighbours. Their thinking is not a straight line. It is dotted with crossroads and U-turns and Nandita sieves this mental chaos with precision without resorting to rhetoric. ‘Firaaq’ strikes a chord because the humanity of its protagonists stands out in horrific times.
Nandita has cast some powerhouse performers — Naseeruddin Shah, Raghubir Yadav, Deepti Naval and young Shahana Goswami — to make her task easier. Naseer is effortless in his portrayal of an aging musician refusing to give up his idealism till he finds the very foundation of it is razed. His crumbling body reflects the erosion of melody from our lives. Deepti Naval is convincing as the housewife who is haunted by her inability to save some riot victims. Shahana Goswami lives the angst of a mehendi artist, whose house is torched by her neighbourhood friend and Sanjay Suri portrays the restlessness of an educated Muslim who is in constant fear of being stripped off his identity. In the end, it is the purity of Mohammed Samad’s — as the boy looking for his missing father — eyes that stays with you long after the credits roll.
However, the film hardly shifts gears technically and the treatment of some of the situations is tedious. Every feature film requires the director to be ahead of the audience, but here Nandita fails to surprise. After a point, you feel for the characters but know where they are headed. Watch it to understand all is not lost in the fight against hate!
ANUJ KUMAR
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