Firaaq

From its very opening scene of a truck dumping dozens of corpses at a graveyard site for mass burial, Nandita Das makes it clear that her directorial debut, Firaaq is not going to be an easy watch. A fictionalised account of true stories set one month after the horrific communal riots of Gujarat in 2002, Firaaq focuses on a handful of ordinary characters whose lives are changed irreparably by the riots. There's an affluent mixed-religion couple (played by Tisca Chopra and Sanjay Suri) who prepares to shift to Delhi because the Muslim husband is afraid of what might happen next. An auto-rickshaw driver whose house is burned down, and his wife (played by Shahana Goswami) who suspects her Hindu friend's husband did it. An optimistic elderly Muslim musician (played by Naseeruddin Shah) who ultimately resigns himself to the fact that no music can hope to calm this rage. A passive, abused wife of a bigoted Hindu (played by Deepti Naval) who is haunted by guilt for not opening her door to save a woman running from the mob. And a little Muslim boy in search of his father, unaware that he's been orphaned in the carnage. These stories interconnect occasionally in a manner that makes it clear that victims, perpetrators and silent observes are all connected somehow. Director Nandita Das steers away from political overtones, choosing instead to tell a dramatic story about everyday people and the repercussions of violence. Interestingly, you don't actually see any incidents of violence in Firaaq, but its aftermath can be felt throughout the film, in the fear, anguish, loss and anger felt by those left in its wake. Firaaq is an important film because Das never shies away from showing the ugly side of her characters. I'm reminded of a disturbing scene in the film in which Paresh Rawal's character gleefully asks his younger brother if he enjoyed a gangrape he'd participated in. Barely moments later, his brother turns to watch a TV news report in which a Muslim woman is seen complaining that they were robbed of their dignity during the riots, to which he spitefully comments that they had little dignity to begin with. It's scenes like these that deliver the full impact of this powerful film, and Das assembles an ensemble of some of the finest actors who bring her characters to life. If there's a problem with Firaaq, it's the fact that despite her best intentions, Das fails to bridge the gap between the audience and her characters. It's unquestionably sad what happens to these people, you know their lives have changed forever, yet there's a certain unexplained distance that never lets you "feel" the pain yourself. Remember, the most compelling films are the ones that transport you to the centre of the drama, and make you a participant in the action. Firaaq is a noble film, an admirable debut, but you don't feel the pain. There is also the issue of the affected English dialogues in the Sanjay Suri-Tisca Chopra track, and the somewhat meandering nature of the Naseeruddin Shah track. Overlook these faults, however, and make it a point to watch Firaaq. It's an unsettling film, one that throws up difficult questions and demands urgent responses.Firaaq is not perfect, but it's much better than anything else you're likely to have watched recently.

The first attempt of veteran indie actress Nandita Das in directing is a spellbinding film which takes the Gujurat Riots of 2002 as its backdrop. We are introduced to four main plots - a Gujarati family complicit in the riots, one mixed marriage (Muslim male, Hindu female), one Muslim classical singer and one couple who return home after the riots have ended. And caught up in these people is an orphan who has lost his parents and is roaming around the city.

The individual stories of the film are excellently done, themes of inter-religious marriages, abusive husbands, guilt of not helping Muslims, victims turning to violence, police brutality, middle class hypocrisy (One scene was excellent: A wedding is taking place. The bride is being decorated by a Muslim who has had her house burnt. And the bride is cussing how these "bloody Muslims" have ruined her marriage) are very poignantly dealt with.

But the movie feels lacking a thematic closure. It was as if Nandita Das got tired and said "Ok, thats it! 101 minutes, thats all the runtime I can give. I just don't want to connect all these themes!" and left the film. Which is what just what I wanted - a sort of closure. Right now, Firaaq is movie which just gives us a glimpse of these people lives without letting us know what will happen to them in the future. That is something which IMO, should have been shown.

None the less, this is a fine piece of Indian cinema - a far cry from the banal Bollywood dance numbers, masala filled movies. Thumbs up for the effort!

What worked:

• plots and subplots with the stories of violence and stereotypes in the lives of many individuals in Mumbai
• the movie has some of the fine actors and their performances are worth praising

What did not work:

• some plot holes and uneven story telling; not complaining but could have been better I suppose
• the movie focused mainly from one religious perspective and the scenes seemed repetitive and so cliche, adding few newness to the characters and narration

Final verdict: Recommended.

Wow. That is all I could say after sitting through this film. Das makes a scintillating debut as a director, and if 'Firaaq' is the type of cinema she will continue to make, then she has already won one devoted fan. Every shot of this film, every line of its dialogue screams of the directors' humane, socially conscious philosophy. She takes a very brave step in projecting the pain of the 'other' -- which in Firaaq's case is the socially backward Muslim population in India, which was the target of the 2002 Gujrat pogroms.

The film is basically a set of vignettes from a 24 hour period in the lives of the characters in the post-carnage period in Gujrat. There are the slum dwellers, an aging music teacher residing in a rundown locality, an orphaned child and to balance this set, an upper class businessman -- all from the Islamic faith. The episodes in the characters' lives are loosely interconnected and revolve around a slum dwelling couple going back to their burnt-down Muslim ghetto to reclaim their lives, the teacher coming to terms with the madness surrounding him, and the orphan finding, and eventually losing, a refuge.

This is not typical bollywood/escapist fare at all. For one, there are no songs and certainly no dancing, and no overt melodrama. Also, the film at many instances gets painfully real and makes for overall rather disturbing viewing. The fact the film elicits that kind of a response from its audience is no small feet.

Das has very correctly underscored how women have a more humane streak towards people -- regardless of whatever faith/creed they are from. However, the more positive face of the Hindu-Muslim interaction shown in the film at times does start bordering on the unreal.

All in all, mandatory viewing for all who appreciate serious, no-nonsense cinema.

It's quite a dare to make a movie on such a sensitive subject. The movie is very well made which shows the plight of different segments of people at such a horrible time. However the movie shows only one side of the coin and would have been a lot more effective had they tried to balance it by showing both the sides, even slightly. Without that, the movie will get accused as a propaganda story despite being well made.