After the disastrous 'Kehtaa Hai Dil Baar Baar', Dholakia is back with something completely different. No need to say that he has shown great improvement as a director in 'Parzania'. Even though there have been many movies that have depicted the political conflicts between Hindus and Muslims in India that have lead to bloodshed, 'Parzania' takes a closer look at the tragedy that happened in Gujarat in 2002.
The film deals with a sensitive and poignant issue but perhaps under the wings of a more experienced director, 'Parzania' may have been a better film. Many of the scenes before the riot appear Bollywoodish and some of the scenes thereafter appear dramatic enough to interfere when it may have worked better had it been treated with subtlety. The Allan character is poorly written. At first he's portrayed as a caricature hippy-tourist type who switches to a whiny alcoholic before becoming a do-gooder. The writer fails to show a convincing transition. I also don't understand the point of Cyrus's quest which he undertakes in order to find answers.
Much of the movie is seen through Cyrus and Shernaz's point of view and those are the parts that worked best. It also helps that the aforementioned roles were played by gifted actors like Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika. Shah downplays Cyrus with élan but it is Sarika who is outstanding. She owns each and every one of her scenes. Parzan Dastur is very likable. Of the supporting cast, Raj Zutshi and Sheeba Chaddha are superb.
Flawed it may be, but 'Parzania' is far from being a bad film. It is worth the watch. Dholakia may not have been the best choice but he took a brave step and perhaps in the future he can tackle such sensitive issues with more skill and thus do more justice to the story.
