Has FIRAAQ Arrived Too Late for India?
I feel I have become absolutely desensitized. Nandita Das’s award-winning, critically acclaimed directorial debut had no impact on me whatsoever. That is not to say that it isn’t a well made film. It certainly is. The command Das exhibits over direction of performances, Ravi K Chandran’s terrific camerawork, the passion behind telling the stories all made me sit up, take notice, and admire.
But not once did Firaaq make me feel…
…for its characters that is. It made me feel horrible about myself. It made me feel sick that I was so desensitized to what was shown on screen. I guess I had seen Hindus and Muslims mistrust, hate, and butcher each other on screen so often that it wasn’t anything new to me.
The partition scene in Gandhi made me angry and sad, the chaos of the ‘93 riots that Mani saar captured in Bombay frightened me, the brutality Aparna Sen made us imagine off-screen in Mr. and Mrs. Iyer disturbed me, and the riot sequence of Parzania, arguably one of the best filmed in the category yet, made me cringe and sick to my stomach.
It’s been a heavy dose that’s been driven into my head again and again and again! And then there are our TV channels that outdo the best of our filmmakers. So we don’t ever forget this despicable part of our existence, Godhra, amongst other tragedies has, and rightfully so been played back to us more often than we would like. It is perhaps the same reason why I don’t fault Nandita Das for revisiting a subject that has been explored before.
I do however wish that I was shown something I don’t already know about Godhra. While watching the film, I asked, “Who is Nandita Das really talking to here?”
If the capable actor/director is talking to Indians, she is preaching to the choir. I am not sure whether exploring territories that have already been explored is effective enough as a reminder. The film could have done with fresher arguments and a multi-dimensional perspective.
We have seen the victimization of the Muslim community in documentaries, news reports and films. We have seen how that victimization drives innocents to take to the path of violence. We have seen hatred spewed by fanatical Hindus, we have seen the feminist point of view, the battered wife finding her individuality through small rebellion. If it wasn’t for the beauty with which Das directs her actors in the above mentioned parts, the scenes would have perhaps been very uninteresting.
That said, the most interesting and engrossing parts of Firaaq are what we have seen very little of before such as the internal battle being fought by Sanjay Suri’s character, a rationalist on some levels, a very practical guy, who fights to claim his individuality by proudly proclaiming his religious identity. It’s brilliant characterization and storytelling, albeit let down by preachy dialogues. But the freshness stands out, and just as I sat up in my seat looking forward to more unexplored issues like the same, we get relegated back into the world that has now come to become all too familiar.
So is Firaaq really for India, right now? For one, it has arrived too late to make the arguments it makes, as others have beaten Das to it. Perhaps years, maybe decades down the line, when the next generation, unaware of these ugly years needs a strong enough reminder not to repeat history, Firaaq may just be the best possible candidate. A solid document of our times, Firaaq though not as effective as it could be today, will become more and more potent and important as it ages.
Tags: World Cinema
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I wish i could see this..and then comment on this beautiful article of yours Vijay..believe me..i will.and then come here agian
One can’t help but compare any movie made on the context of Gujarat riots with Parzania, I guess.
Firaq was too slow and cliched for me.
And for Gods sake, can we stop using Nasiruddin Shan as the old sensible Muslim scholar sulking in his ancestral home among cobwebs and antiques? I thought he did that once and for all in ‘Khuda Ke Liye’, but seems people won’t let go of him.
The movie was just rich in visual treatment and offered nothing but the old ‘Sin & redemption’ formulae.
~uh~
Not to nitpick…but sometimes I feel that people are more eager to make films on the plights of one side only…Guess it has something to do with the political ideology of the people…
No I am not saying that this not an issue…but at the same time I have yet to see any proper movie on the persecution of Kashmiri Pundits or for that matter a film on the threats of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants…
vijay…agree completely…felt d same. not sure why. was wonderinf if i am the only one who has turned D-emotional? superb acting by all the actors, from the kid to shahna’s freind. but it didnt touch….the fear, helplesness….felt nothing. ofcourse it was some great momemnts…deepti naval’s guilt, praesh rawal talking about gangrape, sanjay suri changing his name. but everyting else seems repetitive…same point again n again. the first half even bored me. but then u cant criticise a film like this…everyone wants to like a film which has abrave n good heart.
Vijay…. this was the main reason why i prefered “Barah Aana” above “Firaaq”.
Ironically enough, I also feel what makes Firaaq less interesting today is the lack of frills. The same frills we criticize Indian cinema of succumbing to. It’s not a film with thrills. It doesn’t overtly show gruesome violence, but implies it. It’s a story of the aftermath, not of the event or process of tragedy. It’s a story about mindset, not of physical suffering. It’s very un-cinematic, so we don’t find it impactful. As far as Godhra and other civil unrest is concerned we are fed images and sounds of the suffering and the action so blatantly that we don’t find Firaaq intense or dramatic. We find it tame. When it comes out on DVD, I would like to buy myself a copy, keep it on the shelf for about 5-6 years, and watch it after that. This is a film that will get more and more rancid as it ages.
As Thani pointed out to me off the post, I guess my above comment is poorly worded. When I said the movie would get rancid, I meant the events and matter chronicled in it, that would make us feel disgusted. The impact it would have.
To clarify, it would certainly get better with age.
I time of arrival of firaq is decided by congress. So don’t bother about that.
I have seen the film. I hated it for many reasons. I really hated one of the dialogs:
Sanjay suri saying: Aggar koi Hindu kuch karta hai to kuch nahi, lakin koi Jihadi kahi kuch karta hai to …
Something like that.
@Amol
If that really is the dialogue then I will never watch it…
It should have been the other way round…This is the problem with leftist intellectuals…always seeing one side of the coin..always a holier than thou attitude…always doing things to feed their propaganda…
Creating an impression as if muslims are persecuted like kurds in turkey…
@amol, the dialogue goes something like “Agar koi Hindu kuch karta hai toh kuch nahi, lekin hum log kuch karte hai toh Jihad”.
I think your interpretation is out of context. The above line was not meant to expose the mindset of Sanjay Suri’s character, a man who didnt really give a damn about religion till this point. He is a Muslim but doesnt practice. He doesnt really care as long as he can live his life. But when he persecuted and forced to hide his identity, suddenly “main” turns into “hum log”. That is the point and context of the scene and dialogue. It’s a beautifully written scene that can easily be sensationalized and blown out of proportion if represented out of context.
Correction, typo in my comment above…I mean the above line WAS meant to expose the mindset…
I’m not really sure…nowadays many people make careless comments and say that they have been quoted “out of context”…(like Varun Gandhi of late)
This line is very dangerous & inflammatory…in whatever context it is used…
Does ‘Firaaq’ show what preceded the Godhra riots? What was the reason that provoked the riots?
@Tejas – No it does not. It just chronicles the mental state of people in the aftermath. Some direct victims, some indirect, and a couple of perpetrators as well.
@vijay
Please see the movie again. He specifically mention “agar koi jihadi kuch karta hai to”
Its good that Nandita das has attemted to make such film, but atleast she should have shown some news papper cutting related to Sabarmati express.
The movie was supposed to get release 6 months back but was released in india specifically in march. The producers are claimimg they were busy with international festivals. Its totally bull shit. The film is produced by the Percept group, which had bagged the ‘Bharat Nirman’ media campaign contract from the Government of India ahead of Lok Sabha polls. They should feel lucky that their movie was released. Otherwise its even hard to release books related to 1984 carnages in india. Recently a book named “when a tree shook delhi” was released by CNN-IBN after 12 years of its writting. We are still waiting for books and movies on the maharastrian carnage after Gandhiji’s death.
The point here is not about marathi’s or sikhs. The point is if anybody wants to show us some thing they should show all the aspects, for instance in black friday they have shown the cause of the blast.
I saw this after reading reviews. Nothing special. Its hate cinema at its height. No artisitc content..Just filled with opinion of the psuedo-secular.
I hate to see such movies…for the simple reason that they do not show the complete story…BF was an exception. Hope very few people see suc movies and such movies meet their fate…that is are forgotten by everyone.
I think only the media tries to hype such films…Firaaq has got excellent reviews everywhere…
I havn’t seen Parzania…but whoever has seen it has told me that it’s not only one sided in content but technically also a hopeless film…but it got phenomenal reviews…we should stop hyping films just because it is based on some tragedy…
@razamurad
Parzania is better than Firaq.
@Amol…
in that case I would stay away from both…:)
Vijay & Phoenix
Thats the irony of such films.
These films are seen by hardcore arthouse seekers like you guys who have already seen films on this topic made by other arthouse filmmakers. Hence this problem of no feeling….
People who have not seen those other films you mentioned will not see this one too.