Critical Thinking (CT-001-2) Mayukh Nair

Film Critique: Firaaq (2008) November 29, 2015

Films are often accused of delivering only one side of the story they depict to their viewersand

in the process they end up transferring the storys biased position into the audience. The other

side of the story is often ignored in the narrative and the pain and suffering that is felt on that

side and is hidden deep within it as well. Film narratives and cameras keep tracking the

protagonist and end up glorify every action of his/her taking. It is rarely that you get to see both

sides of the story in a film since the depiction is a challenge in itself.

Actress Nandita Dass directorial debut, Firaaq1 Arabic for both separation and quest

explores the lives of some individuals in the aftermath of one of the bloodiest chapters of

communal violence in the country-the 2002 Godhra Riots. Firaaq has literally walked on a

tightrope to avoid touching the murky politics and gore that is deeply connected into the riots: it

instead focuses on the internal hurt the violence has caused to both communitiesHindus in

majority and the victimized Muslims.

Firaaq stars an impressive cast who do justice to the required essence of their rolesof people

who are affected by the riots and whose stories slowly get intertwined. It offers us an insight into

the mindset of all three participants of society when communal violence strikesthe victims, the

perpetrators and the silent observers. As required to clearly understand the seriousness of the

violence, some unsettling scenes open our eyes to the horror of this small scale neo-Holocaust.

We are introduced to the four individuals: Khan Saheb (Naseeruddin Shah) who chooses to stay

1
Nandita Das, Firaaq, Drama, History, (2009).
immersed in his world of oblivion, Hindu housewife Arati (Deepti Naval) haunted by guilt and

abused by her husband Sanjay (Paresh Rawal) who is a perpetrator, wealthy Sameer (Sanjay

Suri) who is moving to Delhi fearing more hatred, innocent little Mohsin (Mohammed Samad)

who has lost his family and wanders, apathetic to the world of hatred he tries to survive inand

Hanif (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) and Muneera (Shahana Goswami), victims of arson which destroys

their trust in friends and society.

Their storylines inter-connect as the film progresses, invisible to the characters eyes. Each

character opens our eyes to the various illusions and conficts within human beings: the belief that

they can cause hurt and hatred and stay invisible to the society, that of living in communal

harmony, that of being a victim of crime yet being accused as perpetrators, and the unconscious

prejudice within us. The film clearly is an experiment in addressing the audience about human

misunderstanding: how little each of us know about each other and how our actions

unconsciously lead to a rippling effect across all kinds of people, young and old. By choosing to

track the lives of the characters instead of spinning a plot around one person, Firaaq turns the

audience into silent observers who witness the horror and whose emotions begin synchronizing

with that of the characters.

The film has some flaws, such Sameers urbane, metropolitan style of reflecting on his fears

and thoughts which makes us feel that it is more hue and cry than needed. The storylines end up

shrouding too many obvious questions in a cloud of mystery, but that might be actually

intentional as the director might have felt that it will end up competing with the core issue

Firaaq focuses on. And where it does focus onthe beliefs it wants to show, the emotions it

wants us to feel, the message it wants to deliver in the endit does an excellent job and certainly

deserves to be watched, and thoroughly understood.