Firaaq (2009)

Firaaq (English: Separation) is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Nandita Das. It is set one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat, India, and looks at the aftermath and its effects on the lives of everyday people. It claims to be based on "a thousand true stories." Firaaq means both separation and quest in Arabic. The film is the directorial debut of actress Nandita Das and stars Naseeruddin Shah, Deepti Naval, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Inaamulhaq, Nassar, Paresh Rawal, Sanjay Suri, Raghubir Yadav, Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash, and Tisca Chopra.

The film has largely been well received locally and internationally. Firaaq won three awards at the Asian Festival of First Films in Singapore in December 2008, the Special Prize at the International Thessaloniki Film Festival, and an award at the Kara Film Festival in Pakistan. It won two National Film Awards at the 56th National Film Awards. The film was banned in Gujarat owing to the communally sensitive subject of the film.

Plot

Firaaq follows the lives of several ordinary people, some who were victims, some silent observers, and some perpetrators one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat. It focuses on how their lives are affected and (irrevocably) changed.

The story is set over a 24-hour period, one month after a carnage that took place in Gujarat, India, in 2002. This sectarian violence killed more than 900 Muslims and 300+ Hindus (reported); hundreds of thousands were made homeless on both sides.

Khan Saheb (Naseeruddin Shah) is an elderly Muslim classical vocalist who remains blissfully optimistic of the situation happening around him. His servant, Karim Mian (Raghubir Yadav), tries to alert him to the problems the Muslim community is facing, but Khan Saheb only realises the extent of the trauma upon seeing the destruction of a shrine dedicated to the Sufi saint, Wali Gujarati. A middle-aged Hindu housewife, Aarti (Deepti Naval), is traumatised because she did not help a Muslim woman being chased by a mob and finds a way to atone for her sins upon finding Mohsin, a Muslim orphan who wanders the city in search for his family. Meanwhile, her husband, Sanjay (Paresh Rawal), and his brother, Deven (Dilip Joshi), try to bribe police officers to prevent Deven's arrest for gang rape. Muneera (Shahana Goswami) and her husband Hanif (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) are a young Muslim couple who return home only to find it looted and burnt. Muneera struggles to relate to her Hindu neighbour Jyoti (Amruta Subash) in the following days, as she suspects her of taking part in the looting. Hanif, along with several other Muslim men, plan to retaliate against the violence and their helplessness by searching for a gun to exact revenge. Sameer Shaikh (Sanjay Suri) and Anuradha Desai (Tisca Chopra) are a wealthy, interreligious couple whose store was burnt during the carnage. They decide to move to Delhi to escape the violence, and Sameer comes into conflict with his wife's family over expressing his identity as a Muslim in India.

Cast

Music

Composed by Piyush Kanojia and Rajat Dholakia, the lyrics of the songs are penned by Gulzar.

Reception

Firaaq won top honours at the Asian Festival of First Films 2008 in Singapore, where it won the awards for "Best Film", "Screenplay / Script", and "Foreign Correspondents Assn. Purple Orchid Award for Best Film". The film has won awards at other international festivals, including the Special Prize award at the International Thessaloniki Film Festival in Greece, the Special Jury Award at the International Film Festival of Kerala, and the Best Editor award for Sreekar Prasad at the Dubai International Film Festival. It won an award at the Kara Film Festival in Pakistan. Gautam Sen for "its perfect use of props and choice of colours to enhance the ambience of a post-riots" won National Film Award for Best Art Direction. A. Sreekar Prasad also won a National Film Award for "aesthetically weaving together unrelated sequences to heighten the dramatic impact" in the Best Editing category at the 56th National Film Awards.

It was released in India on 20 March 2009 and received critical acclaim. Taran Adarsh in his review of the film on Bollywood Hungama called it disturbing, powerful and thought-provoking and gave it 4.5 stars out of five.

Awards and honours

2009 Kara Film Festival

Won – Best Film

2008 Asian Festival of First Films

Won – Best Film

Won – Best Screenplay

Won – Foreign Correspondents Association Purple Orchid Award for Best Film

2009 International Film Festival of Kerala

Won – Special Jury Award

2009 International Thessaloniki Film Festival

Won – Special Prize (Everyday Life: Transcendence or Reconciliation Award)

Nominated – Golden Alexander for Best Film

19th Cinequest Film Festival San Jose, USA (2009)

Won – The Maverick Spirit Award

56th National Film Awards (2009)

Best Art Direction – Gautam Sen

Best Editing – A. Sreekar Prasad

55th Filmfare Awards (2010)

Critics Award for Best Movie

Special Award – Nandita Das

Best Editing – A. Sreekar Prasad

Best Sound Design – Manas Chaudhury

Best Costume Design – Vaishali Menon

See also

Barkha Dutt

References

External links

Firaaq at IMDb

Firaaq at Rotten Tomatoes

Review – The Hindu

Review – Indian Express

Review – NDTV

Review – Upperstall

Review – Mid Day

Review – Zee News