Firaaq
| Firaaq | |
|---|---|
 Poster |
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| Directed by | Nandita Das |
| Produced by | Percept Picture Company |
| Written by | Nandita Das Suchi Kothari |
| Starring | Naseeruddin Shah Raghubir Yadav Deepti Naval Paresh Rawal Shahana Goswami Nawazuddin Siddiqui Sanjay Suri Tisca Chopra |
| Cinematography | Ravi K. Chandran |
| Editing by | A. Sreekar Prasad |
| Studio | Percept Picture Company |
| Release date(s) |
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| Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Firaaq is a 2008 Hindi political thriller film set one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat, India and looks at the aftermath in 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, Paresh Rawal, Raghubir Yadav, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash, Sanjay Suri, and Tisca Chopra. It 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. It won two National Film Awards at 56th National Film Awards.
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Plot [edit]
Firaaq follows the life 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.
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 realizes the extent of the trauma upon seeing the destruction of a shrine dedicated to the Sufi saint, Wali Gujarati. A middle-age Hindu housewife, Aarti (Deepti Naval), is traumatized 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 neighbor Jyoti (Amruta Subash) in the following days, as she suspects her for 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 (Sanjay Suri) Shaikh 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 [edit]
- Naseeruddin Shah as Khan Saheb
- Raghubir Yadav as Karim
- Paresh Rawal as Keshar
- Deepti Naval as Aarti
- Mohammad Samad as Mohsin
- Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Hanif
- Shahana Goswami as Muneera
- Amruta Subhas as Jyoti
- Tisca Chopra as Anuradha Desai
- Sanjay Suri as Sameer Arshad Shaikh
- Sumeet Raghavan as Dr. Subhash
- Inaamul Haq as Munna
- Nasser as Grave Digger
- Dilip Joshi as Deven
- Rahul Singh as Rajat
Music [edit]
Composed by Piyush Kanojia and Rajat Dholakia, the lyrics of the songs are penned by Gulzar.
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Meri Gali Mein Andhera" | Sukhvinder Singh | 03:43 | |
| 2. | "Gujarat Ke Firaaq Soon Hai" | Jagjit Singh | 06:46 | |
| 3. | "Ummeed Ab Kahi Koi Dar Kholti Nahi" | Rekha Bhardwaj | 05:41 | |
| 4. | "Daag Daag Ujaala" | Faiz Ahmed Faiz | 02:10 | |
| 5. | "Kuchh is Tarah" | Mohit Chauhan, Tulsi Kumar | 04:44 |
Reception [edit]
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".[1][2] 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.[3] It won an award at the Kara Film Festival. 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.[4][5]
It was released in India on 20 March 2009 and received many positive reviews.[6] 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.[7]
| Professional reviews | |
|---|---|
| Review Scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Bollywood Hungama[7] |   |
| CNN IBN[8] |  |
| Glamsham[9] | |
| MouthShut[10] | |
| Movie Talkies[11] | |
| Outlook India[12] | |
| Rediff.com[13] | |
| The Times of India[14] | |
Awards and honours [edit]
- Won - Best Film
- Won - Best Screenplay
- Won - Foreign Correspondents Association Purple Orchid Award for Best Film
- Won - Special Jury Award
- Won - Special Prize (Everyday Life: Transcendence or Reconciliation Award)
- Nominated - Golden Alexander for Best Film
- 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
References [edit]
- ^ Patrick Frater (10 December 2008). "'Firaaq' scoops Asian fest honors: Indian film picks up multiple awards". Variety. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
- ^ Firaaq wins best film award at Asian Festival of 1st Films. Indiantelevision. 11 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
- ^ "PPC's FIRAAQ wins five International Awards". Bollywood Trade News Network. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ^ "56th National Film Awards" (pdf). International Film Festival of India. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ "56th National Film Awards (PDF)" (pdf). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ "firaaqthefilm.com".
- ^ a b Taran Adarsh (20 Mar 2009). "Firaaq - Critics Review". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 13 Apr 2012.
- ^ Rajeev Masand (21 Mar 2009). "Masand's movie review: Firaaq is a must watch". IBN Live. Retrieved 16 Apr 2012.
- ^ Martin D'Souza (Bollywood Trade News Network) (20 March 2009). "Firaaq Movie Review". Glamsham. Retrieved 16 Apr 2012.
- ^ "Is Our Country Really Secular?". MouthShut.com. 24 Mar 2009. Retrieved 16 Apr 2012.
- ^ "There is light beyond the darkness in this movie by Nandita Das". Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ Namrata Joshi. "Firaaq". Outlook India. Retrieved 16 Feb 2012.
- ^ Sukanya Verma (20 Mar 2009). "Hats off to you, Nandita Das". Rediff.com. Retrieved 16 Apr 2012.
- ^ Nikhat Kazmi (19 Mar 2009). "Firaaq - Critic's review". Times of India. Retrieved 16 Apr 2012.
External links [edit]
- Official website
- Firaaq at the Internet Movie Database
- Firaaq at Rotten Tomatoes
- Review - The Hindu
- Review - Indian Express
- Review - NDTV
- Review - Upperstall
- Review - Mid Day
- Review - Zee News
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