Firaaq
| Firaaq | |
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 Poster |
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| Directed by | Nandita Das |
| Produced by | Percept Picture Company |
| Written by | Nandita Das Suchi Kothari |
| Starring | Naseeruddin Shah Deepti Naval Shahana Goswami Paresh Rawal Raghuvir Yadav Tisca Chopra |
| Cinematography | Ravi K. Chandran |
| Editing by | A. Sreekar Prasad |
| Studio | Percept Picture Company |
| Release date(s) | September 5, 2008 (TIFF) March 20, 2009 (India) |
| Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi Urdu |
Firaaq (Hindi: फ़िराक़) is a 2008 Hindi political thriller film set one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat, India, and looks at the aftermath in terms of the effects on the lives of everyday people. It claims to be based on "a thousand true stories". Firaaq means both separation and quest in Urdu. The film is the directorial debut of Nandita Das, and stars Naseeruddin Shah, Deepti Naval, Paresh Rawal, Raghubir Yadav, Sanjay Suri, Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash and Tisca Chopra. The film has largely been well received, both locally and internationally. It 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.
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[edit] Plot
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, 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-aged 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 Anuradh 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.
[edit] Cast
- Tisca Chopra as Anuradha Desai
- Shahana Goswami as Munira
- Deepti Naval as Aarti
- Paresh Rawal as Keshar
- Naseeruddin Shah as Khan sahib
- Sanjay Suri as Sameer Arshad Shaikh
- Raghuvir Yadav as Karim
- Sumeet Raghavan
[edit] Reception
The film 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 also won awards at other international film 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 the film's editor Sreekar Prasad at the Dubai International Film Festival.[3] It was released in India on the 20th of March 2009.[4] The film also won an award at the Kara Film Festival.
[edit] Awards and honours
- 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
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Patrick Frater (10 December 2008). "'Firaaq' scoops Asian fest honors: Indian film picks up multiple awards". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997193.html?categoryId=13&cs=1. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
- ^ Firaaq wins best film award at Asian Festival of 1st Films. Indiantelevision. 11 December 2008. http://www.indiantelevision.com/aac/y2k8/aac747.php. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
- ^ "PPC's FIRAAQ wins five International Awards". Bollywood Trade News Network. 22 January 2009. http://www.glamsham.com/movies/scoops/09/jan/22-ppcs-firaaq-wins-five-international-awards-010913.asp. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ^ "firaaqthefilm.com". http://www.firaaqthefilm.com.
[edit] External links
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