* A film directed by Vishal Bharadwaj and co-written by Basharat Peer and Bhardwaj, released on 2nd Oct., 2014.
As they say "Wronged by someone close- hurts you the
most". Same is the story of Haider, a youth of kashmir who has returned
from Aligarh only to find out the fate, his father has just met. He was sent to
Aligarh by his parents for studies; actually to protect him from the turmoil of
early 90's in kashmir. Haider is grief-stricken
by the forced disappearance of his father from the custody of security forces and at the same time he is
angry and frustrated with his real uncle who betrayed his brother to win over Haider's beautiful mother.
The story is about a boy who is
caught in the conflict and
fight between two ideologies; the one for which his father gave his life
and another one of his uncle's who can do anything to come to the power. First he
conspires against his brother, marries his widow, gets a sympathy vote by
exploiting the disappearance of his brother and wins an election, following the
guidelines of security forces forms "Ikhwan-ul-Mukhbireen" and use
them to crush everyone who is not aligned with his ideology.
This film may not do that well in
terms of business as it has left certain things
unresolved and vague as the things are in kashmir. But this film has
certainly hit some strings of an instrument, the music of which must have
reached the sensitive ears all over.
Although not new to Bollywood
movies, this film has also made references to the promise of plebiscite made by
J. L. Nehru, Demilitarization, UN
Resolutions, Geneva convention, Article 370, AFSPA albeit in a different way
and deeper feel.
The film showcases the ordeal a kashmiri
in general and children of a militant in particular is facing. Curfew, crackdown,
frisking and ID checking by security forces have made every kashmiri a refugee in his own land. Militant outfits supported
by Pakistan and their version of truth and audacity on one hand and Indian security forces
assisted by some local elements with their claims and "chutzpah" on the other hand have sandwiched a common
kashmiri. All this has resulted in
identity crises which Haider conveys in this film from Ghantaghar in lalchowk.
For the first time in the history
of Indian cinema, this film tried to show the double standard of security forces from the worst ever torture done inside the camps in
the name of interrogation and cool face
shown to media. To escape the wrath of sensor board and other fanatic groups,
due care has been taken and the character namely "Ruhdar" a militant,
resembling the ghost of Shakespeare's
Hamlet, is made to narrate all the happenings within the camps. The
authenticity of events is left to the audience to believe or not.
Though the movie has targeted a serious
and sensitive issue and there is no place for songs and other typical bollywood like stuff, but for a film to do
the business particularly in the country where even courts keep the taste of
people in consideration, few songs and couple of obscene shots have been added
to the film to spice it up.
In an attempt to create down-town
of 1995 in one of its scenes, the film maker seems to have met success to some
extent but actually not much has changed in down-down since then. When it comes
to the use of actual videos of that era, the film lags way behind when compared
with movies like "Pearl Harbour"
and "Argo" in which
similar attempts were made. Some research
done by film makers in terms of accent, culture etc can also be noticed
but one cannot miss the stereotyping in various scenes of the film.
Revenge takes the central stage
in the film. Brainwashed and encouraged
by militants, Haider plots to avenge the
death of his father. On seeing this, Haider's mother fears that she may loose
her son, She tries to stop her son and exchanges a dialogue with Haider which
seems to be a massage, the film maker intends to send to the Haider-like audience
and that is "Jab Tak Tum apany
Itiqam say aazad nahi ho javo gay tab tak koyi azadi tumhay aazad nahi kar
payay gee".
Afaq Alam
Khan
afaqalamkhan@gmail.com
Note: The views and
opinions expressed in this article are those of author's and not the
organization he works for.
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