Anatomy of a Scar - My Thoughts on Firaaq (2009)

"Good to Forsake, Better to Forgive, Best to Forget"

An adage from my days of yore... but as they say, easy to preach, difficult to follow....

Why look far off? Look at my own body; so many different scars; some physical, some psychological, but each and every one of them still alive with it's own feelings, it's own story, it's own anatomy of truth..... Every scar tells a tale of it's own; complete with it's own truth, it's own viewpoint, it's own perception; neither welcoming a contrary view or a contrary opinion, however well-merited and sadly, neither does it forget nor does it allow me to forget.... True, some of the scars have lost their intensity, their pain has dulled beyond perception and even the scar no longer is perceivable to the casual eye, but they still exist - in the myriad scheme of time, they still have their relevance and it takes only a slight stimulus to bring forth the remembrance, the anger and the pain.....

Firaaq also brings forth a few remembrances, a few green tinges of pain and a few silent patches of anger; back in the open; as if the wound has resurfaced and the blood gushes forth yet again.... No issue is ever completely pushed below the carpet; Firaaq reminds us of this fact and strongly too....

Firaaq is a quest, it's also a separation but it cannot be just thee two words - Firaaq is more than that; it's the pursuit of redemption and it's the impotence of silence, (impregnated by revenge, raped by mistrust and defiled by anger); it's  the chasms that exist and the bridges that have failed....

Set in the Gujarat of 2002, after the riots, it's the after-effects of the riots long after the riots are over..... Why should it not be so? If the effects of Hiroshima and Nagasaki can punish us humans for one act of dastardly cowardice, why should not one act of human infamy not punish us more?

Ek Qadam Galat Uttha Tha Shauq-E-Yaar Mein;
Zindagi Tamam Umr Mujhe Dhoondhti Phiri

A brilliantly crafted story of separate incidents, all carved together into one story, still more fluid than any other such attempt in recent Hindi Cinema.... if I had to remember a similar ensemble of separate stories, coming together to form a narrative, I would remember Musafirkhana, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee in 1956 (a movie much ahead of it's time), starring Dilip Kumar, Kishore Kumar and Usha Kiron and in recent times, the exceptionally brilliant and well-made classic Crash.....

There are so many different aspects to the movie, that I do not think I will ever be able to do justice to all of them in my thoughts on the movie, I just hope this does not turn out to be a weak piece of writing like the one on Delhi -6 (I could never do justice to that film) but there are a few aspects that I would love to talk about

Story No. 1: Firaaq of a Family

The common point between the different stories in the movie - the story that relates all other stories; the story that talks of the tragedy that befell Gujarat.... It relates the story of Mohsin, a young boy who has lost everyone and is in 'Firaaq' of his family ..... The young boy, Mohammed Samad is awesome - he is innocence personified and to add to it, he has been well-utilized by the director....

There is such an innocence in his face, that I fear for him; it's an innocence that can transform a socity and a nation to a dream and it's an innocence that can be manipulated such that it devours the society and the nation into a nightmare that can only be imagined; not even thought of

Look at the terrorists and the rioters, all of them at one level are innocents - innocents not because they are not guilty of whatever they have done but innocents because of the reasons why they have done what they have done - What would you call Mohsin if tomorrow he becomes a terrorist - Guilty of course,  a threat to sociey of course but who made him into what he is? If Mohsin tomorrow is guily, so are we all, all of us!

Every riot, whether it's 1984 in Delhi, 1992-1993 in Bombay or 2002 in Gujarat has made use of these innocents; either it has raped them of their innocence or killed them in their innocence; and in the process either made these innocents, agents of change in an impotent society or angels of death in a decayed milieu.

One Interesting point to note, every 10 years, India has seen a riot more devastating than the other..... another Firaaq is here, can you find out the reasons for the same?

Story No. 2: Firaaq of an Identity

Sanjay Suri and Tisca Chopra combined well in this brilliant story of an inter-religious couple forced to look at life and relationships in the face of a war that involves their communities - the elegance of the story lies in the way the difference between a Khan and a Desai was brought out

What is it that marks the difference between Sameer Khan and Sameer Desai? How does the difference of the God that you worship, or the religion that you follow make a man better or worse for it? Questions of existentionalism, so well explained, so well depicted - Sanjay Suri shows his dilemma and his frustration of being a Muslim, a persona-non-grata quite well but of equal brilliance is the performance of Tisca Chopra as his wife, trying to deal with the identity crises and the emotional crises, incumbent in the issue. She is a Hindu married to a Muslim; in an environment where being a Muslim is a crime and a sin. How does she reconcile herself to her own heart, while being what she is? A difficult point for someone to understand who has not been through it.

Look at the option the couple chooses for itself:  "Run" - Run from the city, run from the riots, run from the people, run from their roots - and run they do, but can run away from his or her own conscience; this is the question they ask

In a way, there's is a Firaaq of an ideal, one that has been tattered to pieces and one that is troubling them no end... Add to it, the fact that Sameer has his own separate Firaaq - his Firaaq of self-identification and self-acceptance.... Does being a Muslim negate being a human? Tisca has the more difficult of the roles but she is admirably restrained. I love the scene, where Sanjay Suri decides to assert himself in front of the communal police and the way he does it - no heroics, no aggressiveness, just a silent assertion!

But is it really important to do so? Have we reached this nadir?

Main Apne Aap Se Sharma Gaya Hoon;
Mujhko, Aie Zindagi! Deewana Kar De!

Story No. 3: Firaaq of Redemption

Deepti Naval and Paresh Rawal are just too good in this brilliant story of Inaction in the face of Danger and the consequences it has impacted on each of the protagonists of the story

Deepti Naval has psyched herself very well in the role of a person who has chosen her own security in place of her conscience in the heat of the moment and has to now pay for it, every moment and every second of her life... Her 'Firaaq' for redemption from her guilt of inaction, when action could have saved someone's life; punishing herself physically for her silent act of tacit approval is so well portrayed that it gnaws at your conscience from within. A very difficult role, but so aptly performed that one can only marvel at her understanding of the character of the housewife, whose silence hides her pain effectively but cannot save her from the pangs of her conscience.

The roads of redemption pass through the gates of hell - and so it is for this woman who has to now traverse her own personal hell, meet her own self to reach her own point of understanding with her own heart - only then can this Firaaq be completed

Paresh Rawal on the other hand as a man who had a role in the riots, a man whose hatred for the other community transcends all levels of hurt and anger is exceptional.

He's a normal man, one you would meet on the streets, one who on the face of it effectively hides his anger and disgust within his mind. Had he reflected on his reasons, he would have found, the ones like him, whom he hates, have the same reasons to hate him too; making them both more closely entwined than he would now. His 'Firaaq' for a cleansing of all that he hates is also a continuing one, one that will continue till he understands either the futility of his feelings or his concience has the better of him or he's able to exercise it to such an extent that all his enemies are exhumed by it; hopefully before he is exhumed of it!

Story No. 4: Firaaq of Faith

The story of how an event can take a toll on one relationship is well-depicted in this brilliant thread of the friednship between Muneera and Jyoti. How a lifetime of friendship and trust can dissolve in minutes is so aptly described in this segment that one can only doff the hat on the debutant director and the brilliant actresses for their fiesty performances

Shahana Goswami as Muneera and Amruta Subhash as Jyoti bring to life the brilliant interplay of emotions of what actually happens when a fault-line develops across the contours of even a close relationship in times of distress and pain. How doubt can cleave into the wamest of hearts and how it can burn the most strong of relationships. The manner in which Shahana keeps asking the same query time and again and the manner in which Amruta keeps on trying to sidestep the query is so well written and directed and obviously performed that one can feel what happens when a friendship falls prey to the fault lines of a hatred as ancient as the history of the communities to which the two protagonists belong

The Firaaq of friendship and trust that binds and separates both is so well woven with the personal feelings of quest of each other that one can not only empathise with both Muneera and Jyoti but also understand the pain and frustration a single event, to which neither subscribed, can have on the lives and relationships of both the protagonists

Sub-Plot  - Firaaq of Revenge

One person who further impresses in this sub-plot within the main story is the man who plays the role of Muneera's husband; I do not know his name ( I think it's Nowaz though) but his frustration at having lost his property and seen all his earnings stolen and his accommodation burnt down is so real and so earnest that you feel for that man. The man has a raw energy and an intensity that could put many a superstars to shame

Story No. 5: Firaaq of a Dream

The great combination of the two thespians sets the tone of this brillaint piece of story-telling. Both Naseeruddin Shah and Raghuvir Yadav have been among the best of our acting talents across the 70s to today. And when they come together in roles that require both finesse and power, it is a treat for connissuers.

Nasseruddin Shah as an elderly Muslim musician and Raghuvir Yadav as his faithful and elderly Man Friday plays the role with extreme conviction and brilliance. The escapist mode of Raghuvir, coupled with the idealism of Maseeruddin Shah brings to life a reality that's often shrouded in events of such deep magnitude and impact

I loved the way in which Naseer reacts when he comes to know of the deep-rooted animosity among the principal communities and the way he reacts - And I really was in tears to see the manner in which the normally angst-filled Raghuvir reacts at that moment and turns out to be the torch-bearer for hope - he was the one who never had hope; the passing of the mantle of hope from the idealist Naseeruddin to the practical Raghuvir is one of the highlights of the movie and a reckoner that maybe hope is still alive

Story No. 6: Firaaq of Peace

This is less of a story and more of a commentary. The perfomance of Nasser (not to be confused with Naseer in the preceding story) is one of exceptional brilliance. As a grave-digger who has seen thousands of people of his community butchered and has done a mass-burial of them all, the man lends credence to his brilliance as an actor..... I have seen Nasser in Malayalam and Tamil movies and always thought that a great talent was lost to the Hindi world and so I was very impressed to see him perform in this movie of exceptional grit and depth

His Firaaq is the one that will pain one and all, the Firaaq of self-absolution and Peace; one that can not happen and the other that cannot be attained is the Firaaq that guides the entire film

Direction by Nandita Das is awesome. It's so hard-hitting that I would safely say that this is the best film I have seen on Gujarat pogrom barring Parzania, which is again in a class of it's own. I hope at last we have a director of substance and the future also shows her in a similar flattering light

I am impressed by her - deeply impressed.

Before I end, I would say to those who ask why rake up uneccessary questions - Woulds may heal but the Scars remain. If the Scars have to go, we have to learn the art of shedding our skins or we have to become mature enough to face the face the truth behind the scars