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Looking At Partition Through Bollywood Lens

Let us recollect a few movies on partition in the context of our 75th year of Independence.

The joy of getting freedom from the Britishers was soon eclipsed by the horrors of partition. Many horrific things happened during that time as people turned inhuman and attacked fellow human beings. There were riots on huge scale based on religion. Apart from the violence partition is also remembered for the mass migration of people. People started moving from Pakistan to India and India to Pakistan in crores; one of the biggest forced migrations that the world has ever seen.

This write up is mainly about four films which explored different sides to partition like love, hatred and hope.

1. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag – The core of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag film is the partition scenes where young Milkha runs from his riot torn village in Pakistan to a refugee camp in India. The scenes where he is waiting for his elder sister and hoping that she is alive are heartbreaking to say the least. Even as an adult the memories of his childhood continue to haunt him. The partition scenes are important for two reasons. One is they make audience understand the journey of Milkha from stealing coal for a living to eventually becoming the person that he is. The other reason is – it shows that running was part of Milkha’s life from childhood and continued to be his forte which ultimately shaped his athletic career. Farhan’s fantastic performance added to the overall experience.

Bhaag Milka Bhaag
Bhaag Milka Bhaag

2. 1947: Earth – 1947 Earth was a love triangle set in the backdrop of partition. The story of 1947 Earth is based on a novel ‘Cracking India’ written by Bapsi Sidhwa. In this film Nandita Das plays a beautiful Hindu woman working as a nanny in a rich Parsi family who is caught between the affections of two Muslim men. One of the men is played by Aamir Khan. Alongside the love triangle you also have the devastating consequences of partition. Through this film director Deepa Mehta shows how hatred can make any person behave like a beast. Aamir Khan’s character isn’t a negative one to begin with but he changes when the surroundings around him are filled with religious hatred. The character transformation is complete when he betrays the woman that he loves and hands her over to rioters.

1947 Earth

3. Begum Jaan – A remake of a Bengali film ‘Rajkahani’ Begum Jaan directed by Srijit Mukherji is the story of a Kota owner played by Vidya Balan. Her Kota runs along the Radcliffe line (Indo-Pak border). She along with the inmates of kota are asked to vacate the haveli and go away. Vidya’s character is desperate to save her haveli and declining business amidst the changing political scenario of the partition. On one side of the coin you have Begum Jaan’s efforts to save her Kota, on the other side there is the track of two officers, one Hindu and other a Muslim. They were friends till recently but now they are separated working for two different countries. The two officers use the character of Chunky Pandey, a local goon to put pressure and fear in the women to leave the haveli forever. In her desperation she along with other women fights and dies a heroic death.

This story is an example of how an artificial boundary can create havoc in the lives of ordinary people who have nothing to do with political developments.

Begum Jaan

4. Pinjar – Pinjar is a story based on Amrita Pritam’s novel ‘Pinjar’. It tells the story of a young woman of Hindu background Puro played by Urmila Matondkar. She is living a happy and comfortable life with her family. When she goes for an outing with her younger sister she is followed by a mysterious man called Rashid. Rashid’s family has an ancestral dispute with Puro’s family. Puro’s family had made Rashid’s family homeless by taking over their property. The task of taking revenge falls on Rashid as his family tells him to kidnap Puro. Rashid does accordingly but he couldn’t be cruel to Puro. He marries her.  

While all this happening partition is going on in the background. In a way Rashid marries her to save her from being killed by Muslim rioters. Ultimately he wins her over with his love and affection. They form a strong relationship. Rashid also helps her in the search of her brother and eventually brother and sister meet. Director Chandra Prakash Dwivedi narrates how love can rise above hate. The brother character played by Sanjay Suri asks her to leave Rashid and return home. But Puro doesn’t agree as she is deeply in love with Rashid. While the film is emotional throughout the climax deserves particular mention.

While the above films are set during the partition there are other fictional films too which show post partition stories. These films include love stories, cross border brotherhood etc. Some examples of post partition films are Garam Hawa, Gadar Ek Prem Katha, Veer Zaara, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Filimistaan etc. The Pakistani film industry has also made movies on partition like Kartar Singh in 1999 and Khamosh Pani in 2003.

Out of these Garam Hawa is a more serious and much acclaimed film. It is about a Muslim Family who is struggling to deal with the changes in post partition India and is undecided whether to stay in India or go to Pakistan. Nitin Kakkar’s Filmistaan is about an assistant director who is mistakenly kidnapped by a Pakistan terrorist group. This film uses Bollywood as a tool to talk about the cultural similarities between people on both sides of the border.

Anil Sharma’s Gadar Ek Prem Katha is a fictional love story between a Sikh truck driver and a Pakistani Muslim Girl. In contrast to the jingoistic tone of this film you have Kabir Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

Pinjar 

Bajrangi story is about a young Pakistani girl Shahida played by Harshali Malhotra. Shahida is a speech impaired girl who loses her way in India. Here she comes across a devout Hanuman bhakt Pawan played by Salman Khan. Pawan comes to know that Shahida belongs to Pakistan and the eventual responsibility of taking her back to her family falls on the shoulders of Pawan.

Kabir Khan makes many points in this film. For example he talks about how hatred sells more easily than love through Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s character. The film also explores the deep rooted religious prejudices which include Pawan’s as well.

Briefly this is how the theme of Partition reflected in Bollywood movies in all these years. The list, of course, is nowhere complete and would never be but this is an attempt from my side to recollect those tragic moments.

https://www.primepost.in/looking-at-partitiion-through-bollywood-lens/

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Shershah: An Engaging War Drama Within The Confines Of A Familiar Space

Indian war films do follow a certain template and the challenge as a director is how you make it engaging within that genre. Director Vishnu Vardhan’s biopic on Vikram Batra has all the typical ingredients but to the credit of the director he takes a restrained approach, the result is a very watchable film. It also helps that leading man Siddarth Malhotra is in good form. The film can be a game changer for Siddarth. Shershah was a code name given to Vikram Batra during the war.

For those who are not aware Vikram Batra was an officer of Indian army. He was posthumously awarded with Param Vir Chakra for his actions during the 1999 Kargil war. He led one of the toughest operations in mountain warfare in Indian history.

The film’s narrative arc is quite similar to Jahnvi Kapoor’s Gunjan Saxena which was also produced by Dharma. In the opening scene we see Captain Vikram Batra and his troops in middle of the action while they are on their way to destroy the last Pakistani bunker that would recapture the peak. From here we move to the structure of a flash forward narrative. The story of Vikram Batra is narrated by his twin brother also played by Siddarth Malhotra.

The most interesting aspect of the film is Vikram Batra’s equation with the Kashmiri people during his first posting as a lieutenant. We see him getting along with a lot of ease with the local people. He calls them Chacha, uncle etc. The elders also trust Vikram Batra more than his senior officers.

A good example of that is the scene where an elderly man talks to Vikram Batra regarding his son. The son had joined the militants and now he wants to come out of it. While it is difficult to imagine whether all this happened in reality but nevertheless it makes for an engaging watch.

The film comes alive more in the second half when the action shifts to the war. The cinematography by Kamalijeet Negi effectively captures the atmospherics of war and the action scenes along with V affects combined get you into the mood.

The music by Tanishk Bagchi, B Praak etc is also fine and the songs don’t act as speed breakers. My favourite song is the Ranjha one.

The supporting characters have also been written with certain amount of care. Whether that is Shiv Pandit or Sahil Vaid. These supporting characters add quite a lot to the film. Shiv Pandit is particularly impressive out of the supporting cast. The camaraderie that Vikram Batra shares with these men is quite nice to watch.

The love track between Siddarth Malhotra and Kiara Advani’s character Dimple has its share of moments but it isn’t something memorable. It also doesn’t help that Kiara’s Punjabi accent is all over the place.

A big strength of the film apart from its real life story is Siddarth Malhotra’s performance. The actor looks the part and manages to capture the spirit of the real life Vikram Batra. The part of the twin brother isn’t much but he shines there too.

What pulls down the film is some unnecessary things. For example there is a Madhuri Dixit reference in a middle of a war. It feels quite out of place and could have easily been done away with.

Also the writing will remind you of several other war films like Uri etc. But that has also got a lot to do with a fixed template that lot of filmmakers have been using to narrate these kind of stories. A film like Raazi is an exception.

In a nutshell watch Shershah for the spirit of Vikram Batra.

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Kuruthi: A Nerve Wracking Thriller

Before going into the film Kuruthi (burnt offering) it is necessary to applaud Prithviraj Sukumaran for producing a film of this sort. It is a brave film which talks about how our country is fast slipping into divisiveness. Apart from dealing with religious bigotry it also talks about a kind of humanism where communities help each other to survive.

The film starts with a shot of a goat which is about to be ritually sacrificed by a plantation worker Ibrahim played by Roshan Mathew, his young daughter who has grown fond of the goat implores her dad to not kill him. It is not clear whether Ibrahim ultimately kills the goat but nevertheless the scene gives us an idea into his character. We see that he has a sense of kindness and consideration.

The background story of Roshan Mathew’s character is that a terrible landslide killed his wife. He lives with his child along with an aged father and a younger brother. The Hindu neighbour Sumathi played by Srindaa cooks for them and takes care of the family. Sumathi is the only woman in the ensemble of men.

One night as Ibrahim and his family are waiting for Sumathi and the dinner there is a knock on the door. An inspector (Mural Gopi) barges in with a Hindu prisoner. The prisoner is accused of accidentally killing a Muslim in the chaos which followed the desecration of a temple. Later when things get tense Sumathi asks Ibrahim if he would stay quiet if a mosque was to be ravished.

What follows is a cat and mouse game when Liaq (Prithviraj Sukumaran) along with his friend try to get into the house and kill the prisoner. This is the synopsis.

One of the highlights of Kuruthi is the characterization of Roshan Mathew’s Ibrahim. He is someone who is torn between the religious fanaticism and a sense of humanism. The way the character has been built up and how he goes to his maximum level of saving the Hindu boy has been portrayed with lot of finesse. A scene which deserves a particular mention is the one between the character of Srinaada and the family in the context of the prisoner.

In this scene she gives an important message on peaceful co existence and it is something which feels very relevant particularly in today’s times.

Director Manu Warrier uses the set up of a home invasion thriller to talk about many issues. Apart from the already mentioned ones you have the growing fear of the majoritarian sentiment, alienation of minorities etc. To pack these many things is a difficult task and in the hands of a less skilled director it would have fallen flat, however thanks to Manu Warrier’s skilled direction the film never gets dreary and works perfectly as microcosm of our society.

The ultimate message is that the violence committed in the name of a god is a vicious cycle and is never going to stop until the individual takes one for the greater good of human civilization.

Besides the political aspect of the film Kuruthi also works as a nerve wracking thriller. The set of the home invasion has been well used and the director skillfully builds up the suspense. He is aided well by the cinematography and the overall technical department.

The performances of all the actors add more magic to this film. But the ones who stand out are Roshan Mathew, Prithviraj Sukumaran and Srinaada.

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Rani Padmini – The Heroine Of Chittor: ‘She Is Real, Not An Imaginary Queen’

Rani Padmini (The Heroine of Chittor) by B.K.Karkra

Rani Padmini is someone who needs no introduction thanks to the various works that have been written about her and also Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmavaat released in 2018. B.K.Karkra in this latest book attempts to clear all the doubts regarding her existence. It is written with a clear purpose of stating that she isn’t a figment of someone’s imagination. How much you believe the writer is debatable but there is no denying that the book makes for a good read particularly for those who are into history.

The book is divided into seventeen chapters. It starts off with the various things that people have written about her. This includes the most popular of the lot ‘Padmaavat’ written by Malik Muhammad Jayasi. After this we move to the Queens who were contemporaries of Queen Padmini along with various other facets of her period. There are also long chapters on Alauddin Khilji and Padmini’s husband Rana Rawal Ratan Singh.  Karkra also brings in the perspectives of poets and other people.

One of the most engaging chapters in this book is about the politics of her times along with the dangers and the humiliations that the Queens had to face particularly during the wars. It is a well known fact that women were the worst sufferers of wars but the details make you feel emotional. There is a detailed chapter on this where he talks about the conditions of women of that period.

Through this chapter we come to know about how the practice of Sati, Jauhar etc germinated in our society.

The chapters on Alauddin Khilji and Rawal Ratan Singh also make for a fascinating read. Talking about Alauddin Khilji, Karkra says that he was someone who had genuine respect for brave people irrespective of which side of the fence they were on. He takes the example of Hamir Dev Chauhan who was an adversery to Alauddin Khilji. We also get to know that he placed high value on loyalty.

Regarding Alauddin Khilji’s behavior towards women the writer says that he is believed to have behaved well with women in his harem. How much of that is true is something which cannot be ascertained.

The chapter on the practice of Jauhar before and after Padmavati is another engaging chapter. In this chapter Karkra talks about how majority of Jauhars are connected with the defeat of Hindus at the hands of the Muslim rulers. He adds that no Jauhars took place when Hindus won over Hindus or for that matter in wars related to the Britishers.

In the final tally, Rani Padmini makes an interesting read irrespective of how much you agree with B.K Karkra.

https://www.primepost.in/rani-padmini-was-real-not-imagination/

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Kudi Edamaithe

“Kudi Yedamaithe” is based on an interesting premise of two people having already lived through a particular day. They are trying to recollect things and make efforts on changing the turn of events. In the hands of a less compotent director the series would have crashed given the repetitive events and the concept of time loop but director Pawan Kumar does an extremely good job in making the audiences invested in the characters and also keeps them guessing.

The series spans eight episodes and never deviates from its core plot. The tension is well maintained and thankfully there are no unnecessary elements like comedy track and songs. For those who are not familiar with the name of the title, it is taken from a popular song in the film “Devadasu”. The phrase “Kudi Yedamaithe” is used here referring an unexpected turn of events that pushes life upside down.

Adi( Rahul Vijay) is an aspring actor who works as a food delivery agent for an agency. His routine starts from rushing to a neighbourhood food stall and having breakfast, this is followed by taking delivery orders and navigating through the city. In between he also gives auditions for roles in films. We get an idea of his bond with an older collegue called Farooq who cares for him. This is how his life goes and that day is no different.

On the other side of the coin there is a cop Durga played by Amala Paul. She is dependent on alchahol and is trying to focus on the tasks that she has to do for the day. There are cases regarding child kidnapping that she has to solve and also other challenging ones. As time becomes twelve both of them meet with an accident and dies, wakes up the following morning only to relive everything that happened all over again.

The rest of the series is about whether now both of them can change the turn of events that happened earlier since they are aware of what the rest of the day holds. The chief reason why “Kudi Yedamaithe” works is the way in which the events have been shown. Although they are common in nature you have subtle variations in the way they approach the situation.

A good example of the subtle variations is the audition scenes of Adi. When Adi first goes to the audition there is certain nervousness but by the second time nervousness is replaced by confidence. The reason being he has already gone through the drill. The third time it becomes disdain because something else becomes a priority for Adi.

The same happens with Amala Paul’s character too. The strategies that her character uses keep changing with the day as she is desperate to solve the crime. As the sense of urgency increases with both the characters you are riveted to the screen and want them to succeed.

The time loop is central to the plot and it could have easily gone into a boring zone, however it doesn’t. Apart from Pawan Kumar the technical team is another reason why it never gets boring. The atmospherics contribute in a big way to the suspense factor.

Amala Paul as Durga plays her complex character with ease. It is a treat to watch her performing. The surprise factor is Rahul Vijay. He also gets equal screen time and shows his potential.

“Kudi Yedamaithe” ends on an interesting note and makes you excited for the second season. The web-series is premiered in Aha.

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Narappa: An Unnecessary Remake

Vetrimaran’s Asuran was a powerful take on the caste system and made you root for the central character’s quest of protecting his family. Narappa on the other hand is not just an unnecessary remake but also doesn’t work as a standalone film. Director Srikant Addala misses the target by miles. It would have been best if Asuran was dubbed in Telugu instead of being remaked.

The film would have probably worked more in theatres for those who couldn’t  see Asuran. But given that it has released on OTT where you have many other options there are very less chances of Narappa being liked.

The plotline of Narappa is the same as Asuran with no changes at all, just the actors change. Venketash replaces Dhanush as the father who has left his violent past behind and is now living a quiet life with his wife and three children. He is satisfied with farming a small part of land and has no major expectations from life. The only thing he wants to see is his eldest son Munikanna getting married. Munikanna is a hot headed youngster who feels that his father is a coward and isn’t happy with the passive attitude of his father. Since Munikanna is  more aggressive he often gets into fights with an upper class family. During one of these conflicts the situation takes an ugly turn and Narappa and his family are forced to run away. While he is on the run Narappa is pushed to revisit his past which he had left many years ago. This is the basic plot for those who haven’t seen Asuran.

The most glaring thing about Narappa is the shifting of the story to Rayalaseema region. By placing the story in that particular region Srikant Addala adds to the streyotypes that have been associated with that place thanks to dozens of Telugu movies.

Narappa could have been easily placed somewhere else too but the director could only think of Rayalaseema of all the places.

It also doesn’t help that the accents of almost all the actors are inconsistent. Only Rao Ramesh gets the slang right, his scenes are the only ones which make some sort of impression even though they are copy pasted.

Coming to the obvious comparisions Venketash is no Dhanush and the reasons for that are very clear from the first frame. Venketash tries his level best but the performance comes across as laboured. He is no way able to bring the rustic presence of Dhanush. It is not just about histrionics but it is also about the physicality. Dhanush physicality also worked well for the original but here Venketesh’s one comes across as a misfit.

To make matters worse the flashback portions are not even half as impactful as Asuran.  The flashback portions in Asuran were important as it made you understand the reasons behind the lead character’s quietness and why he is the way he is. However here it comes across as not so natural. Venketesh is made to look younger in these scenes but it is hard for the audience to buy it.

GV Prakash’s music was a key element in Asuran but here the songs don’t add much to the plot. The background score is impactful but again it is not something new for those who have seen Asuran.

Technically the film is all right as Shyam K Naidu is able to capture the rusticness of the place and the surroundings.

Narappa just like Asuran gives a message which is very important for the society regarding how education can help you in overcoming the caste barrier. Wonder why they could not take an original story from Andhra Telangana regions.

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Grahan: An Impactful Story Handled With Great Sensitivity

It has become common for every web series to have a political background, case in point being Sacred Games, the two seasons of Family Man, Paatal Lok and others. Grahan is no different. The series is inspired by the novel Chaurasi written by Satya Vyas. The story traverses two timelines which are set three decades from each other but there is a commonality which binds these two timelines. The eight – episode series packs in many things but still makes a huge impact on the viewer’s mind. The major credit for that goes to director Rajan Chandel and the cast.

Zoya Hussain plays the righteous IPS officer Amrita Singh. Amrita is someone who strongly believes in using her position for betterment of society. She lives with her father in Ranchi played by Pavan Malhotra. Her father Rishi alias Gurusevak wants Amrita to move to Canada with her fiance Karthik( Nandish Sandu). When she tries to solve a case of a honest journalist Amrita is rebuked by top politicians who try to influence her. Tired of all these things she decides to resign from her job. However things take a turn when on old case regarding the Sikh riots in a place called Bokaro comes up. Amrita is asked to take charge of the reinvestigation of that particular incident. Amrita is more than happy to take it up but her world comes crashing down when she finds that her father Gurusevak is the prime suspect in the case.

What follows is a tough battle where Amrita finds herself at the crossroads. She starts questioning her own identity and feels that her entire life is a lie. Her father on the other hand stays silent as Amrita faces the dilemma of whether her father was really a criminal. The other timeline of the story is the love track of Gurusevak when he was young and Manu. These two parts have been played by newcomers Anshuman Pushlar and Wamiqa Gabbi. This is set in the 80’s. They meet in an unlikely sitiuation in Bokaro and fall in love. But the assassination of Indira Gandhi creates an unexpected havoc in their lives. People are seeking vengeance and Rishi heads a team of rioters. However the big question is did he really do it or is there more to this entire thing that meets the eye?

The most striking aspect of Grahan is the parallels that it draws between the 1984 Sikh riots and today’s India. It talks about how people can be quickly incited by WhatsApp forwards and political manipulation. There are scenes in the present timeline which effectively communicate how people easily believe in rumours and turn against each other in spite of living with them for a long time. The underlying message is that issues are the same whether it is 1984 or today.

On the surface, Grahan may look like part investigative drama and part love story but there are subtle references to many of burning issues in our country. These include casteism, sexism, poverty etc. There is a scene where a witness refuses to accept a glass of water from a cop, the reason for that is he (the cop) comes from the lower caste. This scene leaves you with a knot in the stomach.

The series is also effective in giving a psychological insight into the mindset of the people who let themselves be influenced by the situation around them. There is a powerful scene where a rioter sheds tears after 30 years while talking about the people that he killed during the riots. He says that he picked up the gun only to feel powerful and goes on to say how wrong he was.

The 80’s love track gives the series some of its most charming moments. Both the newcomers play their parts with conviction. You root for them to have a happy ending which doesn’t happen.

The cinematography of Kamaljeet Singh also deserves a special mention as he is able to capture the period of 80’s perfectly and make it believable for today’s audiences. The background score is also equally effective particularly in the scenes of the riots.

Another major highlight of the show is the father and the daughter equation and the ups and downs that it goes through the entire process. The emotional scenes between Zoya and Pavan Malhotra will definetly strike a chord in your hearts. It also helps that they deliver brilliant performances.

The only slight issue that I had with the show was the editing of some episodes. It could have been tighter. Also there are certain subplots that take time to unravel.

Grahan is a story with many emotions. Watch it particularly for the sensitive handling of the subject matter.