silvan-desouza Nandita Das an underrated actor turned director with this film The film is a docu drama on aftermath of Gujarat Riots that shook the world in 2002, The film has an ensemble cast, with stories not connected to each other yet there have a bone of connection. There are multiple stories, like Mumbai Meri Jaan and such films One issue with the film is lack of subtitles during the Non Hindi dialogues like Gujarati.etc The film starts with dead bodies being dumped from a truck which really shocks you following an attempt by Nasser who plays a Muslim graveyard digger trying to attack the Hindu Deadbodies and he being stopped. We have Paresh Rawal-Dilip Joshi who are cunning businessmen who take advantage of the riots. His wife Deepti Naval is killed with guilt for not opening door to a Muslim women who was burnt down Their scenes are well handled. Then there is Naseeruddin Shah an aged Muslim poet who is oblivious to the current affairs while his servant Raghuvir Yadav is scared after the attacks. Nawzuddin Siddiqui and Shahana Goswami play a Muslim couple who go to their village and find their house burnt and looted on their return, while Sanjay Suri and Tisca Chopra play an interreligious couple who face the wrats.etc The film is well handled by Nandita Das with the end left open ended it moves you, shakes you,disturbs you. It may not appeal to all, though I found it to be too pro Muslims and anti Hindus, which could be avoidedNaseeruddin Shah is exceptional in his role, Raghuvir Yadav is perfect, Sanjay Suri is as always dependable, Tisca Chopra is perfect, Paresh Rawal is simply brilliant, Dilip Joshi too is good, Deepti Naval is awesome, Nawzuddin Siddiqui is simply outstanding, Shahana Goswami is brilliant, Rahul Singh and others are all perfect. In fact all performances deserve highest praise especially the child actor.

moviefreak7007 The movie try to mention that one community is responsible for all the Holocust of 2002. It intentionally support and in climax it encourage that the hatred between Hindus and Muslims will be always there and both communities should always revenge each other. I am not saying whatever happen in 2002 in Gujarat was acceptable, but when someone make movie, when its gonna be on common platform than it should not generalized one sided. Movie actually try to support terrorism and making point that there always will be hatred between Hindu and Muslim.Stupid director like this should only make comedy movies, where they do not need to use their brain. Just for sake of financial success for a low budget movie, they generalized this way. Both communities ignore, the movie at all cost. It will only give you hatred for innocent people who spend their entire life working for their family. If you prefer to watch movie based on terrorism and after math, go for "A Wednesday" and "Mumbai Meri Jaan". This is total non-sense.

Sridhar Rangayan Firaaq is a brave and hard hitting film that does raise many questions but leaves them unanswered.Aided by excellent cinematography, brilliant editing and detailed art direction, the director raises the quality bar of the film several notches higher than the average Friday releases. Foe a debut, the film is cinematically brilliant.Naseer is his usual sparkling best as the aging musician who lives in his own world of music, poetry and memories of a happier times. Raghubir Yadav as his caretaker works his own brand of magic by combining his typical subtle comedy with an enormous amount of pathos in his eyes at what he sees and doesn't want to see. His attempts at protecting his master from the harsh realities of the world outside is very touching.Both Shahana Goswami as Muneera and her friend embody the spirit of the women on the streets in the times of rape and carnage and how despite everything their friendship and bonding remains intact. But as usual, friendship between a Muslim and Hindu, remain on the surface and somehow doesn't go deeper with its emotional impact.Sanjay Suri and Tisca Chopra as Sameer and Anu provide an insight into the affluent and literate class, and their dilemmas are something one can easily identify with. The easy switching across different languages - Gujarati, Hindi & English - in their conversations is extremely charming and reminds one of how we are all part of different worlds that are enmeshed.Dipti Naval is outstanding as the 'imprisoned' woman fighting her own ghosts and her attempts to regain her sanity by bringing home a Muslim boy and protecting him by giving him a Hindu name is a bit contrived, but she manages to make it look poignant. Paresh Rawal manages to sink his teeth even into the minuscule role he gets and thats hallmark of a good actor.The dialogs are pithy and non-preachy which is a big relief and the screenplay adeptly weaves together the many stories. But it is the script which is the real let down. It is so lopsided and one-dimensional that it fails to awaken your conscience. Except the character of Muneera's Hindu friend, there is so much Hindu bashing and so much 'Muslims are victims' rhetoric that it becomes one-dimensional. Within 10 minutes of the film one knows the stand the script and director is taking and then on it is one scene after another taking the same point of view further. There is no relief in the script or a balanced view of the situation. All Hindus in Gujarat are not monsters and all Muslims are not victims either.The Gujarat carnage has always raised diverse emotions and intense arguments that usually culminate in no definitive results or solutions. Unfortunately it is the same with this film. Showing what happened is one thing, but providing a sense of hope or a way forward is another - and the film fails on that count. Sure films are meant to raise issues, and hold a mirror to the realities, but there has to be a sense of emotional / spiritual enrichment at the end of it. There are couple of shots in the end like Tisca and Sumeet coming to hear Naseer sing and Deepti deciding to step out, but these somehow just don't make you soar emotionally. The kid returning back to the camp and just staring into the camera in the end frame leaves one unsure of what one should carry back home.

bisprad I admit that I was quite interested about Firaaq, mainly because of the international felicitation that it has received. Yet I was a little hesitant in going for the movie – especially after a long week at work - I didn't want to watch a heavy movie about the Gujarat riots! I instead chose what I thought would be a light movie – Straight (and regretted it). But I couldn't be more wrong about Firaaq ...Yes its set amidst the Gujarat riots – a month after it, to be precise. But it doesn't have any of the violence or bloodshed of the riots. It instead follows a set of people who are struggling to come to terms with life in the aftermath of the riots. Nandita Das has taken some ordinary people and showed us how they react when faced with something extraordinary – it brings out the worst in some like Paresh Rawal while some like Sanjay Suri look to escape.It is a rare movie that can stir up a whirlpool of emotions inside the viewer – feelings as diverse as loathing, despair, hope and happiness and everything that is in between – all in a runtime of just 100 minutes. Nandita Das exceeds expectations in her directorial debut in Firaaq, taking on the Gujarat riots issue with a wonderful sensitivity. Sure, she has the advantage of having a stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah & Paresh Rawal in Firaaq - but the finesse with which the screenplay seamlessly weaves all the story together is completely to her creditFrom a slightly disturbing opening scene, we are introduced to the different characters and their dilemmas - the Hindu-Muslim urban couple who are leaving town, a Muslim couple who come back to their home to find it burnt down, the gujarati housewife struggling to come to terms with her guilt, a orphaned child looking for his family and an ageing singer oblivious to reality … Each of the actors' performance has been stellar – you cannot help but loath Paresh Rawal and equally you share Deepti Naval's agony and her wish for atonement. Naseeruddin Shah is in a league of his own, playing a musician from a forgotten generation who is disconnected from today's world.As if the multitude of stories were not enough, each of the stories tug at your heart in different directions. From the despair at finding her entire household in ashes to the suspecting her best friend, from the fear of the police to the anger at the bride's silly remarks about the riots, Muneera (Shahana Goswami) bares her thoughts to us. The sharing of the bindi between friends and the intermixing of the names Mohan and Mohsin – the movie is replete with such subtle subtexts.With its limited runtime, Firaaq doesn't conform to the traditional norms of giving a background to each story or taking each of them to a logical conclusion. So maybe it might feel a little abrupt at the start to some. But such trifling irritants are completely forgotten by the time you finish watching Firaaq as you would find yourself overwhelmed with conflicting emotions.I regularly review movies at http://bisprad.blogspot.com