Preview: Firaaq

Check out the preview of Nandita Das's directorial debut- Firaaq. -

Firaaq is an Urdu word that means both separation and quest. This film is a work of fiction, based on a thousand true stories.

The story is set over a 24-hour period, one month after a horrific communal carnage that took place in our recent history. It traces the emotional journeys of ordinary people - some who were victims, some perpetrators and some who chose to watch silently. Firaaq explores their relationships as they experience many fierce and delicate emotions of fear and prejudice, guilt and revenge, trust and betrayal and a loss of innocence that wounds the soul forever.

Hanif and Muneera, with their baby, return to a ransacked home after hiding for a month on the safer side of the city. An enraged Hanif thinks he knows who the culprit is. He is gripped by a sense of helplessness, but his anger rides above it. All he wants is a weapon, though he has never seen a gun in his life. Along with his friends, who are equally helpless, they set out to seek revenge. Meanwhile, his wife Muneera, begins to suspect her best friend, Jyoti, of betrayal.

Sanjay and Arati are a middle class couple. He is an aggressive bigot, who seems to know it all and thinks little of his wife. She is untouched by the violence in the city, until the day she slams the door on a woman who begs for shelter. Since then, Arati is haunted by the woman's cries. An encounter with a six-year old boy, Mohsin, gives her a chance to confront her guilt. But atonement isn't as easy as she thought.

Mohsin runs away from a refugee camp, where he has been living since his family was killed in the violence. He is searching for his father who was away when it all happened. His path crosses with those who themselves are in vulnerable situations. If children embody innocence, this child is losing it with every incident that he finds himself in.

Anu and Sameer are today's modern day couple, and do not wear their respective religions on their sleeves. Sameer Shaikh's ambiguous first name, is an advantage in times of violence and fear, but can also be a burden. He begins to feel the weight of his Muslim identity and in his fear he convinces Anu to leave the city. As unexpected events over take his life, Sameer is torn between the instinct to hide his identity and the need to assert it.

Ghulam Muhammad Khan Saheb, a classical vocalist, lives in a hindu neighbourhood with is trusted house-keeper Karim. The two old men are completely co-dependent, but either will be damned before they admit it. Khan Saheb is an eternal optimist and believes that music transcends all boundaries. Karim on the other hand is a realist and wonders why Khan Saheb is unable to see things as they are. This long day, however, severely tests Khan Saheb's optimism.

Through the journeys of these characters we experience the consequences of violence that impact their inner and outer lives. Violence spares nobody. Yet in the midst of all this madness, some find it in their hearts to sing hopeful songs for better times.