Saturday, August 31, 2013

Garam Hava - Story of Muslims struggling to find their identity in post partition India



It is sad that in India we hardly see any movies [both commercial and art house] focusing on after effects of partition.  Most of our films made on partition focuses entirely on the bloodshed of 1947.Garam Hawa(1973) is one of the rare films which focuses on the hostility which Muslim faced who stayed back in India post partition. This film will convey the need for secularism in a country so full of ethnic and religious diversities. Garam Hawa pays homage to the many sufferers of Partition who faced such harsh environment and who more often than not was marginalized in their own country. This movie highlights importance of an equalitarian society. It is a very important film about a very significant period in our history which forced many Muslims post partition between 1947-1956 to leave their mother land, story of a period where even the most prominent film actors had to hide there Muslim identity behind Hindu screen names.

Garam Hawa (1973) is based on an unpublished story by famous Urdu writer Ismat Chugtai and was adapted by another famous writer Urdu writer Kaifi Azmi. This film captures with great sensitivity the struggle and anguish of the Muslim people who found themselves in strange situation where they in their own country were treated as outsiders. They had to indulge in a hopeless war against all who constantly prod them to leave for Pakistan. 

  It is story of Salim Mirza, played brilliantly by Balraj Sahani, who is one such Muslim who decides to stays back in India. He with his family has to constantly fight to find their identity and respect in this new country with changed realities. He can only watch as his world is slowly ripped by tragic aftermath of partition.  Whenever he goes to Railway station, the tonga man there simply asks, “Aaj kisko chodne aaye the?” Slowly and gradually all his relatives and friends flee to Pakistan after hearing stories of better prospects and more importantly of equitable treatment. Sikandar, played by Farooq Shaikh, is Salim Mirza's unemployed son who often on his face is told that he might have a better chance in Pakistan. His daughter Amina, commits suicide after having couple of failed relationships. Amidst all this tragedy Salim Mirza too, finally breaks and decides to leave the country. But on his way out, he sees a ray of hope for equitable society in communist protest. The final lines of the film by Kaifi Azmi[Staunch Communist himself] very poignantly express this,

Jo door se toofan ka karte hai nazara, unke liye toofan vahan bhi hai yahan bhi… Daare me jo mil jaoge ban jaoge daara, yeh waqt ka ailaan vahan bhi hai yahan bhi

 This film makes you wonder have we failed people like Salim Mirza who because of no fault of theirs, are often treated as outcastes in their own country. I recommend this film for its humane story that will surely overwhelm you. The fabulous story, great performances especially stellar performance by Balraj Sahani in his last film and the sensitivity of the content makes it a must watch.Garam Hawa was initially banned but eventually it won a national award for national integration and was even screened in Pakistan. It was also nominated for Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. This film was recently restored and re-released.

No comments:

Post a Comment