PARZANIA

Saw Parzania on Sunday. (Feb 4, 2007). What can I say about the movie? Powerful. Intense. Heart-wrenching. Truly, truly touching. Inspired by a true story, Parzania gives a true picture of the Gujarat riots and also raises some pertinent questions that many in the media never asked. Like, if the Gujarat riots were a spontaneous reaction to Godhra, how were tens of thousands of armed people mobilized? How did the attackers know exactly which homes/business establishments belonged to Muslims? Why were saffron flags distributed for Hindu businesses before the riots? The movie also reflected several findings of the NHRC Reports.

When the Intermission sign came on the screen, there was pindrop silence in the theatre. Nobody seemed to entertain the thought of snacks and soft drinks... it seemed blasphemous and trivial to think of stuff like that after the disturbing scenes that we just saw. The movie seemed to touch every heart. In fact, even after the movie ended, I saw a girl in the back row sobbing uncontrollably. It's sad that the film will never be released in Gujarat. It probably should. It should be released and seen in all those town/cities where communal riots claim thousands of lives. When will we learn? When will we stop slaughtering and butchering each other in the name of religion? When will we stop fighting with each other simply because we call our gods by different names?

The casting of Parzania was superb. And so was the acting especially of Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika, who looks as beautiful as ever. Must watch movie. Disturbinng but as one guy was telling his friend as we walked out of the theatre: "This is reality, man!"