Firaaq

Firaaq (2008) meaning separation, tells the stories of the horrific Gujurat riots in 2002 that shocked the world. The film portraits the lives of several people and their families and the effects of the riots on the physical, emotional and psychological dimensions.

Of all the characters in the film, the story of Mohsin, a small boy victimized by the violence, was the most haunting for me. From the very start of his role to the very end of the movie, his face and body language rendered his situation in its most bare state. Having worked with children who have been orphaned as a result of violence, I could feel his sense of helplessness and loss. If you’ve had the fortune to have been brought up at home with parents and family to support you and look after you, it can be hard to imagine life without them. Needless to say, having your family taken away by mindless violence is even harder to comprehend as a growing child.  

Although a little one sided in its depiction of the victimization, the film is thought provoking and it left me feeling upset. Upset that violence to many is a means of solving problems. Religious violence has now grown to language violence and even sectoral violence.

The MNS ruckus that occurred in 2008 in Maharashtra could have (and still can if not dealt with more seriously) grown to more than smashing taxis, rickshaws and shops. Are we going to allow more riots? Are we going to sit back and watch more devastation? What is it that we can do as a part of civil society?