Kaafir - Movie Review

Image Credit: https://zeetv.zee5.com/kaafir-character-promos-meet-kainaaz-akhtar-seher-and-vedant-rathod/

Few movies are so powerful that it makes you cry with the protagonists, feel what the actors are feeling. Few movies are so well directed that it focuses at several subtle and sensitive aspects of the society in a very powerful way. Kaafir does all that, and more.
(Kaafir is a Web Series being telecast on Zee5.com. Terming it as "movie" for sake of convenience)

There is a scene in the movie where the protagonist Kainaaz- a Pakistani woman- is sent to jail and inside the jail lockup, first, Hindu women tell her to move away sit on the Muslim women's side, and when she goes to the Muslims' side, Muslim women tell her to shift away sit in the Pakistani section of the jail lockup. The helpless, emotionless expression on Kainaaz's face, breaks your heart. 

In another scene, after a terrorist blast in J&K, some angry youngsters attacked the army officer's house where Kainaaz was staying (since she was a Pakistani). With kainaaz inside with her daughter, they set the house on fire. The two persons who came to rescue both had their relatives' killed in terrorist attacks earlier. One was Suri Uncle's wife who had lost her husband in the very terrorist blast, and another was Vedant, who had lost his army officer brother in a terrorist attacks several years earlier. The incident shows the great divide in society, the divide of blind hatred and matured conscience.

The movie is not only of a Pakistani woman stuck in Indian jails on flimsy grounds of "National security" (flimsy because there was no evidence, and no investigation) . It is also the story of the struggle in the life of a woman, who has to play the role of a daughter, a wife, and a mother in extreme circumstances of the patriarchal, misogynist world. What's more, the movie is also about a righteous man's resolve and conviction in doing the good. The movie is about the fight of good vs the bad elements of society, where ultimately the good wins, but after a lot of pain and sacrifices. 

A still from the movie, where Kainaaz, after winning her freedom from court,
falls on her feet crying, and her little daughter comes running to console her

Look at it- the woman protagonist Kainaaz played by Dia Mirza- first gets ditched by her husband in Pakistan, then she jumps into river to commit suicide, doesn't die but lands into Indian jails. There she gets served 15 months jail term, gets raped by a jailer, and has to remain under extreme circumstances in the jail, not for just 15 months, but for more than 8 yrs!

And look at the male protagonist in the movie- Vedant, played by Mohit Raina, he is from a military family- his two brothers are in army and his father is a retired Police officers. The irony in his life, is that his younger brother was killed by a terrorist, who he himself had got released from jail in capacity of lawyer, under impression that the guy was innocent and not a terrorist! And yet again, he takes up the case of a Pakistani woman Kainaaz! He also takes it up going against his father's constant opposition.

The movie touches upon several delicate issues, and focuses on many conflicting emotions in the minds of the lead protagonists. There is an angle of love and sacrifice, there is the element of guilt, and there is the depiction of great resolve and conviction in face of severe extreme circumstances. Dia Mirza does magic with her acting and expressions, she absolutely dives into the character making it to so real that you feel her pain as she faces. Mohit Raina in his role of the lead male protagonist too plays a great part. The Child actor Dikshita Jain is so cute, lovely and innocent. Several of her innocent questions bring smile on your face. The script writer of the movie has been superb. The movie is replete with several deep dialogues which touch your heart. All in all, this is one gem of a movie, one is a million kind, not to be missed at all. The director, producers and the entire team deserves a huge applaud for making a movie on such theme, with such nuance and depth.

Ending it, I would like to mention a few of the many, fabulous dialogues from the movie:-

"हम जेल वापस चलते हैं अम्मी, यहाँ बाहर मुझे अच्छा नहीं लगता है"

"कायनाज जी, हाथ खुले हो या जुड़े हो, कोई फ़र्क़ नहीं पड़ता; इबादत का तरीक़ा नहीं, नीयत मायने रखती है"

"जेल की खिड़की की सलाखों से जब मैं खुले आसमान और पहाड़ों को देखती, तो मुझे वही खुला आसमान और पहाड़ नज़र आते, जो मेरे मुल्क में भी है क़ुदरत सब के लिए एक है, इंसान ही लकीरें बनाता है"

"दुनिया को अगर नफ़रत की निगाहों से देखा जाए तो हमें नफ़रत का ही एहसास होता है। अगर हम दुनिया को प्यार की निगाहों से देखें तो, प्यार का एहसास होता है"

"मारने वालों से बचाने वाले बहुत ज़्यादा हैं, लेकिन बस बेटा वो चुप रहना सीख गए हैं"

"लोग लड़ते हैं मिलने की ख़ातिर,

पर अपनी तो बिछड़ जाने की लड़ाई थी |

जीत मिली हम दोनो को बस, बस आँसू की कमाई थी " 
(the small part of the longer "The Kaafir Poem" by Swanand Kirkire )

The Journey of Life...

Image Credit:- andriathompson.wordpress.com ( http://tinyurl.com/j3rkxld )

So busy we get in our life, that we forget to ponder on it, reflect on it...

the various hues and the shades, the various ups and the downs, seem to have been dumped deep down in memory.

Things that used to matter most, seems to have went into oblivion...

people who used to be omnipresent, seems to have moved on to different world.

As our life keeps expanding to the wider horizons, our earlier, closer connections with things and people who used to matter earlier, keeps on waning...

newer people and newer set of things make entry into our life, grabbing space in our already cluttered life.

Can't we stop, take a breath, observe, look back at life, and contemplate over things happening around? Can't we take a break every once in a while to think over our life's happenings? Are we prioritizing things wisely, are we spending our times judiciously, are we bringing good changes around us, are we being humane? Can't we think over things that matters most in life... 

What are we making of our Life!

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This blog-post is triggered by a weekly blogging exercise practiced at Indiblogger. The topic of discussion there was- "What is it that we are running after? Isn't it time to step back and enjoy life, nature, family or anything we really love"

Most of us get so busy with our lives that we seldom step back to ponder where is it headed. The world is changing so fast, that our topmost priorities always becomes- how to get on and get moving along, lest we get left out!! Changing dynamics of society, increasing materialism, increasing cost of life, all these things make a significant impact on the way we spend our life.

In my opinion, the motto should be simple- "Live, Love, and Enjoy". Imagine if we start loving every simple thing/person around us. Imagine if we love our friends, family, and a stranger poor all alike. Imagine if we start finding joy in living a harmonious life with our surroundings. In stead, most of our life, we keep struggling improving our career or gathering more and more wealth. In the race of gathering material wealth, we ignore our emotional and mental health. As we keep growing up, we keep losing our natural character- which is of joy, innocence and of pursuing what we love. In stead, we end up getting into a never-ending race of gathering wealth and physical commodities. We associate happiness with wealth , and love with convenience. Seldom do we step back and think what actually makes us happy and joyous.

Life is not only about comfort, and material wealth. It's more about our emotional well being and inner happiness. And this is what we need to think about. What brings inner happiness to us? What energises us, and makes us joyous? What makes us playful, bringing out our childhood and innocence back? These questions are what we need to ask ourselves every once in a while. They are the keys to our happiness and emotional well being. Do I love nature, or a hobby which has ceased to become a "hobby" actually? Can't we take some time out from our busy schedules to pursue what we love to do? I am sure we can, and that's what will bring us real happiness. Career and some minimum wealth is necessary, but let's not go blind for them. So let's promise ourselves, that we will find out what we really love about life, and will make it a point to indulge in them. Let's get out finding them out!!

Are we really Independent?

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This is the most common question raised by many, every Independence Day in India. People wonder about it due to many reasons. Some think why we should feel happy being Independent if we are still being ruled by politicians who are chosen by the votes of a very small section of people, some think why we should feel Independent if we are made to follow archaic laws which are hardly made through our consent in the first place, some feel why should we really feel Independent if we have to abide by society's culture and norms, many of which could be most stupid and nonsensical. And there are many more- poverty, scams, corruption, reservation, LGBT rights, transparency, accountability, to name just a few. So are we really Independent?

This is really a tricky, mind-boggling question. The answer to which depends on the way we interpret the term "Independence". Do we take "independence" as simply independence from Britishers? If yes, then surly we have become independent from British rule. In fact that's the reason "Independence day" is commemorated for - to mark the day we got independence from Britishers, and to remember the martyrdom of our courageous freedom fighters. 

But then, we are forced to think, after we got independence from Britishers, did we really get self-dependence? How good getting independence from Britishers have been to us? Have we got self ruling? Or are we still being ruled by, against our wishes? 

The question gets even more complex when we start thinking about more deeper meaning of independence.
Have we really been living in a free, independent nation, where we get to do what we wish, and be what we want? Or do we get bogged down by norms and expectations of society? Does every single citizen of India feel fully enabled to achieve his or her dreams? Or do some sections of people feel completely helpless and dependent on other privileged lot, for fulfillment of even their basic needs? The question looms back to haunt you every time you see child beggars on streets, poor farmers toiling in scorching heat on someone else land, and talented but poor people not being able to achieve their dreams due to poverty. All these instances make us think - Are we really dependent? Have we really independent?

Image Credit:- http://www.elections.in/blog/are-we-really-independent-in-india/

On top of that, certain sections in society are ostracized and have hardly any rights as general people. Transgenders people to name one. Moreover, in the name of morality and following archaic laws, Gay and lesbian people are considered violating law.

Somewhere, that does make it look like we have a lot to go till we achieve real independence. But then, is it really such an achievable thing ? Is there any country in the world which is prospering and can claim to have true independence?

True independence will be achieved when we achieve freedom of minds, and when our entire society become open to everyone's freedom. Overall change in mindset of entire society is very much needed. Several times, brilliant minds have been killed by society's mindset and restrictions. So independence in true sense can be achieved only with a great reform in society's mindset. And can that be achieved in absolute terms and by a given time-frame? I think not. Reform is an ever-growing process. People and society will have to keep reforming themselves. And achieving absolute freedom never seems an achievable  target. That's primary because good and bad are always going to co-exist in society. So expecting a perfect, fairy tale society, where nothing will go wrong, and everything will happen to satisfaction, really does seem to much to expect. But yes, we can still go a long way, and achieve much more degree of independence, than we have right now. Hope we do so!!

Life...

There is more to life than what meets the eyes... The roses, the flowers, the children, the friends, aren't these the beauty of life? We just need to try and look beyond our vision, and realise, that there is more to life than what greets our eyes...

Making friends, going out around new places, witnessing the miracles of nature, aren't these the joy of life? We just need to feel life in it's real sense, and realise, that Life is more than what we had ever thought it to be.

If only we could feel the innocence of kids, if only we could feel the beauty of nature, the wonderful relationships, the magical love... If only we could feel... then we could realise how Life is much more than what we actually take it to be.

Life is not just an existence, it's an experience, it's a journey with lots of wonderful experiences. If only we could feel life fully, we could realise how much more it is than it looks to be.

Life is an experience not worth giving a miss. Life is beautiful, wonderful, life is much more than what meets our eyes...

Hopelessly Relentless....

There are some things in our life, which we know we can never have, but still try to have!! Ironical statement, isn't it? But happens many times in our life if you try to notice. Things which are beyond(?) our reach, things which seem practically impossible to have, sometimes they even cause great despair , but due to our desire, we don't give off its pursuit. We are hopeless, but relentless.  

Specifically talking of relationships, sometimes we love and care for someone and wish to be with that someone for forever. Even though it may not seem feasible, even though it may seem practically impossible, we keep putting in efforts. Deep down we might be knowing that our paths are so apart that its completely foolish to expect some positive outcome, but still we can't stop trying. We may be knowing that ultimately it will leave us disheartened and hurt, but still we don't give in. So driven we are by our desires, that we are blinded off reality!! Its like we have a hopeless hope. We know its not possible but still we are not losing hope. We are hopeless but we are still hoping!

Even talking of materialistic desires, it seems to be all the same. We may be knowing that we can't acquire something we wish to have, but still we keep that desire burning in our heart. They say "Hope is what keeps us alive", and rightly so. Howsoever small hope we may have, it keeps us moving. We have goals in life, we have our dreams for our life, we may have very little hope of getting them, but sometimes we are relentless in the pursuit. The mere happiness which comes from dreaming about them, keeps us moving. Its quite like luring a child to keep coming towards you by dangling a chocolate!!

Thinking about all these aspects, I always get this notion that "If its in your mind, it can become a reality". Even seriously pondering over it, there is a very thin line between imagination and reality. It may seem weird to think, but it could be possible of being a reality. Its all in our head, if we can think of it, we can make it a reality too. Desires are what drives our life, if we have a desire in our mind, who knows it becomes a reality!!