ssbagchi Reviews

Naseem (1995)

A 'TRAUMATIZED' MORNING BREEZE

[7 July 2002]

This curiously less-mentioned film by noted Indian filmmaker Sayeed Akhtar Mirza portrays the life and agony of a Muslim girl (Naseem which means 'morning breeze' in Urdu) and her family in the backdrop of tumultuous and sordid communal situation of India during the time of the infamous event of Ayodya's Babri Masjid demolition by the Hindu fundamentalists in India. The film deftly captures the deteriorating communal situation during the few months before that infamous event symptomatically with the deteriorating health condition of Naseem's grandfather, who is the (ailing) symbol of knowledge and tolerance in the film, (performed incredibly well by the noted Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi) and significantly grandfather died on 6th December 1992, the day of Babri Masjid demolition. The film Naseem's morbid sort of account of the communal situation in India is a harrowing truth in India but this truth is surprisingly not well represented in Indian cinema. This film shows how film as a mass media and an art form can play a sincere and honest role in bringing out the immensely important but unpleasant truth. Director Sayeed Akhtar Mirza, who is a disciple of Ritwik Ghatak, is familiar for his sincere films in a narrative style with touches of Ghatak in it. This film is an extension of his style. Film Naseem revolves around a Muslim family depicting their sense of insecurity as a minority community in the backdrop of rising Hindu fundamentalism in India. I do not know any such Indian film that depicted this scenario from the minority community point of view. The performances of each of the characters are truly excellent but I would like to mention once again the performance of the noted Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi. Azmi's portrayal the character of an ailing grandfather symbolizing the ailing tolerant soul of India leaves a permanent imprint in the minds of the viewer. Naseem is a tender schoolgirl who goes through all the tumults created by the worsening communal situation and mutual mistrust among the two communities, the cause and true extent of which is hardly understandable to her. She can only watch helplessly the falling bridges between the two communities (marked by the death of her Hindu mausi or aunt) and the rise of intolerance in her own community. Young Mayuri Kango's commendable performance in the title role has given the film a new dimension. The characters of Naseem's brother Mushtaq (played here by Salim Shah) and his friend epitomize the intolerant youth section of the community who tend to overwhelmed by the intolerance of the other side. Naseem's parents are perfect examples of the passive but agonized average persons who can only watch the events with great anxiety and hope for the better time to come.

The camera work is excellent though the director seemed lesser concerned in this respect than his other films. Director seems to be more focussed on the content of the film. To a maverick critic this film may be termed as rhetoric one with less artistic content in it. But for me the film as an essential one and marks the sense of social responsibility of the director (even though with its rhetoric content) in the present socio-political situation of India.

Aparajito (1956)

Aparajito: Possibly The Best of The Apu's Trilogy

[1 July 2002]

Aparajito (The Unvanquished), second film in Apu's trilogy by Ray, is truly a masterpiece in the sense that it can still captivate any sensitive audience even after 56 years of its making and it can easily figure in any selected list of forever-classic films. The film unfolds a story of Harihar (Kanu Bannerjee), Sarbojoya (Karuna Bannerjee) and their child Apu (Pinaki Sengupta) living in the city of Banaras after leaving Nishchintapur (their ancestral village in Bengal) mainly due to the tragic death of their daughter Durga as shown in Pather Panchali, the first film of the Apu's trilogy. For earning, Harihar, who is a Brahmin reads the holy Hindu scriptures on the banks of holy Ganges to some Bengali widows who prefer to live in the holy city of Banaras after getting widowed. Sarbojoya is busy in her housework while Apu is spending most of his time by playing with his friends. But these moments of prosperity were cut short by the untimely death of Harihar after a brief illness. Sarbojoya was compelled to take the job of a cook in a wealthy Bengali family settled in Banaras. But to save her child from the inevitable slavery Sarbojoya left Banaras for Bengal to live in her uncle's house at Manasapota village. Apu started his study in the village school, fared very well and got a scholarship for the higher study in Calcutta. After much hesitation Sarbojoya gave his son (now played by Smaran Ghosal) the permission to pursue the higher study in Calcutta. Apu began his struggle in the city of Calcutta to pursue his study as well as earning money for the same and became busy in it. In the mean time Sarbojoya became seriously ill and died just before Apu's final examination. Apu comes back to the village only to retrieve his mother's belongings and then returned to the city again to appear for the examination with a promise to his grand-uncle to perform his mother's post-death rites (Shradhwa) in Calcutta. Aparajito or The Unvanquished is primarily a story of struggle between the tradition and progress first by Sarbojoya in Banaras and then by Apu. The film transcends its linear narrative style with Ray's majestic touches and excellent cinematography by Subrata Mitra. The way the film captured some fascinating glimpses of Banaras mainly through the eyes of Apu who plays and roams around the narrow and shabby lanes of Banaras, steep stairs on the banks of the river Ganges, old and squalid houses and sometimes in temples with the monkeys is truly beyond description. The depiction Harihar's death here with the groaning of Sarbojoya fit into the scene of suddenly dispersed pigeons on the banks of Ganges can fit among the best scenes of the Indian cinema. Some other unparalleled metaphors of the film include Apu's entry to the city of Calcutta with a geographic globe in his hand (meaning entry into the wider world), the English class in which the topic synecdoche is being taught and Apu falls asleep or in the last shot where Apu is heading for the city with his mother's last belongings and the sky is heavily overcast with the sounds of thunders indicating the Apu's severing of ties with the traditional occupation and journey to an uncertain and tumultuous world. The music by Ravi Shankar sublimed the whole film. Use of the Multani tune in flute of Pather Panchali to unravel the visualisation of the green landscape of Bengal in the shot when Sarbojoya and Apu are returning to Bengal is simply breathtaking.