Wonder where these directors who are full of energy and will to do something come from and vanish soon? Questions arise as to why there is no one to support a director like Rahul Dholakia who keeps on banging your door to get his film released; a film that tells the cruel reality of today. Terrorism has no name and if one is afraid of his own neighbor then there is no safe place for any one. 'Parzania' comes at a time when the world is reeling under several types of terrors/ threats.
There is one known terror that keeps on raising its ugly head in our neighborhood cross the broder. But, the bigger threat is within the country. Over the years we have developed as a nation but there has been a consistent decline in our feelings. We tend to live in our own happy world unless some one throws a stone at our window. Is this the world we are making for our kids? Kids, who dream of living in a place where there is no hatred, where there is plenty of love and affection for everyone, a place that is called 'Parzania'.
click for larger view
'Parzania' is a place that Cyrus Peethawala's son dreams of as a perfect world. Cyrus works as a projection man in an Ahmedabad theatre and never tries to disturb his son's dreams. He finds it very had to live but is happy with his wife Shernaz and two kids -- Parzan and Dilshad. They are Parsis, who are few in numbers but think big. However, he makes a mistake and pays heavily for it .He lives in a society that is Muslim dominated.
click for larger view
But little did he know that this ambience of his life would make him live life in hell. The film is set in the year 2002. Ahmedabad witnesses the gruesome killings of many people post the burning of a train at Godhra. People of different communities clash and hundreds are killed for no reason. After the burning of the train, the local leader of the majority community decides to take revenge.
click for larger view
The message is sharp and clear and before Cyrus could understand this, his home is ruined. Shernaz and Dilshad save themselves with great difficulty, but Parzan is missing. Cyrus learns this back home and now he has to live in some other place and also search for his son; a search that never seems to end. People in power turn deaf to it. His pain is just his own, no one shares it. He sits in his theatre thinking of his son, and illusions look more perfect than real life.
click for larger view
While deciding to make a film on Gujarat riots, Rahul Dholakia, a US-based Gujarati filmmaker, must have thought beyond newspapers and TV news channels. He shows us the cruel reality of today's world, that we call modern world. But seeing all this in the darkness of theatres shakes you completely.
click for larger view
Dholakia may haven't succeeded in making a tight and gripping film, but he does present his case before us. He must have gone through immense pain while filming it. And, after making such kind of a film he had to struggle a lot to get it released. This is indeed uncalled for. Kudos to Dholakia and his team !
click for larger view
'Parzania' may not get its name included in the finest movie made on this land, but it will certainly feature in each and every article that is written on riot films across the world. There is one more film 'Black Friday' made in India, and is yet to see the light of the day. But, 'Parzania' has a different zeal in it, zeal to let the people know what went wrong with us.
click for larger view
In telling this story, Rahul Dholakia gets immense support from his cast. Naseeruddin Shah comes out as a marvelous actor once more. On his face, one can read the pain that Rahul Dholakia must have gone through while working on the subject. Naseer's pain becomes ours just because he succeeds in taking us to the story. The viewer becomes part of the story just because of Naseeruddin Shah's acting. He deserves accolades for this.
click for larger view
And, what to say about Sarika who was recently seen as a widow in Ravi Chopra's 'Baabul'? Her comeback to cinema is a welcome sign in 'Parzania'. If Naseer shares his pain with us, she lives the pain herself. The frustration, the enigma and the sorrow could not have been conveyed well. The entire world looks fake when you come out of the theatre seeing 'Parzania'. People may forget that it is Zakir Hussain's fine music that evokes emotions throughout the film, but they will never forget Parzan, the creator of 'Parzania'.
