''Firaaq'' (English: ''Separation'') is a 2008 Hindi political thriller film set one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat,

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

and looks at the aftermath in its effects on the lives of everyday people. It claims to be based on "a thousand true stories". ''Firaaq'' means both separation and quest in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

. The film is the directorial debut of actress

Nandita Das Nandita Das (born 7 November 1969) is an Indian actress and director. She has acted in over 40 feature films in ten different languages. Das appeared in the films ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth'' (1998), ''Bawandar'' (2000), ''Kannathil Muthamittal'' ...

and stars Naseeruddin Shah, Deepti Naval,

Nawazuddin Siddiqui Nawazuddin Siddiqui (; born 19 May 1974) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama. Siddiqui's feature film debut was alongside director Prashant Bhargava in ''Patang'' (2012). He g ...

, Inaamulhaq, Nassar (actor), Paresh Rawal, Sanjay Suri, Raghubir Yadav, Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash and Tisca Chopra. The film has largely been well received locally and internationally. ''Firaaq'' won three awards at the

Asian Festival of First Films The Asian Festival of First Films () (AFFF) was an annual film festival held in Singapore from 2005 to 2009 to celebrate and provide a platform for emerging filmmakers. It was also part of the Asian Film Market. History The Asian Festival of Fi ...

in Singapore in December 2008, the Special Prize at the International Thessaloniki Film Festival, and an award at the Kara Film Festival in Pakistan. It won two National Film Awards at

56th National Film Awards The 56th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India to celebrate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 2008. Three committees were ins ...

. The film was banned in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the nin ...

owing to the communally sensitive subject of the film.

Plot

''Firaaq'' follows the life of several ordinary people, some who were victims, some silent observers, and some perpetrators one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat. It focuses on how their lives are affected and (irrevocably) changed. The story is set over a 24-hour period, one month after a carnage that took place in Gujarat, India in 2002. This sectarian violence killed more than 900 Muslims and 300+ Hindus (reported), hundreds of thousands were made homeless on both sides. Khan Saheb ( Naseeruddin Shah) is an elderly Muslim classical vocalist, who remains blissfully optimistic of the situation happening around him. His servant, Karim Mian ( Raghubir Yadav), tries to alert him to the problems the Muslim community is facing, but Khan Saheb only realises the extent of the trauma upon seeing the destruction of a shrine dedicated to the Sufi saint, Wali Gujarati. A middle-age Hindu housewife, Aarti ( Deepti Naval), is traumatised because she did not help a Muslim woman being chased by a mob and finds a way to atone for her sins upon finding Mohsin, a Muslim orphan who wanders the city in search for his family. Meanwhile, her husband, Sanjay ( Paresh Rawal), and his brother, Deven ( Dilip Joshi), try to bribe police officers to prevent Deven's arrest for gang-rape. Muneera ( Shahana Goswami) and her husband Hanif (

), are a young Muslim couple who return home only to find it looted and burnt. Muneera struggles to relate to her Hindu neighbour Jyoti ( Amruta Subash) in the following days, as she suspects her for taking part in the looting. Hanif, along with several other Muslim men, plan to retaliate against the violence and their helplessness by searching for a gun to exact revenge. Sameer Shaikh ( Sanjay Suri) and Anuradha Desai ( Tisca Chopra) are a wealthy, interreligious couple, whose store was burnt during the carnage. They decide to move to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...

to escape the violence and Sameer comes into conflict with his wife's family over expressing his identity as a Muslim in India. Through these characters we experience the consequences of violence that impact their inner and outer lives. Violence spares nobody. Yet in the midst of all this madness, some find it in their hearts to sing hopeful songs for better times.http://www.nanditadas.com/firaaq_synopsis.htm

Cast

* Naseeruddin Shah as Jaagir Khan Saheb * Deepti Naval as Aarti * Sanjay Suri as Sameer Arshad Shaikh *

as Hanif * Inaamulhaq as Munna * Paresh Rawal as Sanjay * Sumeet Raghavan as Dr. Subhash * Raghubir Yadav as Karim * Mohammad Samad as Mohsin * Shahana Goswami as Muneera * Amruta Subhash as Jyoti * Tisca Chopra as Anuradha Desai * Shafi as Ghogha * Dr Sridhar Kumar as police cop *

Ruhi Singh Ruhi Dilip Singh (born 12 October 1995) is an Indian actress, former Miss India and model who primarily appears in Hindi films and television. Singh has appeared in Emmy-nominated documentary ''The World Before Her'' and acclaimed web series ''C ...

as Sakina * Nassar as Grave Digger * Dilip Joshi as Deven * Rahul Singh as Rajat, Ketaki's husband * Jasbir Thandi as Cop at Lucky's restaurant * Honey Chhaya as Bapuji *

Sucheta Trivedi Suchita Trivedi (born 20 September 1976) is an Indian actress, who is known for her work in Hindi TV dramas. She is widely remembered for her portrayal of Meenakshi Thakkar in the acclaimed dramedy '' Baa Bahoo Aur Baby'' on Star Plus, for whi ...

as Ketaki * Sakina as Ruhi

Music

Composed by Piyush Kanojia and Rajat Dholakia, the lyrics of the songs are penned by

Gulzar Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...

Reception

''Firaaq'' won top honours at the

2008 in Singapore, where it won the awards for "Best Film", "Screenplay / Script", and "Foreign Correspondents Assn. Purple Orchid Award for Best Film". The film has won awards at other international festivals, including the Special Prize award at the International Thessaloniki Film Festival in Greece, the Special Jury Award at the International Film Festival of Kerala, and the Best Editor award for

Sreekar Prasad Akkineni Sreekar Prasad is an Indian film editor. He works predominantly in Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, and Hindi language films. In a career spanning more than 35 years, he has edited over 600 films. He is a recipient of nine National Film Awards ...

at the Dubai International Film Festival. It won an award at the Kara Film Festival in Pakistan. Gautam Sen for "its perfect use of props and choice of colours to enhance the ambience of a post-riots" won National Film Award for Best Art Direction. A. Sreekar Prasad also won a National Film Award for "aesthetically weaving together unrelated sequences to heighten the dramatic impact" in the

Best Editing This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...

category at the

. It was released in India on 20 March 2009 and received critical acclaim. Taran Adarsh in his review of the film on Bollywood Hungama called it disturbing, powerful and thought-provoking and gave it 4.5 stars out of five.

Awards and honours

;2009 Kara Film Festival *Won – Best Film ;2008

*Won – Best Film *Won – Best Screenplay *Won – Foreign Correspondents Association Purple Orchid Award for Best Film ;2009 International Film Festival of Kerala *Won – Special Jury Award ;2009 International Thessaloniki Film Festival *Won – Special Prize (Everyday Life: Transcendence or Reconciliation Award) *Nominated – Golden Alexander for Best Film ; 19th Cinequest Film Festival San Jose, USA (2009) *Won – The Maverick Spirit Award ;

(2009) *

Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...

– Gautam Sen *

– A. Sreekar Prasad ;55th

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

(2010) * Critics Award for Best Movie * Special Award –

– A. Sreekar Prasad * Best Sound Design – Manas Chaudhury * Best Costume Design – Vaishali Menon

References

External links

* *
Review – The Hindu

Review – Indian Express

Review – NDTV

Review – Upperstall

{{2002 Gujarat Violence 2008 films 2000s Hindi-language films Hyperlink films Films set in India Films set in Ahmedabad Films about religious violence in India Films about Hinduism Films about Islam Films shot in Ahmedabad Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing National Award Films whose production designer won the Best Production Design National Film Award 2008 directorial debut films