January 30th , 2007
Watched Parzania today. With mom. She seemed a little disturbed after we came back from the two and a half hour movie. And I wouldn’t blame her for that. Only a mother would understand the pain of a mother on losing a child. Well that’s not wot the movie is entirely about. It’s about communal riots, about a group of fanatic people who do not have the open minded attitude of accepting a different philosophy to attaining the same goal.
Based on a true life story, the movie revolves around a Parsi family which lives in a cosmopolitan area which incorporates not just Hindus but also Muslims without distinction. It’s a happy family to start of with- Father, a projectionist at the theater; Mother, a housewife; Son, a thirteen year old cricket aficionado; and the Daughter, a regular younger sister in awe of her elder brothers’ imagination. The two children create a dream world with the call Parzania where all that they dream of is happiness. At the same time the movie shows a group of fanatics planning a bloodcurdling riot to avenge the Godhra killings. The film also involves an American student who arrives in Gujarat to complete his thesis on Gandhi and witnesses the manic killings in the Ahmedabad. The impact of the riots on the American mind, which believes that his country has “thrice the number of homicides, as compared to India”, is such that he starts spiraling into a mad frenzy of self destruction, only to be saved by a Gandhivadi gentleman. In the ensuing riots a number of Muslim families are killed, butchered in fact, a number of women raped mercilessly irrespective of their age, and a large number of families rendered homeless. The Parsi family too has to encounter a catastrophe, when mistaking them for a Muslim family, the rioters attack their house too. The wife escapes along with her two children and seeks help in the neighborhood Hindu houses only to face closed doors. With the rioters closely following them the mother and daughter succeed in escaping but losing Parzan(the son) in the bargain. All through the movie, the portrayal of the distraught parents of the Parsi boy- Parzan- by Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika touches the heart. Even the child artist who plays the role of Dilshad(the sister) is good.
The movie leaves you with a seething anger for all fundamentalists. For their stiff neckedness. For their unyielding behaviour. Be it a Hindu or a Muslim, it’s a lesson for them all. That nothing is achieved from such irrational behaviour. It just gets added to the "will avenge for" list which may lead to another such misfortune and thus it all revolves in to self inflicting vicious circle.
Isn’t that what religions are all about ? Its just another path to attain the same goal. Another person’s way to attain the goal maybe different but that doesn’t mean its wrong. Have we become so intolerant, that we cannot accept a another individuals choice of following the religion his father taught him to follow ? Have we become so hard hearted that we can shut our doors to our neighbors when the real need of the hour is to save them from the onslaught of the bloodthirsty fanatic knife ?
India seems to have become a live bomb. Ticking away to its destruction only because a few intolerant people want to show others how invincible "their God" is. Want to see the Subcontinent's destruction ? It's so simple ! Just point out a few incidents which, however harmless they may have been, had some mention of one religion's supremacy over the other. Then sit back and watch the people bicker among themselves and bring down national wealth which took hours and hours of toil by their very ancestors. Watch them reduce all to ashes by the Tandava of their fury. They won't think of the consequences even once. And after one group of fundamentalists are done with exhausting their pent up energy, the other group is ready. An eye for an eye- thats the mantra of the day.
Is this really the way to become a superpower ? Is showing how you can destroy another mans mansion a proof of your power ? Y cant we all get together and show the world what power lies within us through more intellectual means ? We,Indians are definately that competitive enough to overcome our shortcomings and emerge victorious. 2020, they say, is the year when India shall break all its shackles and march forth with renewed confidence. The onus lies on us........................................
