Dharakta Hai Yeh Dil
Kara finally ends! Tis sad, I thoroughly enjoyed the Festival this year, especially because of the wide range of movies and documentaries I saw. Now, for a quick roundup of what happened in the past two days.
Saturday:
Saw two shorts - Butterfly, an Indian feature, was quite interesting. A very simple storyline, great acting by the actors, but what I really liked was the effective ending, which was let open to interpretation. Also saw Cuts in Conversation by Usman Zuberi - to be very honest, that was hardly Kara-worthy. A weird storyline, which wasnt portrayed well and had some horrid acting.
After that, saw Final Solution, a documentary made by Rakesh Sharma on the riots in Gujarat in 2002. Final Solution has been named by Time magazine as one of the top ten movies of this year as well, even though its been banned in India. To sum it up - it was incredibly moving. The audience gasped simultaneously at some of the footage and was left depressed by the movie. From the accounts of the gravediggers to the lies by Indian politicians, and the rise of the VHP party, it was shocking to see that such barbarism and illiteracy can take place in the 21st century. Some things never change. An interesting Q and A session with Rakesh Sharma followed, where he said that the purpose of making Final Solution was to highlight the fact that extremism has been legitimized and that is something shocking, which is what we should be focusing on. A lesson for Pakistan as well, since fundamentalism and religious extremism has been legitimized since the 80s.
Sunday:
First up was Asim Reza's Raqsan, a short documentary on classical dancer Fasih-ur-Rehman. Very well made, but as a member of the audience pointed out as well, one did wish they had shown more of the feet movements, which are an integral part of classical dancing.
Next up was Adnan Malik's directorial debut: Bhuli Hui Hoon Dastaan - a documentary that showed the fall of Lollywood, the reasons and what can now be done to improve it. Interviews with directors, actors, script writers and other members of the Pakistani film industry served to show that each one of them has been responsible , along with the government, in bringing Lollywood to its deathbed. Present at the Q and A session with Adnan were actor Moamar Rana and director Shehzad Rafique. While both hoped that allowing Indian movies to air in Pakistani cinemas will help revitalize cinemas and the industry, I personally feel that unless all the filth of the industry isnt swept out, nothing will happen.
To sum it uo - a round of applause for the organizers and the volunteers of Kara - Hasan Zaidi, the festival director did say that they'd be taking the festival and show some of the movies in Lahore and Islamabad as well, so one lives in hope that more and more people will be able to watch such good movies and documentaries. Till the next Kara, dharakta hai yeh dil.
Saturday:
Saw two shorts - Butterfly, an Indian feature, was quite interesting. A very simple storyline, great acting by the actors, but what I really liked was the effective ending, which was let open to interpretation. Also saw Cuts in Conversation by Usman Zuberi - to be very honest, that was hardly Kara-worthy. A weird storyline, which wasnt portrayed well and had some horrid acting.
After that, saw Final Solution, a documentary made by Rakesh Sharma on the riots in Gujarat in 2002. Final Solution has been named by Time magazine as one of the top ten movies of this year as well, even though its been banned in India. To sum it up - it was incredibly moving. The audience gasped simultaneously at some of the footage and was left depressed by the movie. From the accounts of the gravediggers to the lies by Indian politicians, and the rise of the VHP party, it was shocking to see that such barbarism and illiteracy can take place in the 21st century. Some things never change. An interesting Q and A session with Rakesh Sharma followed, where he said that the purpose of making Final Solution was to highlight the fact that extremism has been legitimized and that is something shocking, which is what we should be focusing on. A lesson for Pakistan as well, since fundamentalism and religious extremism has been legitimized since the 80s.
Sunday:
First up was Asim Reza's Raqsan, a short documentary on classical dancer Fasih-ur-Rehman. Very well made, but as a member of the audience pointed out as well, one did wish they had shown more of the feet movements, which are an integral part of classical dancing.
Next up was Adnan Malik's directorial debut: Bhuli Hui Hoon Dastaan - a documentary that showed the fall of Lollywood, the reasons and what can now be done to improve it. Interviews with directors, actors, script writers and other members of the Pakistani film industry served to show that each one of them has been responsible , along with the government, in bringing Lollywood to its deathbed. Present at the Q and A session with Adnan were actor Moamar Rana and director Shehzad Rafique. While both hoped that allowing Indian movies to air in Pakistani cinemas will help revitalize cinemas and the industry, I personally feel that unless all the filth of the industry isnt swept out, nothing will happen.
To sum it uo - a round of applause for the organizers and the volunteers of Kara - Hasan Zaidi, the festival director did say that they'd be taking the festival and show some of the movies in Lahore and Islamabad as well, so one lives in hope that more and more people will be able to watch such good movies and documentaries. Till the next Kara, dharakta hai yeh dil.
posted by atrophying at 6:12 PM
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