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.

Javaid Shampoo, a feature by Faisal Rehman and Bilal Minto, has been without a doubt the best offering by Pakistanis at the Kara as yet. I wont dvelve much into the storyline, which was extremely simple yet effective, but the way the movie was made was quite brilliant. The dialogues, and the humor were well timed, the filming was done superbly and the end left the viewers in tears. An amazing effort by the directors, the only drawback being that none of them were present for the planned Q and A session. Nevertheless, Javaid Shampoo made for great viewing and revived hope that Pakistani drama may still live.

Iranian cinema is brilliant.

So I declared after watching Rakshan Bani-Etemad's documentary last night. Described as a documentary on women in contemporary Iran against the backdrop of the 2001 presidential elections, Our Times was all that and more. The documentary started off by showing the role of the youth in the 2001 elections - how they campaigned for Khatami, the speeches by Khatami and the fervor in the people on the night before the election. The documentary then shifted its focus to the women who had submitted their names as presidential candidates, but were not declared eligible due to various reasons. After a series of interviews with some of the candidates, the director goes back to a 25 year old woman - Arezoo Bayat, who wanted to run for president. A single mother and poor, it shows how she struggles to find a place to live, keep a job and feed her mother and daughter and at the same time face criticism and be shunned by others because she has no husband. A very moving story that ends on a depressing note, Our Times is a stark reminder of the struggle women have to face, no matter where they are.

Documentaries shockumentaries

I saw two documentaries last night - one was Rani Hindustani, directed by Priti Chandriani. Rani Hindustani is the story of a woman, who had a terrible childhood and later on a marriage that was a sham. Comprising of a series of interviews with Poonam (the central character) and re-enactment of some incidents in her life, it detailed how she broke free from her marriage and set out to live life on her own rules and in her own way. She became a truck driver, had an illegitimate child and in all, set an example for others. Quite a moving documentary it was, but what really put me off was the director's attitude at the Q and A session, it seemed as if she didnt really care much of the subject and made the movie to create waves. Or maybe I'm just paranoid.

The second documentary that followed in quick succession was Disbelief, which revolved around the bomb blast in apartments in Russia in 1999, and raised a legitimate question whether it was actually a conspiracy by the Russian government or the work of Chechen rebels. A story of two sisters, one who survived the blast, it was chilling and at the same time emotional. Perhaps dealing with terrorism and government conspiracies in our countries made the documentary strike a chord in the audience. However, I felt the end dragged on for quite a bit, the director could have easily chopped off a good 15 minutes to make a greater impact on the viewer. Nevertheless, it was quite a change to see something from Russia, I personally am quite sick and tired of watching movies and documentaries that revolve around certain themes.

Art Exhbition: Picture 4  

Art Exhibition: Picture 3. I love these - the way they've been done is just amazing. 

Art Exhbition: Picture 2. 

Art Exhibition - Picture 1: A digitally produced picture of Shahrukh Khan - the picture is actually made up of dozens of Pakistani faces, all put together to make up Shahrukh's face. 

Pervez Hoodbhoy at the Q and A session for Crossing The Lines. Standing in the background is Maheen Zia. 

Left in awe.

Its been 3 days since Kara Film Festival started, and by the looks of it, its been a success. While speaking to Maheen Zia, part of the Kara Film Society, she said that the attendance has doubled as compared to last year, and the Festival has been a success as yet. She expects the rest of the Festival to draw large crowds as well.

Tonight I saw Crossing The Lines - a documentary made for the Eqbal Ahmed Foundation. One of the directors, the respected and renowned Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy was present at the screening as well. Being very honest, the 45 minutes of the documentary were by far, the most riveting minutes I have spent in my life.

Pervez Hoodbhoy introduced the documentary by saying that he felt that he had to make this film. Mr Hoodbhoy said, 'There is no way you can escape the fundamental core issue that divides the countries' and that this [the topic - Kashmir] is something that has to be talked about rationally. The purpose of the movie, according to him, is to rise above our common prejudices and somehow rise above what our governments tell us. The documentary is a point of view that may not satisfy everyone, but is designed to inform people.

Following the introduction, the documentary was aired. Crossing The Lines is a run down of the events in Kashmir, the constant wars and disputes and the lives of the Kashmiris, torn apart by war and strife. They also highlighted the religious extremists on both sides of the borders, that have fuelled this dispute. The makers of the documentary have attempted, quite successfully, to present an unbiased set of facts. At the end, Pervez Hoodbhoy, also the narrator of the documentary, summed it up by saying that there are two ways to look at a solution for resolving the dispute - either through a division of Kashmir, or to look for ways that will let both parties co-exist in peace.

A rather interesting Q and A session followed, where Dr. Hoodbhoy candidly admitted that there is no solution to Kashmir. All in all, Crossing The Lines was an eye opener and just makes one realize how helpless the situation in Kashmir is. For me, it was an honor to hear the man air his thoughts and views and meet him (even if it was for ten seconds). I recommend the documentary to all - its a must watch.

Day 2.

Went to see the British shorts at the Kara Film Festival today. Was highly dissappointed, a couple of them left me thinking - who let this run at the Festival? Nevertheless, there were 2 very good shorts, one - Brick Lane, a story about a Pakistani boy in UK and how he ends up stealing a Saab, to impress his crush. The ending of the short film was incredibly hilarious and the director deserves to be commended for adding such a twist,

The other short that is worth mentioning is Wish, a story of a young man who's taking care of a Vietnamese/Chinese elderly diabetes patient. That short film was very touching indeed and again showed, that love has no barrier.

Also attended the world premiere of the documentary, A Decent Samosa, Ya, which was about various Indians living in UK who are dabbling in remixes, reinventing old Indian songs, teaching the dhol, and to sum it up reinventing cultures and trying to find, in metaphorical terms, A Decent Samosa. A good movie, but one felt that it dragged on a bit towards the end. The director of the movie was present as well, and according to her, the movie was all about the clash of cultures, reinventing culture and finding one's identity.

The creatively lit up lobby [an overhead view]. 

The merchandise stall at Kara. 

Om Puri at the Q and A session. 

Dhoop

I just got back from watching Dhoop - a movie about parents who lose their only son in the Kargil War - Om Puri stole the show. The movie is based on a true story, and chronicles how the couple, the father in particular (played by Om Puri in the movie) struggles and fights against the corrupt system and manages to win. Om Puri was there as well, and an interesting Q and A session followed. What struck me as particularly appealing about the man is that he hardly said two sentences in English, even if the question was worded in that language. His Urdu was quite articulate and fluent, and he said something particularly nice - yeh kahani donon mulkon ki hai.

Let The Cameras Roll..

Its the first day of the Kara Film Festival - today they'll be showing Maqbool, Dhoop and The Terminal. While I've heard great things about Maqbool, which is supposed to be a modern day version of Macbeth, I can predict the scenes at the auditorium today. India and Bollywood are the catch words among most of the press and primarily in the world of entertainment. Well, at least one can be happy that they're showing a good movie like Maqbool rather than the trash that was Paap.

The Terminal is a fairly old release. The viewers of this movie are largely divided in two categories - one finds the movie poignant, Tom Hanks brilliant in his role as an immigrant and the plot lovely. The other describes it as a long movie in an airport, shoddy acting, Catherine Zeta Jones thrown in for attracting audiences and a bad movie, to wrap it up.

Oh and readers - City FM 89 - the official FM for Kara, is providing frequent radio updates on the Festival. So if you're far from the PC or a ticket outlet, tune in to 89.

Day 1: Lights, Camera, The Press!

It's that time of the year again - the Kara Film Festival 2004! As entertainment starved as we are, the festival gives people a chance to watch some great movies and documentaries, and just enjoy themselves, mentally and visually.

The KaraFilm Festival is officially starting from the 3rd of December, but they held a press conference yesterday at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (where the movies will be screened). The conference kicked off right on time (surprise surprise!), and was chaired by Hasan Zaidi, the festival director. Also in the committee were Maheen Zia, Uzair Akram - the guy who designed the poster for last year's and this year's festival, Sultana Siddiqui - head of the newly launched Hum TV and Arif Baigmohamed - who's part of Cinepax, and others. Hasan was quick to announce that the Kara Film Society is a non profit organisation and all the revenue earned goes back into the Kara Film Society, no member gets a penny out of it. A round of applause for the committee.

The title for this year's festival is Dharakta Hai Yeh Dil. According to Hasan, the title reflects the sentiments of the people of Karachi. Despite all the secretarian violence and tense political situations we go through, dil dharakta rehta hai. We agree :)

Hasan gave details on the various movies being screened in this 10 day festival - more than a hundred films are being shown, which comprise of 28 feature films, 33 documentaries and over 50 short films. They received over 300 submissions, and work on the festival has been going on since the past 8 months. A huge contigent of celebrities including actors, directors and producers from all over are expected to attend. Personally, I'm really looking forward to watching the shorts, which are always a treat. Another must see on my list is Crossing The Lines, a documentary by the esteemed personality, Pervez Hoodbhoy. For a printable version of the schedule of movies, click here.

More later when the festival kicks off on Friday.

Kara Film Festival '04 - Poster