Firaaq
I admired many things about the film, including the fact that it was made at all. It was uncompromising in what it set out to do.
One of the saddest moments: an elderly musician, Khan Saheb (Naseeruddin Shah) recollects the first time he saw the tomb of Wali Gujarati, and when for a few moments Khan Saheb, Panditji and a little mouse sat together in the hush of the tomb. The question that Khan Saheb seems to be asking is: when Wali’s tomb disappeared during the riots, how much else - graciousness, tolerance - vanished along with it?
Picture above: a young boy returns to the Shah Alam refugee camp after a fruitless search for his father.
Here is a short story by Asghar Wajahat, The Spirits of Shah Alam Camp.
