Parzania (2005) Reviews

• incredible

  kingflick2007-02-08

  Parzania is easily one of the best movies i've seen in a LONG while. as i watched the movie, my mind was full of respect and admiration for all those who acted and invested in this movie. first off, it was made brilliantly. the shots, the score.. exquisite. the acting was brilliant too. it was REAL and HONEST and amazingly believable. the movie talks of the events that took place in Gujarat in 2002 on a macro level. at the same time, like in many movies, we are given a local perspective, and this makes for a very personal viewing experience. if you truly do appreciate movies, you'll notice the detail in which this movie and its production has been thought out. everything is symbolic, significant and highly stimulating. again, the characters are very REAL and make you FEEL for the story. and thats just it. it isn't just a 'story'. it describes what ACTUALLY happened and that itself should hit you hard, right in the chest. the situation is a sensitive one, all the same it has been treated carefully and honestly and made me realize that they have truly used the potential of the medium that is motion picture. a must-watch. recommend it to your friends and family and be prepared to be FEEL. be prepared for an incredibly REAL and DEEPLY-IMPACTING movie experience. cheers.

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• Parzania-----An emotional tide....

  rock8319832007-05-21

  Although the film looks one-sided and blaming mainly Hindus for whatever happened... But its triumph of cinema......a triumph of film making... I never thought i would have chance to watch a better flick than Black Friday from Bollywood this year....but after watching Parzania i cant tell which one is better..... Apart from moving storyline and direction what raises Parzania to its zenith is streak of powerful performances.....even the actors who have minuscule role fires energy in his/her role.... But the two actors who stands above all are Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika... Naseer gives one of the finest performances of his career...and when one says one of the finest performance of Naseer career one can wonder how his performance can be.... Sarika----do i dare to say that she is even better than a class actor like Naseer in this flick?? Yeah...i dare to say that she had outdone Naseer's great performance in this flick.....can someone believe that this was the actress who used to come to show her bikini in tiny roles.....where was the talent hidden? Playing the role of a wounded and sorrowful mother she is simply incredible....she is a complete revelation and no i don't mean like some critics keep using this word every now and then...Her delivery and expression in the emotionally devastating climax of the flick where she narrates the atrocious act before Human Rights Commission left me totally speechless....and when she says "my son had to come back no matter how long it takes...i will wait,i will wait"...i cried up.... This performance should be remembered as one the best performance given by any actress in history of Bollywood.... A must watch for everyone....and if you like quality cinema then you are committing a crime by not watching this flick.....

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• Watch it, maybe it will make you want to make a difference!

  pandusultan2007-01-30

  There were just 20 odd people in a huge cinema hall in Bombay when I watched this film!! More people in India need to watch films like these. And sadly it will probably never be released in the state of Gujrat, where all this took place. This is a heart rending look at the riots in Gujrat that took place in 2002 in "response" to a "terrorist" act in Godhra, Gujrat where a train was burned and supposedly hindus were victimised. This film is based on a true story. Not as graphic as you would imagine, the film portrays the life of a Parsi family whose son was lost in the riots, or may I say organised genocide. The main focus is the family and the loss they suffer as also the apathy or rather the role of the police and the incumbent government in the massacre of thousands of Muslims/non hindus. The sub plot deals with an American PHD student doing a thesis on Gandhi, and his own journey of self realisation, dealing with his alcoholism and his painful past. All actors have done a wonderful job. The director, himself a Hindu (Gujrati) has done a wonderful job, and kudos to him for fighting all the opposition he probably did face while making this film.

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• There were so many things I didn't know

  hemal_triv2007-04-23

  I didn't know that the 2002 Gujrat riots were actually a well planned genocide. This film was both enlightening and shocking in a way that it revealed a part of history that was kept hidden by media propaganda. Dholakia did an excellent and a very courageous job of unraveling the truth behind the brutal mass massacre. As far as the actual story-telling is concerned, I would rate it average. I did not like the idea that the entire film was in English. The characters didn't seem credible. Also the characters were too stereotypical. The police officers, the right-wing Hindu Parishad members, the families. Everything was stereotypical, to the extent of being cheesy. The Parsi family was perhaps too loving, the police officers too brutal, the parishad members too crude, the music too sentimental, the American too stupid and self-righteous and the neighborhood too harmonious. The characters lacked depth, the story lacked layers. But all in all it was an excellent effort. Great performances by Sarika and Naseerudin. And a great and a very bold effort of revealing the truth, which was perhaps kept hidden. I just wish that such an important issue was complemented by better film making. When I compare this film to Hotel Rwanda, this film falls flat on its face. But nevertheless I strongly recommend watching this film. It is an eye-opening film.

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• A film that provokes thought

  prasanna-32007-01-27

  I saw the movie last night and for the first time, there was this complete silence in the hall after the movie got over, I could understand what people were feeling at that moment, that somewhere deep within us the movie had touched a cord. The movie had one major flaw, that it was in English, if it was in Gujarati and had English subtitles it would had made the movie more authentic, because sometimes it was hard to relate with the characters. The other aspect which is worth applauding, is the fact that Rahul did not give to much of blood and gore, which commercial directors would have loved to exploit, but stuck to the human side of the tragedy. The casting for the movie could not have been better, everyone did a superb job, for the 2hr duration u were made to feel it was real. With heart felt sincerity I hope that Azhar is out there somewhere and will be reunited with his family some day.

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