“The silence that guards the tomb does not reveal God’s secret in the obscurity of the coffin, and the rustling of the branches whose roots suck the body’s elements do not tell the mysteries of the grave, but the agonized sighs of my heart announce to the living, the drama which love, beauty and death have performed”, so said Kahlil Gibran.
Soil… be it Indian or Pakistani, has gravely witnessed the detonation of the drama of 1947, a burlesque of human anguish that so very calamitously bisected a nation into two halves. Based on Amrita Pritam’s acclaimed novel, Pinjar is a heart-bleeding story of loss, rebellion, chaos and hope, set amidst the tempest of partition.
THE TEMPEST
The story starts in 1946. Puro, a young and vivacious Punjabi girl leads a very happy and content life with her family in Amritsar. She is soon to be married to Ramchand and as a matter of tradition, her brother Trilok is to marry Ramchand’s sister Laajo. Amidst the grand preparations, a man named Rashid who hails from the Sheikh family, abducts Puro one evening. Under Rashid’s incarceration, she learns that he abducted her because of an age-old family rivalry. She manages to escape from the manacles of Rashid only to find herself blackballed by her family and inadmissible to her previous serene and tranquil living. No alternate choice and she returns to Rashid.
THE SUFFERING
Rashid, who is already in love with her, marries her as per the Muslim tradition and thereafter starts the next chapter of Puro’s life as Hamida. Back home, Puro’s younger sister Rajjo is married off to Ramchand’s cousin brother and Trilok marries Laajo. Trilok keeps longing for his sister and neglects his marriage. Much against his father’s wishes, he leaves no stone unturned in trying to trace Puro’s whereabouts. He burns Rashid’s farm in a rage of fury. All along, Rashid keeps repenting for the untenable crime he committed. He is completely in love with Puro, cares a lot for her. Though he is cognizant of his wrong deed, he is as helpless as an amputated swimmer. Amidst all this, partition is promulgated. Chaos and riots hit the land. The unruly pandemonium nefariously spreads to Ramchand’s village. As Ramchand tries to escape with his family to India, his father goes missing and Laajo, who is at her paternal home, is kidnapped by a Muslim fanatic. The caravan of Hindus camps near Puro and Rashid’s home. It is then that Puro meets Ramchand and learns about Laajo.
A BIT OF HOPE
From here on it’s the story of Rashid and Puro. Rashid who loves Puro with all his heart will not leave anything to chance to see her happy. Puro who has experienced disarrays in life is coming to terms with the truth and the inevitable present. Clinging on to scarcely visible rays of hope, both are now on a journey to see their loved ones happy. Neither are they together nor are they detached on the path they are treading. What follows is an outstanding culmination of the story that is sure to steal your hearts away.
THE TEMPEST TROTTERS
Puro (Urmila Matondkar): Urmila seeps into the skin of Puro’s character with marked definitude. She manages the portrayal of Puro’s metamorphosis from a frolicsome girl to a solitary woman belted by circumstances, with competence of a very high order. She excels in scenes presenting her emotional breakdown and suffering. If Swati doesn’t fetch her an award, Puro surely will.
Rashid (Manoj Bajpai): A stellar performance by Manoj Bajpai catapults him manifold into the league of standout actors. In my opinion, this has been the best exhibit of his talent. He is extremely powerful with his body language, use of eyes and expressions. Notice that he utters his first dialogue only after about fifteen minutes of him being introduced. He impresses you minute by minute along the story.
Ramchand (Sanjay Suri): Sanjay Suri for one, is surely an actor who deserves much more than the roles that he has been offered in his past films. In Pinjar, he delivers a well-controlled performance, worthy of applause. It isn’t easy playing a simple man but he does that with just what you would expect from Ramchand’s character.
Trilok (Priyanshu Chatterjee): Yet another surprise. Priyanshu is just perfect playing Trilok. Honestly I did not expect him to be as good as he turned out to be. A baggage of promising talent, this guy.
Laajo (Sandali Sinha): Sandali does her part with proficient ease. She is extremely good as an actress in the scene when she vents out her frustration to Trilok for having neglected their marriage.
Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Lilette Dubey and Alok Nath are as natural as they always have been. Seema Biswas gets a minute role as a roadside demented woman and she does her part with remarkable spontaneity. Isha Koppikar (Rajjo) doesn’t get much of the reel to leave her mark.
BACKING THE TEMPEST TROTTERS
Direction, Screenplay & Dialogues (Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi): I must say that it was a difficult topic to direct, given the fact that Pinjar is his debut on the Bollywood celluloid. He establishes himself firm with his craftsmanship of this movie. His sense of direction is exceptional and is clearly evident throughout the narrative... and the screenplay is its testimony. Not does he just present the story in a brilliant perspective but also extracts quality performances from his cast. With his directorial touch, he treats the movie sensitively without any vituperations or lashings at the Hindu or Muslim community. Whether it is the single word introductory of Rashid or Kulbhushan Kharbanda’s emotional outpour in front of his son Trilok, the dialogues are well written to suit the mood of the screenplay and the situation being picturised.
Cinematography (Santosh Thunidiyil): Almost every frame is picturesquely shot. The tinge of yellow used gives the scenes a certain earthiness, just right for depicting village atmospheres. The picturising of fields has a refreshing look to it. The camera movements gel with the requirement of the screenplay, something that only a talented director of photography can deliver.
Music (Uttam Singh): All along, the music has a cogent Punjabi flavour to it. And this goes well with the setting of the story and the characters. The lyrics add ample amount of preciousness to the compositions.
Art Direction & Costume Design (Muneesh Sappel): Extremely life-like sets are a noteworthy plus of this movie. With Costume design also under his command, Muneesh Sappel succeeds in creating an environment throughout the narration, of sets and costumes that complement each other.
THE TEMPEST, THE SUFFERING & A BIT OF HOPE
Pinjar as a movie spells the helplessness of those in need during the partition days and is not a mere depiction of the Hindu-Muslim divide. It’s a compelling story of lives people led. You and I were born as Indians or Pakistanis and inherited the stark reality of partition but the ones who suffered and endured the tempest of 1947 belonged to one single country. In my opinion, Pinjar is not just a tribute to those people but also a national salute to all those brave hearts.
© Milind Gadagkar 2003
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