HAMID movie review: A befitting addition to the legacy of Vishal Bhardwaj's Haider

Disclaimer: A dear friend, Ravinder Randhawa, wrote this film, so cannot be objective or clinical while writing this review - actually I am too emotional at the moment. No spoilers here.

Let me warm you up to this piece by showing you the trailer here:



Now sample the awesomeness of Ravinder sir here:



And then here:



If the second song made you cry,  I can understand - the song is like that. Take a break and come back to this piece on director Aijaz Khan's film, 'Hamid,' that has released in theatres this weekend.

Let me give you an explanation for the headline of this piece - I am an ignoramus, and my worldview comes from the films I watch. For me, Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Haider' was baptism by fire into what's happening in and around Jammu-Kashmir. Judge me, I don't care. 'Haider' also prepared me as to what to expect from 'Hamid'. A 5-minute standing ovation for all those who ensured that the Kashmiri accented Hindi was spot on, if 'Haider' is the gold standard.

The opening scene of 'Hamid' planted me deeply into its universe. I think it is devastating to be probed and questioned regarding your identity by random strangers (in the form of army personnel). I don't know why they, both in 'Haider,' and now in 'Hamid,' are shown as cocky, rude blokes who are unhappy in their lives. I know there are and will be exceptions, but mostly that's the scenario. Okay let's get back to little Hamid (the lovable, innocent boy played by Talha Arshad Reshi) and his screwed up paradise.

Hamid is as influenced by his father, as I am by Gulzar Saab and most of his legendary works. In the beginning we see an old craftsman painstakingly making a boat with a song on his lips - I smiled wide thinking of the blessing every artist has while in the process of creation. All us artists live for moments like these, the fee may be pittance - hundred rupees a month in little Hamid's case - truth be told, not too different from what I make as a writer. 

Little boy Hamid is perhaps the sweetest and purest soul in the realm of the film, his father comes a close second - or vice versa. Hamid's mother (played by a brilliant Rasika Duggal) on the other hand has become cynical and bitter and I hated her from the word go. But what else to expect from a human who has been living in the harshest conditions - both politically and financially. She smiles perhaps once when Allah comes to her rescue via Hamid.

'Hamid' the film is loaded with metaphors, both sublime and sometimes it feels like how one would after walking into a glass door. The metaphor marathon begins with a metaphor on how the color red suits the Jhelum river and ends with a red on Jhelum but on the hopeful spectrum of emotions. Aijaz's film is an emotional roller coaster, and there's never a dull moment other than few poetic silences. I think I will watch many times over just to soak in all the metaphors.

I have always been in awe and regard of Ravinder sir's writing, but after watching 'Hamid' my respect for sir shot through the stratosphere - his brilliance, to employ a metaphor, lies somewhere between the sun and the stars. Sir's influences are bigger legends like Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Paash to name just two. His wit and sharpness can be sampled in the first song I shared - 'Sursuri ye chaai hai...' and we have been lucky to sample many of his creative endeavors. Some samples here:



And this one too:



I had read a saying, "One man's terrorist is another's tourist," or something to that effect. 'Hamid' the film showcases just that in a very poetic, visually delicious and in a very balanced way. In between the terrorists and the tourists, the ones most hurt in the entire scheme of things are the people living in their paradise lost. By now, I think I guess I know why the army personnel are shown as cocky and rude, as they are hated by both, the terrorists and the local citizens.

The only ones they get love from, they are away from, for most of their working lives. How tragic is that! If you had money to just watch one film this year, please buy that ticket for 'Hamid'.

Thank me later.

Love, K.

Spot Rani in this video:


       

Khoob ladi Anaarkali jo Aarah waali rani thi

This blog is dedicated to a friend I once had some two decades ago. I don't remember his full name, his first name was Suresh and he would proudly introduce himself as 'Sures, Bokaro Steel City se'. He was our roommate, I shared the room with Sures and another friend Nikhil who was a bully who came from a place called Behraich in Uttar Pradesh. While Sures had come to Bombay to learn multimedia, Nikhil was here to start his event management company. The only things common about Sures and Nikhil is that they both worked very hard, and both were hustlers of the highest order.  

Today when I look back, for me they were the reason I never wanted to have anything to do with anybody from up north. I almost used to look down upon people from that region, and used to avoid them like plague. It was a promise I had made to myself - till the time I got to know much after falling in love with Rani, that she was born in Aarah. Much to my horror, Rani one day proudly announced, "Aarah jila ghar ba, kaun baat ka darr ba." Oh yes, Rani works extremely hard, and is a hustler too. Now that the hustling works in my favour, I have made peace with my Rani of Aarah origins.

If you've been following me on FB / Twitter, you'd know that these days I am extremely cynical about the state of Uttar Pradesh in the last few days. Not too far away from U.P., there's Aarah in Bihar, which seems to be dealing with its own demons. After watching Avinash Das' debut film, 'Anaarkali of Aarah,' I can only say that this place has perhaps been through worse already, or may be not - I am far too disconnected to even distinctly differentiate between UP & Bihar. I recently watched two well made docu-shorts about things that happen in Bihar. It perhaps prepared me for what to expect from 'Anaarkali of Aarah.' Watch the videos here, I think you'd love it too:



And this:



One of the highlights of 'Anaarkali of Aarah' is that it grabs you by the cojones and takes you into the lanes and by-lanes of Aarah so deep, that you can smell the shit by the roadside and the smell of the cow dung on the floor. From what I have seen in this film, I swear to God, I will never ever go to anywhere near Aarah or Bahraich. Other than the spirit of the people living there, especially the good ones depicted in the film, I didn't find the place welcoming at all. May be it operates in its own parallel universe, where the bad is good and the ugly is worshiped.

All this, and I have just begun. Hey wait, all that you need to know about this courageous work of art before deciding to watch the film, can be seen in the trailer:



Each and every performance in 'Anaarkali of Aarah' is pitch perfect, and will be remembered forever. Special mentions for Pankaj Tripathi, Sanjay Mishra and Ishtiakh Khan. A HUGE shout-out to Rohit Sharma for the spectacular music - if not for the music, the film might have not worked half as much. This is perhaps the strongest film made about women empowerment, and strangely makes 'Pink' fade in comparison. In this film there's no daddy figure to rub in the 'NO MEANS NO' message. Why do you need a daddy, if the daughter is strong enough to convey the message herself?

FUCK PATRIARCHY!

P.S.: Dear Swara, may God bless you, and give you more power to portray characters that are so ordinarily extraordinary and insanely empowering, genders be damned.