‘Faraaz’: Humane Film More Stagey than Menacing

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By shuBhra Gupta

Faraaz is a hostage drama based on a true incident in 2016, when a group of five heavily-armed young men took over a cafe in Dhaka one night. In the firing, several diners, most of them foreigners, were killed.

rorists force assembled outside, waiting for an opportune moment to go in.

The film begins, literally, with a series of bangs, as the terrorists walk into the clearly upscale eatery, spraying bullets, leaving diners slumped over their tables. Then begins the ordeal, as the gathering is targeted on the basis of their nationality and religion, and the armed men herd the rest into the middle of the room, waiting for their handler to spread the word.

lent happenings inside keep feeling as if they are being enacted. The security detail comes off amateurish. And when a couple of the terrorists clash over the strength of their ideology, it feels more stagey than menacing. And that’s the trouble with the film.

One of the hostages was Faraaz, a Bangladeshi Muslim, the scion of a wealthy, connected family. Showing exemplary courage, he stands up for his companions, one of them a Hindu. On the morning after, when the dazed survivors file out, Faraaz is not with them.

It is clear why Hansal Mehta, whose work has consistently challenged the status quo, was drawn to making this film. At a time where rampant bigotry and muscular nationalism is on the rise, films which give us humans of all shades are more than welcome.

The five youngsters who are arrayed on one side, shooting to kill without a shred of remorse, do so because they have been brainwashed, not because they are intrinsically evil.

Faraaz (Zahan Kapoor) is probably the same age as those young men. In fact, the leader of the group (Aditya Rawal) has known Faraaz from before. He could have taken the offer of freedom held out to him, and gone straight into the arms of his distraught mother (Juhi Babbar), who has been raising Cain, yelling and shouting at the anti-ter-

But ‘Faraaz’, which aims to be more nuanced than the standard Good Muslim vs Bad Muslim narrative, doesn’t leave as much of an impact as it should have. The material the plot is based on is powerful, and the theme important.

But you can never quite shake off the feeling of artifice: the busy streets of Dhaka feel real, but the cafe feels like a set, and the vio-

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Zahan Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor’s grandson, grows into his role, and delivers an unshowy performance. His Faraaz starts off by being just another entitled wealthy young man, who doesn’t want to do what his mommy tells him to, and then slowly, as the night wears on, discovers the courage within.

Aditya Rawal, as the leader of this ragtag bunch (labelled ‘bullies with a gun’) has presence. But this is a film which needed more depth and weight.

Cast: Aditya Rawal, Zahan Kapoor, Juhi Babbar Director: Hansal Mehta

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Rating: Two stars

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