http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parzania
http://www.upperstall.com/films/2005/parzania
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2404/stories/20070309001608200.htm
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/02/25/MNGGKOAR6A1.DTL&type=politics
http://www.hindu.com/2005/12/03/stories/2005120303661300.htm
http://in.rediff.com/movies/2006/aug/30rahul.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/20/movies/20parz.html?_r=4&oref=slogin
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070124/asp/calcutta/story_7303025.asp#
http://in.rediff.com/movies/2006/aug/31rahul.htm
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2266215.cms
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Ahmedabad/Flicker_of_hope_for_Parzania_in_Gujarat/articleshow/1489796.cms
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Ahmedabad/Gujarat_will_see_Parzania_if_Bajrangi_says_OK/articleshow/1559020.cms
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/08/26/stories/2007082650130500.htm
http://www.thehindu.com/2007/01/27/stories/2007012719171500.htm
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bad-business-say-theatres-no-parzania-in-g/21792/
A summary:
Parzania is the story of an event that changed the country and the world forever. An American,Allan Webbings (Corin Nemec) arrives in Ahmedabad city. Allan has been searching for answers, praying to find both internal peace and understanding of the horrors that religious difference can create. For this, Allan has chosen India and Gandhi as his subject. It's here that he meets Cyrus (Naseeruddin Shah), the local projectionist who brings the young and troubled intellectual into his beautiful family. Cyrus is a Parsi, he has a beautiful wife, Shernaz (Sarika), a practical woman who after eleven years still can't resist his charisma and charm; then there are the two children – Parzan (Parzan Dastur) an imaginative ten year old that has developed his own world, the world of ‘Parzania’, where the buildings are made of chocolate and the mountains of ice cream, a world that only his eight year old little sister Dilshad (Pearl Barsiwalla) truly understands. Through Cyrus's family, Allan finds his peace. One morning, the beauty and peace that India is so famous for, is rocked beyond measure, as a bomb explodes in a train at Godhra killing Hindus. Within 24 hours, thousands of Muslims are slaughtered, making that day one of the largest acts of communal violence the country has ever seen. And in the midst of the terror and violence, Parzan is missing. While Cyrus fights for his own sanity and searches for his child, Alan battles to uncover the truth behind the riots. Parzania is inspired by a true story...
[From: www.upperstall.com / www.upperstall.com/films/2005/parzania]
Articles and links:
Missing in Gujarat
By Dionne Bunsha (Frontline - Feb 24/March 09, 2007)
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2404/stories/20070309001608200.htm
Extracts from the article:
It is not surprising that Parzania is not screened in the one place where it is most relevant - Gujarat. Theatre owners are scared to screen the film. In the past too, films such as FanaaRang De Basanti were banned because Aamir Khan, the main actor in both films, took a position against the government on the Narmada dam issue. This displeased the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its supporters in the Sangh Parivar. They called Khan an "enemy of Gujarat", and the Bajrang Dal threatened violence if any theatre dared to screen his films. Parzania is a realistic film, and there is a great risk that it may displease the ruling powers. Gujarat's film exhibitors prefer to be safe rather than sorry.
[...]
Instead of tacitly supporting the unlawful `ban', the Gujarat government should encourage the screening of this film and ensure total protection to cinema owners, distributors and viewers. It should take stern legal action against those who have gone on record saying that they will not allow this film to be screened," he added. But, there is little faith in a police force that allowed the carnage of 2002. The police let the mobs take over, and when victims pleaded for help, the response was: "We have no orders to save you." Those who orchestrated the attacks are still free and are powerful political leaders. Many continue their reign of terror.
Film about massacre banned in India state / L.A. director had friend who lost son in Hindu slaughter
By Henry Chu, The Los Angeles Times (Sunday, February 25, 2007)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/02/25/MNGGKOAR6A1.DTL&type=politics
An extract from the article:
"The police hold the power here, and they abuse it," said Johanna Lokhande of the group Nyayagraha, which works on behalf of the survivors.
Dholakia said making "Parzania" was part of the struggle to ensure that what happened is not forgotten -- and not repeated.
"Sometimes it's necessary to reopen wounds, because the solution to hate is to have a healthy debate and open debate about it," Dholakia said. "It's better to have it out in the open and discuss it. You cannot just avoid it."
Turnout spells success for IFFI
By Sudhish Kamath (The Hindu, Dec 03, 2005)
http://www.hindu.com/2005/12/03/stories/2005120303661300.htm
An extract from the article:
Should a film on such a sensitive issue be made, the director was asked. "Have you heard of gangrene? If you ignore it, it could kill you," replied Rahul as the crowd clapped. When a couple of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) supporters accused the director of making a film showcasing violence only by Hindu fanatics, the director replied: "If I was making a film on 9/11, I would have shown Muslim fundamentalists. But this one's on Gujarat." The crowd booed the RSS supporters away and gave the filmmaker another bout of applause. Actor Om Puri came to the support of the director by asking the dissenters: "Have you seen Tamas?"
Parzania director: 2006's National award winner?
(Rediff.com - August 30, 2006)
http://in.rediff.com/movies/2006/aug/30rahul.htm
An extract from the article:
Yeah, it's the story about a friend of mine. I was with the family on January 14, flying kites. One month later tragedy struck, in this form. The complete family which was smiling -- the last image I had of them -- was shattered. And why? For what reason? Because they belonged to another religion? Because somebody else committed a crime somewhere else? So all these things were preying on my mind when I was in the process of releasing Kehta Hai Dil.
And it really affected me at that stage that Gujarat where I am from, where that family is from, which is Gandhi's home state, the so-called non-violence state -- they respect prohibition there because it's Gandhi's state, but you go around murdering people openly and nobody does anything about it? So I felt somewhat responsible both morally and socially and I felt that if I don't speak up as a filmmaker then I don't have any right to tell anyone anything else. I'm as guilty as the people who did it. If we don't speak up, who will?
In India, Showing Sectarian Pain to Eyes That Are Closed
By Somini Sengupta (The New York Times, February 20, 2007)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/20/movies/20parz.html?_r=4&oref=slogin
An extract from the article:
For Mr. Dholakia, 40, the riots were an eye-opener. He was at home in Corona, a small town east of Los Angeles where he lives most of the year, when news broke of the fire and the mob violence that followed. There, in placid Corona, he sat and watched the horror unfold on Indian satellite television.
From members of his own family, Hindus who live in Gujarat, he heard satisfaction over the carnage. “Whatever happened, we taught these Muslims a lesson,” he recalled being told. One of his relatives, a 9-year-old boy, said he wished all the Muslims had been killed.
On the third day of the violence, Mr. Dholakia heard about Azhar, the son of his friend Dara Mody, whom he had met years before when Mr. Mody worked as a projectionist at an Indian movie theater in New Jersey. A Hindu mob had attacked the housing complex where the Modys lived. The Modys are Zoroastrians, not Muslims, but the attackers weren’t particularly discriminating, and in the confusion the boy became separated from his family and disappeared.
Being Cyrus and Shernaz
(The Telegraph – Calcutta - January 24, 2007)
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070124/asp/calcutta/story_7303025.asp#
An extract from the article:
Naseeruddin Shah:
“I did not go in for any research for the character, in the sense that I did not go meet the family before the film. I thought it would be too painful for them to have actors coming and trying to feel their grief. It was not difficult for me to empathise with them, because after all I too am a parent. Also, I think by trying to depict the tragedy and not project the persons as they are, we have been able to make it more universal,” said Naseeruddin, who plays Cyrus, the distraught father. “All films are not made with the view to draw in the audience and make money. Parzania is a story that needed to be told, and I felt I had to be part of it.”
The most poignant memory of the film for him remains meeting the bereaved family, after the shooting was completed. “When I met them, at the very place from where their son had gone missing, I realised that we have been able to portray the tragedy only to a certain extent. And perhaps projecting the full depth of their grief would have been too much to bear for us and for the audience,” said Naseer.
Will Parzania reach theatres?
(Rediff.com - August 31, 2006)
http://in.rediff.com/movies/2006/aug/31rahul.htm
An extract from the article:
During his diatribe, he compares the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to the Ku Klux Klan. Is that how you see it?
Any form of fundamentalism is wrong. Whether it's Nazi, Bajrang Dal or VHP, Muslim fundamentalists, fundamentalists in Chechnya � any form of fundamentalism is harmful to society. It's not about one religion against another, it's about them (the fundamentalists) against someone else, and as soon as you don't agree with them, you're labelled pseudo-secular and anti-something. And any form of fundamentalism is bad, from Osama Bin Laden to the guys committing the heinous crimes in Gujarat.
‘I’ve matured over the years’ [Sarika]
(The Times of India – August 09, 2007)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2266215.cms
Flicker of hope for 'Parzania' in Gujarat
(The Times of India - January 28, 2007)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Ahmedabad/Flicker_of_hope_for_Parzania_in_Gujarat/articleshow/1489796.cms
Gujarat will see Parzania if Bajrangi says OK!
(The Times of India – February 03, 2007)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Ahmedabad/Gujarat_will_see_Parzania_if_Bajrangi_says_OK/articleshow/1559020.cms
An extract from the article:
Babubhai Patel, who goes by the name Babu Bajrangi because of his affiliation with the saffron outfit, is the one the Gujarat Multiplex Owner's Association would like to invite at a special screening to be held early next week before they take a decision on whether to release it in cinema halls and multiplexes.
Sources said film-maker Rahul Dholakia was aghast when he was told by association president Manubhai Patel that a go-ahead from Bajrangi was necessary if the cinema halls have to protect themselves from mob attacks.
Intrepid director
By Ziya Us Salam
(The Hindu - August 26, 2007
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/08/26/stories/2007082650130500.htm
Parzania not in Gujarat
By Manas Dasgupta
(The Hindu - January 27, 2007)
http://www.thehindu.com/2007/01/27/stories/2007012719171500.htm
An extract from the article:
Parzania, a film based on the 2002 Gujarat riots, was not released in any part of the State on Friday. There was no official word on a ban but exhibitors apparently did not want to take a risk.
The Bajrang Dal had told cinema owners that they themselves should see the film first and decide about screening it "keeping the interest of the State in mind." The film was to have been released in some multiplexes here and theatres in the Kutch and Saurashtra regions.
Bad business, say theatres, no Parzania in Gujarat today
By Tanvir A. Siddiqui
(Indian Express - January 26, 2007)
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bad-business-say-theatres-no-parzania-in-g/21792/
http://www.upperstall.com/films/2005/parzania
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2404/stories/20070309001608200.htm
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/02/25/MNGGKOAR6A1.DTL&type=politics
http://www.hindu.com/2005/12/03/stories/2005120303661300.htm
http://in.rediff.com/movies/2006/aug/30rahul.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/20/movies/20parz.html?_r=4&oref=slogin
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070124/asp/calcutta/story_7303025.asp#
http://in.rediff.com/movies/2006/aug/31rahul.htm
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2266215.cms
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Ahmedabad/Flicker_of_hope_for_Parzania_in_Gujarat/articleshow/1489796.cms
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Ahmedabad/Gujarat_will_see_Parzania_if_Bajrangi_says_OK/articleshow/1559020.cms
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/08/26/stories/2007082650130500.htm
http://www.thehindu.com/2007/01/27/stories/2007012719171500.htm
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bad-business-say-theatres-no-parzania-in-g/21792/
A summary:
Parzania is the story of an event that changed the country and the world forever. An American,Allan Webbings (Corin Nemec) arrives in Ahmedabad city. Allan has been searching for answers, praying to find both internal peace and understanding of the horrors that religious difference can create. For this, Allan has chosen India and Gandhi as his subject. It's here that he meets Cyrus (Naseeruddin Shah), the local projectionist who brings the young and troubled intellectual into his beautiful family. Cyrus is a Parsi, he has a beautiful wife, Shernaz (Sarika), a practical woman who after eleven years still can't resist his charisma and charm; then there are the two children – Parzan (Parzan Dastur) an imaginative ten year old that has developed his own world, the world of ‘Parzania’, where the buildings are made of chocolate and the mountains of ice cream, a world that only his eight year old little sister Dilshad (Pearl Barsiwalla) truly understands. Through Cyrus's family, Allan finds his peace. One morning, the beauty and peace that India is so famous for, is rocked beyond measure, as a bomb explodes in a train at Godhra killing Hindus. Within 24 hours, thousands of Muslims are slaughtered, making that day one of the largest acts of communal violence the country has ever seen. And in the midst of the terror and violence, Parzan is missing. While Cyrus fights for his own sanity and searches for his child, Alan battles to uncover the truth behind the riots. Parzania is inspired by a true story...
[From: www.upperstall.com / www.upperstall.com/films/2005/parzania]
Articles and links:
Missing in Gujarat
By Dionne Bunsha (Frontline - Feb 24/March 09, 2007)
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2404/stories/20070309001608200.htm
Extracts from the article:
It is not surprising that Parzania is not screened in the one place where it is most relevant - Gujarat. Theatre owners are scared to screen the film. In the past too, films such as FanaaRang De Basanti were banned because Aamir Khan, the main actor in both films, took a position against the government on the Narmada dam issue. This displeased the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its supporters in the Sangh Parivar. They called Khan an "enemy of Gujarat", and the Bajrang Dal threatened violence if any theatre dared to screen his films. Parzania is a realistic film, and there is a great risk that it may displease the ruling powers. Gujarat's film exhibitors prefer to be safe rather than sorry.
[...]
Instead of tacitly supporting the unlawful `ban', the Gujarat government should encourage the screening of this film and ensure total protection to cinema owners, distributors and viewers. It should take stern legal action against those who have gone on record saying that they will not allow this film to be screened," he added. But, there is little faith in a police force that allowed the carnage of 2002. The police let the mobs take over, and when victims pleaded for help, the response was: "We have no orders to save you." Those who orchestrated the attacks are still free and are powerful political leaders. Many continue their reign of terror.
Film about massacre banned in India state / L.A. director had friend who lost son in Hindu slaughter
By Henry Chu, The Los Angeles Times (Sunday, February 25, 2007)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/02/25/MNGGKOAR6A1.DTL&type=politics
An extract from the article:
"The police hold the power here, and they abuse it," said Johanna Lokhande of the group Nyayagraha, which works on behalf of the survivors.
Dholakia said making "Parzania" was part of the struggle to ensure that what happened is not forgotten -- and not repeated.
"Sometimes it's necessary to reopen wounds, because the solution to hate is to have a healthy debate and open debate about it," Dholakia said. "It's better to have it out in the open and discuss it. You cannot just avoid it."
Turnout spells success for IFFI
By Sudhish Kamath (The Hindu, Dec 03, 2005)
http://www.hindu.com/2005/12/03/stories/2005120303661300.htm
An extract from the article:
Should a film on such a sensitive issue be made, the director was asked. "Have you heard of gangrene? If you ignore it, it could kill you," replied Rahul as the crowd clapped. When a couple of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) supporters accused the director of making a film showcasing violence only by Hindu fanatics, the director replied: "If I was making a film on 9/11, I would have shown Muslim fundamentalists. But this one's on Gujarat." The crowd booed the RSS supporters away and gave the filmmaker another bout of applause. Actor Om Puri came to the support of the director by asking the dissenters: "Have you seen Tamas?"
Parzania director: 2006's National award winner?
(Rediff.com - August 30, 2006)
http://in.rediff.com/movies/2006/aug/30rahul.htm
An extract from the article:
Yeah, it's the story about a friend of mine. I was with the family on January 14, flying kites. One month later tragedy struck, in this form. The complete family which was smiling -- the last image I had of them -- was shattered. And why? For what reason? Because they belonged to another religion? Because somebody else committed a crime somewhere else? So all these things were preying on my mind when I was in the process of releasing Kehta Hai Dil.
And it really affected me at that stage that Gujarat where I am from, where that family is from, which is Gandhi's home state, the so-called non-violence state -- they respect prohibition there because it's Gandhi's state, but you go around murdering people openly and nobody does anything about it? So I felt somewhat responsible both morally and socially and I felt that if I don't speak up as a filmmaker then I don't have any right to tell anyone anything else. I'm as guilty as the people who did it. If we don't speak up, who will?
In India, Showing Sectarian Pain to Eyes That Are Closed
By Somini Sengupta (The New York Times, February 20, 2007)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/20/movies/20parz.html?_r=4&oref=slogin
An extract from the article:
For Mr. Dholakia, 40, the riots were an eye-opener. He was at home in Corona, a small town east of Los Angeles where he lives most of the year, when news broke of the fire and the mob violence that followed. There, in placid Corona, he sat and watched the horror unfold on Indian satellite television.
From members of his own family, Hindus who live in Gujarat, he heard satisfaction over the carnage. “Whatever happened, we taught these Muslims a lesson,” he recalled being told. One of his relatives, a 9-year-old boy, said he wished all the Muslims had been killed.
On the third day of the violence, Mr. Dholakia heard about Azhar, the son of his friend Dara Mody, whom he had met years before when Mr. Mody worked as a projectionist at an Indian movie theater in New Jersey. A Hindu mob had attacked the housing complex where the Modys lived. The Modys are Zoroastrians, not Muslims, but the attackers weren’t particularly discriminating, and in the confusion the boy became separated from his family and disappeared.
Being Cyrus and Shernaz
(The Telegraph – Calcutta - January 24, 2007)
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070124/asp/calcutta/story_7303025.asp#
An extract from the article:
Naseeruddin Shah:
“I did not go in for any research for the character, in the sense that I did not go meet the family before the film. I thought it would be too painful for them to have actors coming and trying to feel their grief. It was not difficult for me to empathise with them, because after all I too am a parent. Also, I think by trying to depict the tragedy and not project the persons as they are, we have been able to make it more universal,” said Naseeruddin, who plays Cyrus, the distraught father. “All films are not made with the view to draw in the audience and make money. Parzania is a story that needed to be told, and I felt I had to be part of it.”
The most poignant memory of the film for him remains meeting the bereaved family, after the shooting was completed. “When I met them, at the very place from where their son had gone missing, I realised that we have been able to portray the tragedy only to a certain extent. And perhaps projecting the full depth of their grief would have been too much to bear for us and for the audience,” said Naseer.
Will Parzania reach theatres?
(Rediff.com - August 31, 2006)
http://in.rediff.com/movies/2006/aug/31rahul.htm
An extract from the article:
During his diatribe, he compares the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to the Ku Klux Klan. Is that how you see it?
Any form of fundamentalism is wrong. Whether it's Nazi, Bajrang Dal or VHP, Muslim fundamentalists, fundamentalists in Chechnya � any form of fundamentalism is harmful to society. It's not about one religion against another, it's about them (the fundamentalists) against someone else, and as soon as you don't agree with them, you're labelled pseudo-secular and anti-something. And any form of fundamentalism is bad, from Osama Bin Laden to the guys committing the heinous crimes in Gujarat.
‘I’ve matured over the years’ [Sarika]
(The Times of India – August 09, 2007)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2266215.cms
Flicker of hope for 'Parzania' in Gujarat
(The Times of India - January 28, 2007)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Ahmedabad/Flicker_of_hope_for_Parzania_in_Gujarat/articleshow/1489796.cms
Gujarat will see Parzania if Bajrangi says OK!
(The Times of India – February 03, 2007)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Ahmedabad/Gujarat_will_see_Parzania_if_Bajrangi_says_OK/articleshow/1559020.cms
An extract from the article:
Babubhai Patel, who goes by the name Babu Bajrangi because of his affiliation with the saffron outfit, is the one the Gujarat Multiplex Owner's Association would like to invite at a special screening to be held early next week before they take a decision on whether to release it in cinema halls and multiplexes.
Sources said film-maker Rahul Dholakia was aghast when he was told by association president Manubhai Patel that a go-ahead from Bajrangi was necessary if the cinema halls have to protect themselves from mob attacks.
Intrepid director
By Ziya Us Salam
(The Hindu - August 26, 2007
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/08/26/stories/2007082650130500.htm
Parzania not in Gujarat
By Manas Dasgupta
(The Hindu - January 27, 2007)
http://www.thehindu.com/2007/01/27/stories/2007012719171500.htm
An extract from the article:
Parzania, a film based on the 2002 Gujarat riots, was not released in any part of the State on Friday. There was no official word on a ban but exhibitors apparently did not want to take a risk.
The Bajrang Dal had told cinema owners that they themselves should see the film first and decide about screening it "keeping the interest of the State in mind." The film was to have been released in some multiplexes here and theatres in the Kutch and Saurashtra regions.
Bad business, say theatres, no Parzania in Gujarat today
By Tanvir A. Siddiqui
(Indian Express - January 26, 2007)
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bad-business-say-theatres-no-parzania-in-g/21792/
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