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Movie Review: Fiza
By Mohammed Ayub Khan 04/09/2001
Cast: Karisma Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Jaya Bachchan, Neha, Sushmita Sen, Bikram Saluja, Manoj Bajpai
Director: Khalid Mohammed
Every once in a while, a movie comes along that directly appeals to the heart and reduces grown men to tears. Among the clutter of commercially produced Indian movies, which apart from their anti-Muslim bias, concentrate more on hip-swinging, pelvis-twitching dances, comes a refreshingly new movie called
Fiza. The movie accurately depicts the tragedy that had befallen Indian Muslim families - especially the youth - in the aftermath of the destruction of Babri Masjid on December 5, 1992, which led to the killings of thousands of Muslims.
The film is a story of a lower middle class Muslim family living in the western Indian city of Mumbai. The family consists of the mother Nishatbi (Jaya Bachchan), her daughter Fiza (Karisma Kapoor), and her son Amaan (Hrithik Roshan).
The family's relatively happy times turn sour after the destruction of the Babri Masjid by Hindu vandals. One night when the family has just gone to sleep, Amaan hears from his friends that Hindus are killing Muslims and destroying their businesses. They urge him to come with them. At first Amaan, hesitates but out of curiosity, later agrees and goes with them to watch the riots. Soon they get caught up with the rioting Hindu mobs. He asks the policemen to help him and his friends, only to find out that the Hindu police are working in tandem with the rioters.
As the events unfold, Amaan, out of pure self-defense, kills three rioters who had attacked him. He also tries to save a dying child calling for water. Deeply injured and lost, he meets a young Muslim leader who believes in using violence to combat the growing Hindu militancy. He flees to an undisclosed border area and gets involved in anti-India activities.
Meanwhile in Mumbai, Fiza, who is now a college graduate, launches an intense campaign to find out the whereabouts of her brother. She writes articles in newspapers and also appears on television demanding that the police and other relevant authorities disclose what happened to Amaan. She goes to a Hindu politician who makes remarks doubting suggesting a lack of patriotism on the part of Indian Muslims. Fiza gives him a firm rebuke.
A Muslim politician also invites her and offers her a teaching position instead of providing any information that would tell what happened to Amaan on that fateful night. When all avenues run out, one of Fiza's friends shows her a photograph of a veiled militant whose eyes look remarkably similar to Amaan's. She pawns her jewelry and goes to the border area to find this masked individual. There she finally meets Amaan and manages to convince him to come back to Mumbai.
Once back in Mumbai, Amaan is frustrated since he has no job and nothing to do. One day, while enjoying the jokes of a neighborhood comedian, he is confronted by two bullies who beat up the comedian for performing without their permission. Amaan comes to the rescue of the comedian and beats up the thugs and later sets their motorcycle on fire.
The bullies complain to the police who dig up Amaan's past and arrest him for the killing of the rioters. He pleads with them that he is innocent, but to no avail. As he is being taken away, the two bullies show up and start abusing his sister. An irate Amaan pulls out a gun, shoots the two, and flees. Heartbroken by learning that her son is a killer, Nishatbi commits suicide.
The corrupt Hindu and Muslim politicians, who jointly engineered the riots, hold a secret meeting in which they decide to run in the election as a united front. Meanwhile. Amaan is entrusted by his group to kill both leaders when they show up together on Eid day. Amaan kills both of them only to find that his own group has turned against him.
He kills his assailants and hides in a railway junkyard. His sister follows him and urges him to give up his gun. But, Amaan refuses, saying that he is fighting for a right and just cause by rooting out corruption. As the police surround the two, Amaan hands over his gun to his sister and asks her to shoot him, as he is tired of the world.
Despite being a good movie, Fiza contains some scenes of which Muslims should be warned. It contains three songs with dance scenes. Fiza's male admirer is shown to be Hindu - her mother approves of their relationship and even suggests possible marriage. As is self-evident, this kind of behavior is strictly unacceptable.
In short, Fiza is a tragic movie that reflects the real life situations of thousands of Muslim youths in India who have been victimized by both Hindu thugs and the communal law enforcement authorities. While the killers freely roam the streets, thousands of Muslim youths are languishing in jail under the draconian TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act) jurisdiction of the Indian government. The story of
Amaan is just one amongst many.
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