Story
Cyrus (Naseeruddin Shah) family consists of wife Shernaz (Sarika), son Parzan (Parzan Dastur) and daughter Dilshad (Pearl Barsiwala). This Parsi family lives in Gujarat. Their house and the colony is set on fire by Hindus in retaliation of Godhra incident. The Hindu mob kills almost all the Muslim families in that colony. Cyrus is at work when this incident happens. Shernaz and Dilshad survives, but Parzan goes missing. The rest of the story is all about the repercussions of this gruesome incident and is about whether Parzan is found or not.

Actors performances
The one person who grabs the entire limelight in this film is Sarika. She is absolutely natural. Naseeruddin Shah performs well. Pearl Barsiwalla is excellent. Master Farzan Dastoor is cute. Raj Zutshi is compact. Corin Nemec is fair.

Story - screenplay - direction: Parzania film is based on a true incident that happened during Gujarat riots that followed Godhra mayhem. The director brought an American character to bring an outside/neutral perspective. He also cleverly blended Gandhi’s teachings as an undercurrent thread. Screenplay of the film is alright. But there is lot of honesty in story telling. The agony and tragedy is depicted in a realistic style. However, it would have been more authentic if the dialogues are written either in Hindi or Gujarathi instead of English. The following two scenes are heart touching

1. Shernaz trying to go back to her house to search for Parzan.
2. Court hearings in the climax of the film.

Story - screenplay - direction: Music by Zakir Hussain is excellent. The music he scored for the scene where Naseer watches his son in the screen of the theater after going through 9-days of purging process is extraordinary. Cinematography is fair.

Analysis: Parzania is an honest film that takes a close look at grotesque incidents happened after Godhra attack. It makes us stop for a while and think about what happened to our fellow countrymen just a few years ago. Films like Parzania and Black Friday makes us more compassionate human beings. Parzania - aimed at film festivals circuit - is definitely worth a watch for all art film lovers.

Jeevi reviews of previous films
Black Friday
Guru
Bhagambhag
Kabul Express
Baabul
Dhoom 2
Vivah
Don
Dor
More Reviews

Tell us how you liked this review