AMU is a personal journey. It is intense in the narration, with a mystic element of search – a frantic search to know the answers, the identity and most of all - the TRUTH. Truth about one person, one community, and one nation-HEMASHREE write a note on Movie AMU.
The film, AMU (2005) , starts off, rather usually, like any other – ‘back to the roots’ films, but slowly unmasks the still burning carnage of the year 1984. (www.carnage84.com/homepage/mainpage.htm)
A horrible tragedy of the largest democracy in the world is hard hitting. Amu, narrated in a sarcastically and in an empathetic style, is certainly a personal experience combined with the tragedy that shook the integrity of a nation and the trust of thousands of people.
Kaju ( Kajori Roy ), a 21 yr old, is back from America where she lived for 18 years, since the age of 3. She is in Delhi in search of her roots and her biological parents. In her quest joins, Kabir, a university student and son of a rich IAS officer. As they embark on the findings, their families become restless. They do not want Kaju to know the reality. Kaju’s mother, Keya, unexpectedly lands in Delhi. Coming to know her adopted daughter is all over Delhi’s slums, to find out her biological mother, Keya is concerned and scared. What Kaju and Kabir find out about their own selves is the Truth. And that Truth all of a sudden uncovers the Pandora’s Box and engulfs all.
This film is of the utter importance because it is a personal account. Self experience of the director,
Shonali Bose herself, who was present in Delhi in 1984 and was helping out the people in the rehabilitation camps. The main motivation for making this film now, as she says, is the question - why are we shunning the truth? The simple answer she got – as one of the character in the film says- why do we need to project the ugly face of our country, which is better to be hidden and buried.
But, how can you hide the tears that roll from the eyes of a mother who has seen her sons and daughters slaughtered and how can you burry the angst of thousands of people who are made to feel betrayed and cheated in their own home land.
The carnage of 1984, took place in Delhi for 3 days, aftermath the assassination of Indira Gandhi was not a communal riot, but a well organized crime, genocide against one community. Officially till date, there hasn’t been any number stating the loss of lives, it is believed that over 4,000 to 10,000 people were been the victims.
There has always been a silence over the 1984 incident. Though there were 9 commissions laid out to investigate, latest being Justice Nanavati commission, there was never a serious effort made to reveal the truth.
Justice is not been delivered to the thousands of people who lost their dear ones. It wasn’t 20 years back. It is still alive … even to this date. Widows are waiting for the social justice. And it is delayed or it does perhaps will never be given.
No one is answering. Or they are tired of remembering the horror. Or waiting for justice. Or they simply do not have the time to talk about this ‘trivial’ issue.
The film AMU focuses on various points. One being political responsibility and social justice. Not over boarded with violence and agony, the film states very clearly that whenever a riot, a communal violence takes place in India, it isn’t because common people are involved in it; but because, it is so well organized. 84’ carnage was not about Hindus and Sikhs, same as Godhra is not about Hindus and Muslims. It is an organized, meticulously carried out collective Crime against one’s own people.
It’s a hard hitting truth in India, that not any one party is been able to be sensitive enough to the people of India. In one of the scenes, Kabir tries to find out some info in a book store. The book shop keeper says, there is no record, written book on the 1984 incidents. Surprisingly a real fact that any evidence would have been destroyed. There were threats to the director of this movie to stop the shootings.
What is impressive about the film is that it gives an account of the past, yet highlights today’s point of view - The youth questioning the history.
Well, there is no real history. Or …… who writes the history? Who becomes the history?
Justice is questioned. In one of the important scenes of the film, where the widows share their stories with Kaju and Kabir, they say - Yes, 2 people got the punishment. The bodyguards …. This clearly indicates that justice has no meaning in the lands of absolute power and corruption. What about those who were responsible for the murders, a planned massacre of one community.
It was the same scene on which the Indian Censor Board had asked a CUT. What was commendable on the part of the director is that , she chose to silence the fictional characters instead of going for a censor ordered cuts for some 3- 4 lines which were clearly pointing towards the Govt.'s role.
As the director says - Instead of changing the lines so that the audience would not be pulled out of the film we took the decision to let the characters go silent. We thought it was a powerful indictment for audiences to see fictional widows in a fictional film silently moving their lips. Silenced even after twenty years of tears.
In India, we are blind, deaf and mute – all - at the same time. Or perhaps, made to be so.
Though Kaju is ready to accept the truth as it is, (that she is Amu) it is unexpected. Amu's father and the only brother are killed in the carnage and the mother is left alone by the trauma. Amu is been adopted by Keya, leaves to America at the age of three .
Kaju asks Kabir, that why he can’t accept the fact that she is a girl from the slums. Kabir says she is too beautiful to be so. This, points to the psyche of the upper class, prejudices that we have on certain kind of class and community as a whole. Kaju finds a letter written by her biological mother Shanno to Keya before dying , in which Shanno pleads Keya that Amu should never know the truth.
It is painful. But at the same time the voices are being suppressed. We ourselves do it or someone else does.
And Silence is bliss. And we practice this as a religion.
It is not incidental, but deliberately real when one of the characters says that the minister, who refused to help them, was a kale chashmewalah indicating the involvement of one of the accused minister in the incident. In one of the scenes, when Kabir confronts his IAS father on the Sikh killings, the father discourages Kabir, saying he knows nothing. But, in the later scenes, we get to know that the IAS officer was infact incharge of the area or of something, we are not told clearly in the film. But it is revealed that the senior officers too had had a key role to play.
The film also throws light on the father – son relationship, coming to terms with communications and undercurrents of a rebel. Where as the mother – daughter bonding (of Kaju and Keya) is the highlight aspect of the film. Though, not a biological mother, Keya’s concerns are very natural, given the situation they are in. She confesses to her daughter and they both cry out their heart, feeling light while the rain is pouring outside heavily.
The lead actor Konkona is a bundle of talents and she is already a proven actor, comes out with her best as Kaju. Brinda Karat, a first time actor has surpassed her political persona, retaining the activist charisma as the role of Keya demanded it. An under rated actor Yashpal Sharma excels in some of the scenes, both in humour and in emotional scenes. Lavleen Mishra, a not much explored actor, holds on to the same bubbly character she is known for ( chutki in Buniyad ), but here, rather in a mature way. Though the character had the shades of a village lady, Lavleen as Govind’s wife , shows all vibrancy in her portrayal. For others, Ankur Khanna (Kabir), young Amu, Amu’s mother, father and brother and many other characters are all first time actors. They did not act, they lived themselves on screen.
AMU, takes a poignant look at the subject. It goes back from the present to the past , peeks in to the tragic event of the past, comes back to the present again and when it ends, there is another carnage taking place, that of - Godhra. Same roots, same anger, completely different political party, different community - coming to a full circle. Seems like nothing is changing – or has changed since.
Why? People becoming insensitive to the surrounding issues. Hatred is being manufactured. It is intentional to keep the cycle of violence going.
In this kind of atmosphere, do we able to expect the Justice … any sooner?
Though on the personal level, AMU is a positive end, but at large, the society is still bleeding with hundreds of wounds beyond any healing.[ Film's official website : http://www.amuthefilm.com/home.html ]
[ wiki site : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amu_(film) ]
Also check out the Documentary film on The Sikh Carnage 1984 and story of the survivors.
THE WIDOW COLONY - India's Unsettled Settlement directed by Harpreet Kaur . http://www.thewidowcolony.com
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