Salim Mirza In Garam Hava | Actor's Eye

Garm Hava or Scorching Winds, as the subtitles suggest, is I feel one of the best and amongst the must watch movies in the category which deals with the subject of post partition atrocities faced by the common man, to be more particular by the Muslims who stayed back, in India.

 

The story of the film unfolds at its own pace slowly and steadily making you a part of the day to day life and problems of the Mirza family, headed by Salim Mirza. The character of Salim Mirza, through Balraj Sahni, tells its viewers how to follow your heart in spite of being in unfavorable conditions. In conditions where your loved ones are moving to an altogether and newly formed country whereas you are staying back; in conditions where your business is being hit because you have always worked on your own terms and want to continue with the same; in conditions when you have to mortgage your house of many decades to make your ends meet; in conditions when your children are not getting jobs because of communal prejudices; in conditions where your daughter is under mental trauma for the fact that all eligible bachelors have moved to the new country; and these all being just a part of the bigger picture. Balraj Sahni has played all emotions, and as his reputation goes, he has played them all very well. He has done it in a very subtle yet effective way. He shows the pain of loss, the love of a father, the care for an ailing mother, the hard work of a good businessman, the fear of one day giving in to the surmounting situations and many more.

 

In all a very nice movie and some very nicely power packed performances by all the actors. No doubt that apart from being the debut movie of a fine actor Mr. Farooq Sheikh, some very fine performances by the very respected Balraj Sahni, playing the lead character of Salim Mirza, A.K. Hangal, Yunus Parvez and others this movie also boasts about being India’s official entry to The Oscars for the year 1974 in the best foreign language film category and many other national and international awards.

 

Written By: Gaurav Karmakar

Garam Hava In 3 Act Structure | Under Lens

M.S. Sathyu’s film based on Ismat Chugtai’s short story adapted by Kaifi Azmi. Garam Hawa is a fine example of good cinema relevant in the times it was made and even decades beyond. Brilliant performances by Balraj Sahni, Geeta Siddharth and AK Hangal were well supported by Farooq Shaikh and Jalal Agha. Movie will be remembered for sensitive handling of a controversial subject and dialogues.

 

Act 1: In the first part Mirza family is introduced. India is seeking independence and partition is inevitable. Mirza family doesn’t want to leave nation for one or another reason. However, Pakistan, the newly formed entity, is making promises too good to believe. A section of Hindu community believes that since Pakistan is made, Muslims should leave. Not only the political scenario, life of a middle class Muslim family is also explored in this act. A poetic start is used to subtly reveal traumas of partition.

 

Act 2: This act makes a strong impact. Family is broken by politics and new economic dynamics. Mirzas are not able to handle either of them. At a point, Pakistan seems to be destiny, bnot destination. Every reason that has stopped Salim Mirza, the protagonist, to take step towards new state has shattered. His older brother is well settled in Pakistan. Business is in shambles. Old mother, who wanted to die in ancestral house dies peacefully. Daughter who failed in love commits suicide. One son has left for Pakistan and other is jobless. Salim, himself, is tagged as a spy. Life has become difficult for Muslims in India.

 

Act 3: The trick in Act 3 is that it should reflect Act 1 in some way. Same aspirations, same ideology shall rise. This happens in Garam Hava. While Salim Mirza, his wife and unemployed son are going to Pakistan, they see an agitation led by his son’s friends. The seeds of the agitation was sown by his own son who wants to remain in India and develop it. Salim decides to stay back. The problems in this country must be the same as in that country. Pakistan cannot be very different from India. They cannot live life of refugees. Aspirations of a new state shall survive the scorching wings of changing times.  

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Statesmen: Balraj Sahni

Waqt is a legend in cine-folklore and the man who immortalised the song Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen by his prominent screen presence was none other than Balraj Sahni; the Kabuliwallah.

He was born in Rawalpindi on May 01, 1913 and studied in Lahore. After his Masters he returned to Rawalpindi to join his family business. However, that was not enough to feed the actor in him. In ’30s he went to Shantiniketan to join as a teacher for Hindi and English. There he met Mahatma Gandhi and that rendezvous led him to BBC-London where he worked as a radio announcer for Hindi. He returned back in 1943. He was yet to make his debut as an actor.

He stormed into the arena of Indian cinema with stunning performance in Dharti Ke Laal (1946) followed with brilliant performances. However, it was his exceptionally brilliant performances as Shambhu in Do Beegha Zameen and Abdul in Kabuliwallah that established him in the league of Motilal and Gurudutt. His performance in Haqeeqat and Garam Hawa also won accolades in media. Exceptional acting skills and charming voice were two qualities that made his persona unforgettable.

He was a gifted writer and contributed to literature with his works. He was deeply inspired by Russian Revolution and was a proclaimed socialist. He was a highly learned and well-informed person. This trait can be realised by reading his works published across the globe, specially the works on politics. He was one of the founders of IPTA.

He always stood for the poor and what a destiny, he was born on May Day (International Labour’s Day).
He expired in ’73 at age of 60. People remember him as a stylish sophisticated person but when you watch him in Bimal Roy’s Do Beegha Zameen, you will be astonished by the level of method acting.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh