Remember that #Mirinda line Jor ka Jhatka dheere se lage? Sometimes the maximum impact is brought on, not by the scale or the decibels but just by sensitive portrayal of an issue. Bollywood has made stories about Kashmir and some of these have been received well too. #Haider(2014), #HalfWidow(2019) and #NoFathersinKashmir (2019) comes to mind.
ASHOK’s FIVE reviews a 22 minute short #Nooreh that released in 2019 and is now available on the #MUBI platform. 8 year old child artist #SaimaLateif is absolutely brilliant in her portrayal of the little schoolgirl.
As you would expect, the film’s opening scenes leave you stunned and a little overwhelmed with the breath-taking views of the mountain peaks, shikharas on the lake, hilly tracts and the misty winter of Kashmir. The innocence of the little children set against the firing on the border is a poignant contrast to this. As the children make their way to school, they tease each other and the granny on the way, compete with each other on an impromptu dash and even call out to the “Mucchon wala Fauji uncle” in the Army camp. At school, they are giggling, nudging each other and playing truant as children at their age should be doing. They are too young to comprehend the complexities of their world. As you watch the film, the thought of the loss of this precious innocence stabs you like a knife in the chest!
Little #Nooreh figures that the firing stops when she stays up in the night. This prompts her to study all night and ends up sleeping in the class. But she will do whatever it takes to “ensure” that the firing stops. And ends up getting all her friends to stay up the night in that touching last shot of the film.
#Nooreh emphasises on the shots and the technicalities to get maximum impact rather than the dialogue which is minimal. What Pandey manages to do brilliantly is to capture the world of the children who have the world at their foot-steps even as the rest of the world goes about their mundane chores like in a trance.
#Nooreh is a striking shout-out for peace and stands out for its sensitive treatment. It won the Sonje Award at the Busan International Film Festival and is a must watch for any movie aficionado!
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