They say, “Movies are the mirrors of society” and with Indian society so torn with the issue of terrorism, it is but natural that the subject of terrorism find its’ way into the themes and plots of Bollywood movies. Terrorism emerged as a subject with prominence in the Hindi films with Subhash Ghai’s ‘Karma’ which was able to contextualize the issue of terrorism in and around Kashmir with a candor.
Then came the movies which delved into the psychology of terrorists with the likes of Santosh Sivan’s ‘The Terrorist’ and yet again, the silver screen showed the joint operations of army and police to combat terrorism in films like ‘Zameen’ and ‘Tango Charlie’.
Now, our new bunch of directors view terrorism with a different scale focusing on how the individual and the civil society adjusts and walks on with the life after being stopped at by bomb blast or attacks with films like ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’, Wednesday’ and the likes.
Films reach wider rather than other forms of arts and this is one reason behind the appeal of such movies. With the absence of political or diplomatic angles in these films but having human angle to counter such incidents in a more civilized way certainly help across the societies who face and suffer frequently.
To pick up certain movies which best deal with the sensitive issue of terrorism is a Herculean task, yet there are some movies which can be regarded as the masterpieces in Bollywood movies dealing with terrorism. Some of them are:
Sarfarosh
The movie revolves around Assistant Chief of Police, Ajay Singh Rathod (Aamir Khan) and his struggle against organized terrorism from across border. Ajay comes from an upright, middle-class family whose lives have been traumatized by a terrorist attack. Ajay battles against a band of hidden criminals smuggling arms into the country from Pakistan, via the Rajasthani border assisted by his devoted Muslim including Inspector Salim (Mukesh Rishi) and lover Seema (Sonali Bendre).
The movie has great characterizations and performances. Aamir Khan is far beyond competent. The film is a 100 percent as an absolute entertainer, crime drama and attack on terrorism.
Roja
Roja explores the Kashmir problem and portrays it from the common man’s point of view. Directed by Mani Ratnam, it went on to win the National Award for best film on national integration. Roja stars Arvind Swamy and Madhubala in the lead roles. It also marked the successful debut of A.R.Rehman in Bollywood.
The film shows how a cryptologist Rishi (Arvind Swamy) gets abducted by militants in Kashmir who ask for the release of Kashmir militant, Wasim Khan, in return. What follows is a heart renting struggle of a wife, the helplessness of the system and finally, the transformation of the terrorist packed with some excellent performances.
Bombay
Yet another brilliant one from director Mani Ratnam, ‘Bombay’ is set amidst the savage communal strife that ravaged parts of India in the early 1990s following the demolition of the disputed Muslim shrine Babri Masjid by Hindu extremists.
The movie revolves around the love story of a Hindu youth Shekhar (Arvind Swamy) and a Muslim girl Sheila Banu (Manisha Koirala) from Malampur village who are caught in a senseless communal bloodshed but emerge united and safe.
The movie is an expert handling of an extremely sensitive subject giving it a wide commercial appeal loaded with superb on-screen performances and an evergreen music from maestro A.R. Rehman.
Dil Se
Amar (Shahrukh Khan) is on a terrorist interview assignment for All-India Radio somewhere in a northern territory, where he keeps bumping into Meghna (Manisha Koirala), and is charmed by the mystery around her. Then comes his engagement to the frank and outspoken Preity (Preity Zinta) and the fact that Meghna is a terrorist.
What makes the film a gem is superb performances from Shahrukh Khan and more so, the brilliant performance from Manisha as a brainwashed terrorist who seems torn between love and her so-called mission, her humane side and her terrorist cause. Added to this, is the direction from Mani Ratnam and excellent scores from A.R.Rehman.
Maachis
The film deals with the tale of wronged Punjabi youth who takes to arms to avenge the injustices heaped onto him by the corrupt political set up.
The movie is different in the sense that it looks inside the emotions, the joys and the insecurity and grievances of the terrorists. They are shown as a mixture of opposites - compassionate and caring at one time, insensitive and brutal at the other. The film is set against the backdrop of the Bluestar Operation and the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Newcomers like Chandrachur Singh, Raj Zutshi, Jasjit Shergill, Ravi Gosain star along with veterans like Om Puri, Kanwaljeet, Kulbushan Karbanda besides Tabu who provides the female interest.
Fiza
FIZA is the story of a young girl (Karisma Kapoor) in search of her brother (Hrithik Roshan) who disappeared during the communal riots of 1992-93 in Mumbai.
After making every effort to trace him, Fiza sets out in the first half of the film to determine whether Amaan is dead or alive. Using various methods — be it through the media, politicians or the law enforcement agencies — Fiza embarks on her mission that brings her into contact with various characters and situations. The second half of the film takes a turn and focuses on Amaan’s difficulty in coping with re-integration back into his old world.
Mission Kashmir
The story of the film is about Altaaf (Hrithik Roshan), an orphan of war who has been adopted by a policeman, Inayat Khan (Sanjay Dutt), and his wife, Neelima (Sonali Kulkarni). The day Altaaf discovers that Inayat Khan was the one who killed his parents, a terrorist is born within him. Ten years later, he re-appears for a highly secret mission code, named ‘Mission Kashmir’, a closely guarded plan that will change the map of the subcontinent forever. He fights for Hilal Kohistani, but he is also obsessed with his own private mission: he wants to, he must kill Inayat Khan. In Srinagar, Altaaf meets his childhood sweetheart, Sufi (Preity Zinta), in whom he rediscovers love and hope.
The Hero
Director Anil Sharma’s film is based on the Indo-Pak tensions and terrorism, and has Sunny Deol playing an army intelligence officer Arun Khanna, who is deputed by the Indian Secret Service Agency RAW at the Kashmir. His aim is to get information regarding terrorist activities across the border. He sends Reshma (Preity Zinta) across the border to Pakistan as a maidservant in Colonel Hidayatulla’s (Deep Dhillon) house. How her identity is exposed, how she escapes, how the major finds out the ISI head in Canada are all roped in with gritty action sequences and chilling pyrotechnics.
A Wednesday
One of those rare variety films, ‘A Wednesday’ deals with terrorism is an all new and different perspective from the eyes of a common man. The film stars as a basic edge-of-the-seat action-thriller, where an anonymous individual (Naseeruddin Shah) makes a call to the Commissioner of Police Rathod (Anupam Kher) and warns him of six bombs being planted in the city of Mumbai. In return, he asks for the emancipation of four hardcore anti-national terrorists. The film takes turn when he kills these four terrorists. Blessed with performances from Naseeruddin Shan & Anupam Kher, the film reminds of the prohibited path that the common man has to opt for to revolt against the system.
Black Friday
Anurag Kashyap’s Black Friday is a hard-hitting movie that revisits the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai in which more than three hundred people died and many were injured. Probing into the reasons behind this attack, it goes into the lives of key players like Tiger Memon (played by Pawan Malhotra ), his henchman Badshah Khan (Aditya Srivastava) and ACP Rakesh Maria ( Kay Kay Menon ), who investigated the case. Alongside the bomb blasts, the film also documents the journey of an angry, revenge seeking Muslim youth, Badshah Khan, from Delhi to Rajasthan and still further.
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