- Maachis
Infobox_Film
name = Maachis
caption = DVD cover for "Maachis"
imdb_id = 0116950
writer =Gulzar
starring = TabuOm Puri Chandrachur Singh
director =Gulzar
producer =
cinematography =
music
editing =
distributor =
released = flagicon|India25 October ,1996
runtime = 160 minutes
language = Hindi
music =Vishal Bhardwaj
awards =
budget ="Maachis" (English:Matches) was a 1996
India nBollywood film directed byGulzar . The title of the film is used as a metaphor that conveys that the youth of any nation are matchsticks that could get ignited due to the deficiencies in the political and policing systems. The film portrays the circumstances surrounding the rise of the Sikh insurgency in Punjab in the 1980s, and traces the transformation of a youth from a next-door guy to a dreaded terrorist bent of wreaking vengeance for the wrong meted out to him.The film tasted both critical and commercial success.
Gulzar 's direction and the music ofVishal Bhardwaj were strong points. To this day, many numbers from the film, particularly "Chappa Chappa Charkha Chale" and "Chhod Aaye Hum Vo Galiyaan" can be often heard playing on FM radio or TV channels. Bhardwaj went on to become a movie director, and has directed movies such as "Maqbool " as well as the highly-lauded "Omkara " in the recent past. Chhod Aaye Hum was the first Hindi film song ever sung by KK.In more ways than one, "Maachis" is a film about what atrocities can drive an ordinary human to do. It looks back at the Punjab problem, and tries to figure out some of the root causes. It also warns that in the future, there could be many more Punjabs--burning and suffering for years.
Plot
Virender Kaur or Veeran (
Tabu ) is a young woman living in a prosperous Punjabi village with her mother and her brother, Jaswant Singh Randhawa nicknamed "Jassi" (Raj Zutshi ); the latter is the best friend of Veeran's fiance, Kripal Singh, nicknamed "Palli" (Chandrachur Singh ). When Jassi disappears into police custody following a routine house-search, his family endures a hellish fortnight of bureaucratic denials and anguished waiting. When he returns brutally scarred from torture, Palli abandons the village to seek, first, answers, and later, revenge, eventually falling into the company of Sanatan (Om Puri ), the leader of aSikh terrorist cell. Slowly, the once-comfortable world of Palli and his extended family falls apart, to be replaced by the fictive kinship of the hunted members of the terrorist cell. [cite web|title=philip'sfil-umst| work=Maachis Hindi|url=http://www.uiowa.edu/~incinema/maachis.html|accessdate=|accessyear= 2000]Cast
"Maachis" had a congregation of some of the finest actors in Bollywood, besides a sparkling performance by
Chandrachur Singh , a newcomer. The core cast is listed below.* Tabu as ... Virender Kaur aka Veera
*Chandrachur Singh as ... Kripal Singh aka Pali
*Om Puri as ... Sanatan
*Kulbhushan Kharbanda as ... Commander
*Kanwaljit Singh as ... Inspector Vohra
*S M Zaheer as ... Khurana
*Raj Zutshi as ... Jaswant Singh Randhawa aka Jassy
*Jimmy Shergill as ... Jaimal aka Jimmy
*Ravi Gosain as ... Kuldip
*Suneel Sinha as ... Wazira
*Amrik Gill as ... NanuAwards
*
Filmfare Best Debut Award for "Chandrachur Singh ".
*National Film Award for Best Actress for "Tabu".References
External links
*imdb title|id=0116950|title=Maachis
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