Garam Hawa

Infobox Film
name = Garam Hawa


image_size =
caption =
director = M. S. Sathyu
producer = Ishan Arya, M.S. Sathyu, Abu Siwani
writer =Kaifi Azmi
Shama Zaidi
story = Ismat Chughtal
starring = Balraj Sahni
Farooq Shaikh
Dinanath Zutshi
Badar Begum
Geeta Siddharth
Shaukat Kaifi
A. K. Hangal
music = Aziz Ahmed
Bahadur Khan
Khan Warsi
cinematography = Ishan Arya
editing = S. Chakravarty
distributor =
released = 1973
runtime = 146 min
country = IND
language = Hindi/Urdu
budget =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0073034

Garam Hawa (Hot Winds) is a 1973 Hindi film directed by M. S. Sathyu, based on a short story by, Ismat Chughtai.

The film deals with the plight of a North Indian Muslim family, in the years post Partition of India in 1947, as film's protagonist, deals with this dilemna of whether to moved to Pakistan or stay back, the film details the slow disintergration of hise family, and is one of the most poignant films ever made on India's partition [ [http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/sai/past_events/events_spring2007.html SAI Film Series - 2007] "Southern Asia Institute", "Columbia University".] , and remains the only film, that deals with the plight of Muslims, in Post-partition India [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=P8h1YvRF8gQC&pg=PA235&dq=Garam+Hawa&lr=&sig=ACfU3U13KWWaY5MmPmjopOgPsQWO6v_3VQ Secularism and Popular Cinema:Shyam Benegal] "The Crisis of Secularism in India: Gandhi, Ambedkar, and the ethics of communal representation", by Anuradha Dingwaney Needham, Rajeswari Sunder Rajan. Duke University Press, 2007. ISBN 0822338467. page 234-235.] ["Our Films, Their Films", by Satyajit Ray, Orient Longman, 2005. ISBN 8125015655.Page 100-102.] , with the sole exception being, Shyam Benegal's "Mammo" (1994).

It is often credited with pioneering a new wave of Art cinema movement in India, and along side, film from an another debutant film director, Shyam Benegal, "Ankur" (1973), are considered landmarks of Indian Parallel Cinema. The movie also launched the career of actor, Farooq Shaikh.

Today, "Indiatimes Movies" ranks the movie amongst the "Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films". [http://movies.indiatimes.com/Special_Features/25_Must_See_Bollywood_Movies/articleshow/msid-1250837,curpg-12.cms 25 Must See Bollywood Movies] "Indiatimes", Oct 3, 2005.] .

Plot

Set in Agra, India in late 1940s, "Garam Hawa" is a socio-political drama about a Muslim family headed by an elderly shoe manufacturer, Salim Mirza. Salim (Balraj Sahni) is struggling to come to terms with changed realities after many of his family and friends migrate to Pakistan.

As head of the family, Mirza is facing a crucial choice to make, whether to continue the ancestral business and stay on in India or to migrate to the newly-formed state of Pakistan. Salim's brother Halim and his family migrate to Pakistan. Halim's son Kazim tries to return to India illegally across the border to marry Salim's daughter and gets arrested.

As the refugees from Pakistan start competing with Salim's business, the moneylenders refuse to invest in his business, as he might emigrate to Pakistan. Amina, Salim's daughter commits suicide after yet another lover leaves her to go to Pakistan. In face of perceived discrimination, Salim Mirza, finally decides to leave the country. On the way to the station, the family come across a communist rally proclaiming the unity of all the dispossessed, regardless of religion or caste. Salim's son, Sikandar (Farooq Shaikh), abandons his emigration plan and joins the rally.

Adaptation

The film was an adaption of Ismat Chughtai’s story by noted Urdu poet and lyricist, Kaifi Azmi. While the original story centered on a station master, stuck in the throws of Partition, Kaifi Azmi brought in his own experiences as a union leader, for the workers of a Shoe manufacturing factory, to the film. He not just changed the profession of the film’s protagonist, but also placed him right in middle of film’s emotional cauldron, as he watches his livelihood (shoe manufacturing) and family disintegrating rapidly, immediately making the trauma of the Partition personal, compared to the original story, where the protagonist is a mere observer, watching his friends and family migrate. This fulfilled the main object of the film, to show the human consequences, not social and economic consequences of a large political decision, like the Partition of India, to which none of its suffers, the people, were party, as in the words of film director, M.S. Sathyu, "“What I really wanted to expose in Garam Hawa was the games these politicians play...How many of us in India really wanted the partition. Look at the suffering it caused." [http://www.upperstall.com/films/1973/garam-hawa Review Garam Hawa, 1973] Upperstall.com.] .

The screenplay was written jointly by Kaifi Azmi, and Satyu’s wife, Shama Zaidi, with Kaifi Azmi, adding the dialogues to the film.

Production

The film was shot in location in the city of Agra, with scenes Fatehpur Sikri as well. Due to repeated local protests, owning to its controversial theme, a fake second unit, with unloaded camera were sent to, various locations to divert attention from film actual locations. As film commercial producers, had early on, backed out fearing public and governmental backlash, and ‘Film Finance Corporation’ (FFC) (now National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), stepped in later, the film was made of shoe-string budget of eight lakhs [ [http://www.planetbollywood.com/Film/GaramHawa/ "Garam Hawa" Review] "planetbollywood.com".]

Most actors in the film, baring a few were new, like Farooq Shaikh, who was making his film debut, were stage actors from Indian People's Theatre Association, (IPTA), to which film’s lead, Balraj Sahni had long been associated, for whom, this his last important film role, and according to many his finest performance [ [http://www.upperstall.com/people/balraj-sahni Balraj Sahni - Profile] "Upperstall.com".] . Badar Begum, who played, his mother, in this film, was in fact discovered in the locality where the film shot, in an old haveli.

Performance

Prior to its release the film was held by Central Board of India, for eight months, fearing communal unrest, but film’s director persisted and showed it to government officials, leaders and journalists. Finally the film was released and to both critical and commercial success . Today it is noted for its sensitive handing to the controversial issue, dealt in only a few Indian films [http://www.filmreference.com/Films-Fr-Go/Garam-Hawa.html Review Garam Hawa] ] , like "Kartar Singh" (1959) (Pakistani film) [ [http://www.upperstall.com/films/1959/kartar-singh Kartar Singh - Review] "Upperstall.com".] , Manmohan Desai's "Chhalia" (1960), Yash Chopra's "Dharamputra" (1961), Govind Nihalani's "Tamas" (1986), Pamela Rooks' Train to Pakistan (1998), Manoj Punj's "Shaheed-e-Mohabbat Boota Singh" (1999), Anil Sharma's "" (2001) and Chandra Prakash Dwivedi's "Pinjar" (2003).

Ironically, in the subsequent National Film Awards, it was awarded, the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration.

Cast

* Balraj Sahni - "Salim Mirza"
* Geeta Siddharth - "Amina Mirza"
* Farooq Shaikh - "Sikander Mizra"
* Dinanath Zutshi - "Halim"
* Badar Begum - "Salim's mother"
* Shaukat Kaifi
* A. K. Hangal
* Abu Siwani - "Baqar Mirza"
* Jalal Agha - "Shamshad"
* Jamal Hashmi - "Kazim"

Awards

Academy Awards

* 1974: Indian submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Cannes Film Festival

* 1974:Cannes Film Festival: Golden Palm - Nominated. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073034/awards Awards] "Internet Movie Database".]

National Film Awards

* 1974: 1974 Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration

Filmfare Awards

* 1975:Filmfare Best Dialogue Award- Kaifi Azmi
* 1975:Filmfare Best Screenplay Award- Shama Zaidi, Kaifi Azmi
* 1975:Filmfare Best Story Award- Ismat Chughtai, Kaifi Azmi

Further reading

* "Three Hindi Film Scripts", by Kafi Azmi and Shama Zaidi, 1974.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=t5Om460VaOQC&pg=PA100&dq=Garam+Hawa&lr=&sig=ACfU3U2ZYAdbCk-jexD6_u72z2zdvwTQsg#PPA101,M1 Four and a Quarter] "Our Films, Their Films", by Satyajit Ray, Orient Longman, 2005. ISBN 8125015655.Page 100-102.
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=lSGvpZAgReQC&pg=PA186&dq=Garam+Hawa&lr=&sig=ACfU3U1Gg5BFDvWPgIyfG6yLkcDeSHeKCA#PPA186,M1 Garam Hawa ( Hot Winds) 1973] "Limiting Secularism: The Ethics of Coexistence in Indian Literature and Film", by Priya Kumar, University of Minnesota Press, 2008. ISBN 0816650721. Page 186-187.

References

External links

*
* [http://www.upperstall.com/films/garamhawa.html Review on UpperStall.com]
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-708949022277691882&ei=um23SID1N5KywgON873gDA&q=Garam+Hawa+(1973)&vt=lf "Maula Salim Chishti" -- Garam Hawa (1973)]