Firaaq... a riot-formula film?

How much did you like ‘Firaaq’—the film by Nandita Das?
I was impressed by actors of the movie. The film is based upon the riots of Gujrat and its aftermath. A difficult and sensitive subject. Characters were portrayed real. The people— victims, perpetrators and those who watched silently… were enacted with great finesse. Even small characters like rickshaw driver, cops and locals were very good. But…
Here comes a ‘but’.
Storywise it is a ‘riot formula film’. It is proclaimed that Firaaq traces ‘the emotional journey of ordinary people. As an ensemble film, it follows multiple narratives that are at some times interconnected and at times discreet, yet all are united by their spatial and emotional context.’ But this is how news channels have reported it. I expected more from the film. I expected it to go beyond the news channel stories. It should have made a statement. Firaaq is a vividly reconstructed docudrama but remains short of a great feature film.
One is immediately reminded of ‘Parzania’-the excellent film on the subject. That is Rahul Dholakia’s debutant film as Firaaq is Nandita’s debutant film. We seek fresh viewpoints and insights in such subjects not just a smart reportage. It is not to underestimate Nandita’s talent, but the fact is that the film is too predictable, too pretentious. It is all Déjà Vu.
And the ending seems very contrived. Because the story wasn’t moving any further and the ‘sequences’ were already finished, one had to put ‘the End’ title. Tiring. And it all gets over too soon. Where is the proper story? Where is the culmination of plot? Where is the feature film?
Sunshine of the film is the acting. Nandita should get due credit as a director for the performances’ galore. And the camera work is superb. I know, it is risky to point out shortcomings of an ‘award winning, bold’ film but somebody must put forth the unbiased view.
When we are talking about serious cinema it is irresponsible to ignore.