Rahat Kazmi’s 87-minute movie is a straight-to-web production that has somehow found its way to the theatres. Kazmi examines the horrors of the Partition through Saadat Hasan Manto stories Khol Do, Thanda Gosht, Aakhri Salute and Assignment. These stories talk about the manner in which the division of India and the creation of Pakistan caused neighbours and childhood friends to become bloodthirsty enemies. A Sikh man’s libido is awakened by the daily looting of jewellery and slaughter of Muslims. A father is separated from his daughter while trying to escape murderous mobs. A Pakistani and Indian soldier rekindle their childhood friendship while guarding border posts in Kashmir. An elderly man who is dying remembers the Sikh neighbour who would come over every year for Id.
These age-old bonds have been altered forever by the Partition, but Kazmi is ill-placed to capture the emotional upheaval and the punch of Manto’s stories. The acting is largely amateurish, the scenes are poorly paced and directed, and the production is far too tacky for the big screen. Manto deserves better, as does the Partition.
