The incongruous journey of a bygone auteur

Nowadays, I generally limit my film criticism bug to posting chuckle-some one liners for the pleasure of my virtual friends/readers/followers; but I guess this particular documentary 'Saeed Mirza - The Leftist Sufi' - which I was invited to view last evening at the Jagran Film Festival by my dear friend - who thankfully dared to conceive it in the first place - Kireet Khurana-deserves more than just a cheeky one liner to amplify the depth and importance of the contribution of the auteur, Saeed Akhtar Mirza.

Contrary to the perceptions that one may form with just a glimpse at the title of the documentary, it discusses a lot more than just Mirza's political ideology or his never-ending journey in finding the meaning of life.

Personally, I was completely ignorant of the fact that all those movies which I used to mostly refer to when in a fix while playing Dumb Charades with friends on Hindi movie titles were some of the most memorable and arguably cult status work of this auteur. He only made five feature films between the years 1978 and 1995, but each one held a mirror to the society and provoked it to ask questions.

His filmography includes Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan (1978), Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai (1980), Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho! (1984), Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989) and finally Naseem (1995). Each of these dared to question various socioeconomic issues that are still very much existent in the so called 'New Age India', and sadly will stay relevant even for years to come.

While the documentary has several eminent and contemporary film makers speaking on their associations with Mirza at various stages of their lives (personally as well as professionally), the show-stealer and rightly so is Mirza himself as he revisits most of the locations in and around the city of Mumbai, which in his heart will always be 'Bombay' from the time he has seen the city evolve in front of his eyes.

As my friend Kireet rightly puts it, "This documentary traverses with Saeed from the harsh, unforgiving underbelly of Mumbai to the vast tranquil spaces of Ladakh. In this visual contrast, we see the transition of Saeed, a filmmaker filled with angst, to a calmer, poetic guiding light. The world is perhaps moving further away from Saeed’s ideals of a compassionate and humane place. Saeed feels poetry is missing, but also firmly believes it can be retrieved."

Speaking on the technicalities, for a 75 minutes docu-feature, the narrative is seamless and the cinematography is well handled by the co-director N. Padmakumar. The music holds the narrative together and in isolation could make for a brilliant soundtrack album. There are a few places where the audiography is a little patchy, but that's also an indication of the honestly with which the makers wanted to capture Mirza at his vulnerable best, is my inference.

I would urge anyone and everyone who is reading it to certainly not miss out on any future festival screening opportunities to watch this brilliantly captured and encapsulated docu-feature on one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in India during the late 20th Century. And while it may be simplistic and minimalistic in its approach, but it entirely justifies its necessity to bring alive the story of this phoenix, who we all hope sooner than later rises once again from the ashes and gives us more food for thought with his realistic storytelling on the large canvas.

Thank You Kireet for introducing me to such a revolutionary film maker with your work!