Real lives can be more inspiring than reel lives, both in
life and in death. Shahid, based on the life of Shahid Azmi, criminal lawyer
murdered for defending a 26/11 accused, is one such riveting watch.
It takes rare courage to live a life like Shahid did. It
takes a genuine voice like director Hansal Mehta(‘Chal’ and Dil Pe Mat Le
Yaar’),to showcase the same life within logistic restrictions.
The film begins at a small chawl in the by lanes of Govandi
in Mumbai in 1993 amidst Hindu Muslim riots. The residents, Shahid and
his family miraculously escape death.
The fear in the tiny room is taut and palpable as the family of 4 grown up boys
cling to their mother in desperation.
Traumatized by the attacks he has just witnessed, Shahid runs away to Pakistan
occupied Kashmir and joins a Jihaadi camp to train as a terrorist. Every day
the leader brainwashes the recruits into willingly becoming suicide bombers.
Shahid questions the leader, “If Quran does not permit suicide, how is it
right?” This questioning attitude and Jihaadis’ utter ruthlessness, makes
Shahid run back home. He immerses himself in his studies, as if determined to
find answers in his books. Unfortunately, he is arrested soon for being
associated with the Jihadis. In Tihar jail, he meets his true mentors who help
him continue his education. Few years later, Shahid is proved innocent and
released.
The real story begins here. The film follows Shahid’s life
as a lawyer who takes up challenging cases of innocents falsely implicated in
acts of terrorism. He ignores life threats and phone calls by terrorists, tries
unsuccessfully to balance his own married life and continues with his one man
battle against the system where the police catch hold of anyone remotely
connected
.
The film goes deep into two such cases, showing real and
rare glimpses of court trails. Every single scene and interaction with defence
lawyers and victims, is laced with subtle humour and irony. The battleground of
courtroom becomes the viewer’s drawing room as the involvement with Shahid’s
life gets real.
Better production values and camera work and a tighter
script (Sameer Gautam Singh,Apoorva Asrani,Hansal Mehta) might have taken
Shahid to a finer level in cinematic values. However, the story itself told
with passion, the docu drama treatment and fantastic, controlled performances
by Raj Kumar Yadav as Shahid, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayuub as Shahid’s supportive brother and Vipin
Sharma as prosecuting lawyer, together, make the film a gripping watch.
Shahid, a runner up in
Gold category at MAMI festival, will hopefully release soon. Watch it to
enjoy honest cinema and to know true
heroism.
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