Coloured Lens

The film Garam Hawa depicts a rapidly changing socio-economic milieu in the newly created Indian state. The shareef family is made vulnerable to a number of threats. Out of all the members of Salim Mirza’s family, I am most interested in the opportunists, found in the characters of Halim Mirza and his brother in law. The former soon moves to Pakistan after claiming allegiance to his political affiliations in India. Lured in by better economic prospects, he abandons his political career and moves permanently to Pakistan (contrary to the assurances he gives of returning). Similarly, his brother in law shifts his loyalty from the Muslim League to the Congress and is rewarded by a raise in social stature. What is noteworthy is the way the author/director chooses to portray these particular characters; Salim Mirza is the obvious hero while the others are depicted as being almost treacherous. This begs the question of whether there exists an ‘ideal’ Muslim in the mind of the author of this story/movie. In my opinion, the hero of this story is in fact more akin to a victim. The gaze on the story seems to come from a biased perspective that is hardly sympathetic to the plight of the disintegrating shareef household.