Did you know this was actually a pretty influential movie of it's time? Apparently it caused "a wave of Art Cinema in India." A quick Wiki run proved more enlightening than I expected (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garm_Hava)
So the one thing I love in this movie are the costumes. They are this great throwback to the 70's and really get the whole shareef family vibe going. Kind of reminded me of a few outfits I used to see in my grandmother's paitee. Critically speaking though, I felt the costumes were important in depicting what was essentially a comfortably well-off family, bent on safeguarding its morals and values. The elaborate ghararas, the sherwaani and topis, the white dupattas all point to a community that literally wears its sharafat. And I think that is one of the larger narratives in this film; it is the precedence that communal values take over nationalism for the Mirza family, while the world crashes around their ears. There is a religious responsibility that each member feels, from Dadda to Salim Mirza and they all seem to have this acute divine sensibility that drives them forward. Dadi is a particularly obvious symbol of this, hiding in the woodshed and crying about what "jawaab" she will give to her husband in heaven, while being carried out of the haveli- the symbol of their ancestry. One would think that some family member would get with the program. But as far as I can see, most characters are passively accepting their fate, save for Amina who won't let a new opportunity fly away in the form of a potential new man. Go girl.
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