Firaaq

2008 | Screenplay & Story: Shuchi Kothari, Nandita Das

Firaaq is an Urdu word that means both separation and quest. It is a work of fiction, set a month after the carnage took place in Gujarat, India, in 2002. It traces the emotional journeys of ordinary people over a 24-hour period - some victims, some perpetrators and some who choose to watch silently. It is an ensemble film that follows multiple narratives. What unites them is their spatial and emotional context.

A middle-class housewife closes the door on a victim and struggles to overcome her guilt. The loyalties between two best friends are tested in the times of fear and suspicion. A bunch of young victims of violence grapple with their anger and helplessness. A modern-day Muslim man struggles between his instinct to fight for his identity and the desire to assert it. A boy desperately searches for his missing father, having lost the rest of his family in the riots. An old musician clings on to his idealism, until an incident shakes his faith. Through all the characters, we experience the inevitable lingering consequences of violence, even when it is seemingly over.

View Streaming Options

A woman with a green headscarf and matching green shawl looks to the side with a serious expression. She is positioned next to a dark wall with horizontal vents.

Key Creative Credits

Producers

Harindra M. Singh, Shailendra M. Singh

Director

Nandita Das

Writers

Shuchi Kothari, Nandita Das

Full credits

Group of six men closely gathered around a wooden table, examining a handgun under a flashlight at night.

awards

2010 January Best Film Award (Critics’ Choice)
The Star Screen Awards, Mumbai, India

2010 Best Film Award
9th Imagineindia Film Festival, Madrid, Spain, May

2010 Best Story Nomination
The Star Screen Awards, Mumbai, March

2010 Best Screenplay Nomination
52nd Annual Filmfare Awards, Mumbai, January

2009 Special Jury Award
7th Vladivostok Festival of Asia-Pacific countries "Pacific Meridian", September

2009 Best Debut Feature Award
Flying Broom Ankara International Women's Film Festival, May

2009 Grand Jury Prize Honorable Mention for Best Narrative Feature
Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, April

2009 Special Jury Prize FACE
Istanbul International Film Festival, April

2009 Maverick Spirit Award
Cinequest 19 Film Festival, San Jose, February

2009 Best Feature Film Award
Kara Film Festival, February

2008 Best Editing Award
8th Dubai International Film Festival, December

2008 Best Debut Feature Award
12th International Film Festival of Kerala, December

2008 Special Jury Prize
49th Thessaloniki Film Festival, November

2008 Best Screenplay & Best Film Awards
Asian Film Festival of First Films, Singapore

A boy walks barefoot in the center of a group of seated people inside a stone structure, with soldiers in blue camouflage uniforms and helmets visible outside in the background.

Broadcasts & Public Screenings

2021 Mubi Platform (Global)

2020-2018 Amazon (worldwide)

2017 Included in curated film series “100 Indian Films” BFI London, July

2019-2016 Netflix (worldwide)

2009 March Nationwide Theatrical Release in India

Festivals

Two men with gray beards and middle eastern attire, one wearing a black cap and the other a white cap, standing outdoors near a beige building.

2010 9th Imagineindia Film Festival, Madrid, May

2009 The New India Cinema at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, June

2009 Sao Paulo International Film Festival, Brazil, October

2009 Independent FilmFest Osnabrueck Unabhaengiges, Germany, October

2009 Oslo Films from the South, Norway, November

2009 International Human Rights Film Festival in Nuremberg, Germany, September

2009 Hamburg Film Festival, Germany, September

2009 7th Vladivostok Festival of Asia-Pacific countries "Pacific Meridian", September

2009 New Zealand International Film Festival, July

2009 Durban International Film Festival, July

2009 Flying Broom Ankara International Women's Film Festival, May

2009 Off Camera Independent Film Festival, Poland, April

2009 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, April

2009 Istanbul International Film Festival, April

2009 Copenhagen International Film Festival - Asia Section, April

2009 Festival Cinematografico Internacional del Uruguay, March

2009 Amsterdam Amnesty International Film Festival, March

2009 Guadalajara Festival International de Cine - Puntos Cardinales / Cardinal Points, March

2009 London Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, March

2009 Fribourg Film Festival, Switzerland, March

2009 Bruges Cinema Novo Festival, Belgium, March

2009 Deauville Asian Film Festival, France, March

2009 Cinequest 19 Film Festival, San Jose, February

2009 Kara Film Festival, February

2009 The Tromso International Film Festival, January

2009 Palm Springs International Film Festival, January

2008 Telluride International Film Festival, September

2008 53rd Toronto International Film Festival, September

2008 8th Dubai International Film Festival, December

2008 12th International Film Festival of Kerala December

2008 49th Thessaloniki Film Festival November

2008 27th Vancouver International Film Festival, October

2008 Pusan International Film Festival, Korea, October

2008 52nd BFI London International Film Festival, October

2008 Asian Film Festival of First Films, Singapore

See more of shuchi’s work

See more moving image by Shuchi Kothari.

Film & TV