Behind the clouds, the sun still shines

"There are more important things in life than revenge. Like forgiveness. Like
love."

"Pinjar" is a 2003 Indian period drama film

directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi,
based on a Punjabi novel of the same name,
written by Amrita Pritam. The movie is set
against the backdrop of Partition of India in
1947. The major theme portrayed here is the
dreadful plight experienced by women on
both sides of the border, who witnessed
many atrocities such as rape, abduction and
scraping off their identities on a large scale.

Muslim women on the Indian side of the border and Hindu women on the
Pakistani side, were forced to exchange sides and begin their lives afresh in
strange surroundings. With time, if and when they started getting accustomed
to the new atmosphere, new places and new people, they were again pulled
off their roots and claimed by the governments of their own countries, being
treated as emotionless commodities. In both newly formed Pakistan, as well
as India, the people were thirsty for each other's blood and the only emotion
that was omnipresent in the air was that of antagonism and vengeance. Most
people were not even aware of what they were fighting against. Within one
midnight, those who had peacefully lived with each other as brothers and
sisters became engaged in such a brutal rivalry. However, as a lotus blooms
even in the muddiest of waters, one cannot stop the seeds of love from
blossoming even in such conditions of animosity. The movie clearly portrays
that love is the force that is beyond all borders, beyond all hostilities and the
ultimate all-powerful weapon.

1
Puro (Urmila Matondkar) is a
young Hindu woman leading a
happy and secure life with her
family. She is engaged to a kind
young man, Ramchand (Sanjay
Suri), who is from an equally
well-off family. Puro is
mysteriously abducted by a man
called Rashid (Manoj Bajpayee).
It is clearly visible how after Puro's
Rashid is supposed to have
abduction, her family was more
committed this brutal act of
bewildered about the blot on their
kidnapping Puro due to an old
status in the society rather than the
ancestral rivalry between his and
fact that their daughter had been
Puro's families. In the past, Puro's
snatched away and would be
family had made Rashid's family
subjected to inhumane circumstances.
homeless by taking over their
Honestly, even they are not to blame
property, and Puro's uncle is also
entirely for this. It is rightly said that
believed to have kidnapped and
parents never intentionally wish ill for
raped Rashid's aunt before
their children. One cannot imagine the
releasing her. Thus, Rashid is
pain the they must have gone through
assigned the task of exacting the
when they left their own blood crying
old-sought revenge. The
and wailing outside the house. They
communal tensions and barbaric
shut the door on her,but were actually
rivalry prevailing between Hindu
victims of the social order prevailing
and Muslim communities amidst
at that time. They were well aware of
news of the imminent partition, as
the fact that even if they welcomed
well as the notion of women being
her, society would never accept their
regarded as the household's
daughter at any cost and she will face
honour is intricately woven and
only humiliation and disapprobation.
depicted in the storyline.
One of the important themes
discussed here is that of familial love
and bonding. Even if some decisions
of our family temporarily cause pain

2
and raise a question on their love, some of them are in congruence with our
long-term wellness. The bitter experience of longing as well as simultaneous
helplessness witnessed by Puro's family is a testimony to this.

Another flaming issue that comes to light is that till when will people
keep societal values, rules and regulations over and above their personal
happiness, and till when the greater good would be prioritised over one's
own good. Society and its obligations were developed for people to live
in harmony with each other. People were not made to fit into the
established moulds of the society. The institution that was built to make
their lives more organised, slowly started becoming the prison that
restricted from realising their inner happiness. The people did not govern
the society. Rather, the society governed them. In this particular case,
the confines set up by the societal norms snatched many people away
from their loved ones and denied them their identities.

What also is clearly visible is that society can push any happy and sane person
towards the wrong path. Rashid has a heart of gold, but was compelled to do
this misdeed because of the inbuilt feeling of revenge planted in him by his
community. This feeling of hatred and retribution could easily blur the line
between right and wrong, and the person is compelled to walk on the way of
destruction. The negative emotions completely blind and take over one's
rationality. It is not the individual, but his circumstances that are at fault. With
this rage taking over his mind, the person does not realise the extent to which

3
he causes harm and pain to others, and soon turns into a sadist. With every
evil deed, one loses a portion of their good side and ultimately the person they
turn out to be isn't the one they appreciate. One is degraded in their own eyes.
Retribution and revenge can never be justified on any ground. You doing
wrong with the one who mistreated you does not make your act any less wrong
or plausible. Wrong is always wrong. By extracting revenge, all we do is
engage ourselves in an endless spiral of misery. Forgiveness is the treasure to
seek in such situations, which makes a
Static Facts person glorious and stand apart from the
crowd.
Release Date-24th Oct. 2003
Director- Chandraprakash
Dwivedi
Produced by- Lucky Star
Entertainment
Story Based on-Amrita Pritam
Actors- Urmila Matondkar,
Manoj Bajpayee,
Sanjay Suri,
Kulbhushan Kalbhanda,
Isha Koppikar,
Farida Jalal, Even after all these impediments, the
Sandali Sinha, virtue that comes out is that love has, does
Pritali Chatterjee and will always prevail over everything.
Music by- Uttam Singh, The unconditional love that Rashid had
for Puro, the selfless love of Puro's
Gulzar
parents that they displayed by letting her
Cinematographer-Santosh
go, above all, the beauty of the character
Thundiyil
of Puro herself, leaves the viewers
Editor- Ballu Saluja
astounded. What kept her soul alive even
Running Time- 188 minutes
after all the torture and pain she endured
Country- India
was the love and goodness inside her. She
Languages- Hindi, did not let her sufferings consume her.
Punjabi When she learnt about the plight of
4
Ramchand and Lajjo, she did everything possible to help them get back to
India. Towards the end we see that she was given a choice to return to her
previous life but she displayed the power of unconditional love by sticking to
her husband. Rashid too got what he deserved. He had suffered so much in
life, but still was such a pure soul. Puro too realised that with time she had
developed feelings for Rashid, and had fallen for his lovable character. This
is the sole reason I find this movie complete and perfect.
The movie ends on an affirmative note, teaching us the precious virtue of
acceptance, as exemplified by the protagonist. The pursuit of happiness lies
in embracing all that life throws at us and making the best of it. It indeed
teaches us to be grateful for what is, rather than crib about what might have
been. The path to contentment is always paved with the stepping stones of
gratitude.
Thank you!!

- Tanya Singh
Political Science Department,
Miranda House