Customer Reviews

Pinjar [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Against the background of the traumatic partition of Pakistan and India, this movie tells the story of a woman (Puro/Hamida)whose life is swept away by events that she does not control or understand, but who refuses to surrender entirely to them.

Puro (a hindu girl) is kidnapped by Rashid (a muslim man)the day before her marriage as an act of vengeance in a feud between their two families. As a hindu of her cast, Puro's life is finshed because she has been tainted by the kidnapping and her family reject her. She must now accept the marriage offer of Rashid, her captor, who is in love with her.

However, Puro makes it clear that this marriage is an act of desperation and that she absolutely hates her captor/husband. This way begins her new life as Hamida. And from this point Rashid begins his efforts to win his wife's heart and to find redemption for the sin which he feels he has committed against her. The opportunity to prove his worth to his beloved Hamida comes with the brutal events of the partition, when some hindu victims of the ethnical violence are in need of his help and he generously provides it.

In this troubled time, however, Hamida is not passive, but also helps as she can, sometimes to the point of risking her life. And when the oportunity to reach a final decission about her own life finally comes, she finds she has changed ...

The story ends with a voice in off asking the audience to think about how, most of times, women have to suffer a fate they have done nothing to choose or bring about. In contrast, the film shows us the main character, Hamida, finally making a choice.

I must add that this film, appart form being a beautful story beautiffully told, has some of the best music I've ever heard, and some of the best acting and photograph as well, above Indian standards.

"Pinjar" portrays the life of a young Hindu girl named Puro as it unfolds during the separation of Pakistan from India. A Mulsim man named Rashid kidnaps her the night before her wedding as an act of revenge against her father. As planned, Puro's kidnapping brings her family into social disgrace, and they refuse to accept her back once she has been violated; she has no choice but to marry Rashid. While it is obvious that Puro is an innocent victim of the vengeance between the two families, it is less obvious that Rashid is just as much an innocent victim. The same combination of vengeance and traditional gender roles that shape Puro into someone passive and helpless, force Rashid to be an aggressor against his will.

The movie spends a lot of time idealizing Puro's youthfulness. The early musical numbers dramatize her relationship with her brother and portray her as bringing joy to her family through her beauty and playfulness. This idealization sets up her fall from grace, and stands in sharp contrast to the weeping figure she becomes after Rashid kidnaps her. She is powerless in the situation, subject to the whims of Rashid and his family.

Rashid, too, is captive to the wishes of his family. It is revealed later in the movie that his uncles had plotted his kidnapping of Puro, and that he had not chosen to do it himself. His uncles continue to control his relationship with Puro. They later take away a baby she adopts against Rashid's will, as well. Rashid is distraught at his wife's misfortune, and cannot stand her sadness. He truly falls in love with her and wishes for her happiness, and is torn because he knows that he is the source of her unhappy fate.

Both Puro and Rashid are trapped in an ongoing duel between the men in their families, neither one having the power to escape the roles of aggressor and aggressee. For different reasons-Puro because she wants to return to her old life with her family, and Rashid because he falls in love with Puro-they both seek a way out of the roles they have been forced to play.

The movie ends with Rashid performing a heroic act which places Puro in the position of power. He relinquishes his control over her and unlocks both himself and Puro from the roles they have been forced into. At this moment, Puro makes a humble and empowered decision that will change the fate of both of their lives.

Note: Hindi with English subtitles.

An honest, poignant tale set in Pakistan just prior to the 1947 partition of Pakistan from India. Puro (Urmila Matondkar), a young Hindi girl is kidnapped shortly before her wedding by Rashid (Manoj Bajpai) a Muslim man from a neighboring village. The kidnapping is in retaliation of a wrong commited some years earlier.

In spite of the grief felt by Puro's family the Father refuses to go to the authorities and fight for her release. After all she is only a daughter, the cost of paying for help from a corrupt police force simply wasn't worth the money and the trouble it would cause between himself and the authorities as well as the local Hindu and Muslim communities. Thus Puro is left to make the best of it.

The hardships and disappointments suffered by Puro in her new life and marriage to Rashid become a micocosm of the larger problems facing the diverse community-at-large comprised of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. Problems that eventually lead to the partition of Pakistan which will forever end any chance Puro has to return to her family and the man she was supposed to wed.

In a surprising turn of events one final opportunity to return to her family presents itself through the generosity of Rashid and Puro must decide for herself where she truly belongs.

In recent years India has begun to produce some marvelous films. 'Pinjar' is not only one of the best, but it's also quite unique in its directorial approach. While there is music and dancing as in all Indian films it's much more melancholy in nature, reflecting the hopelessness and turmoil of the times. Also unlike most Bollywood films there is no mixing of genres, no moving back and forth between drama and comedy, between tears and slapstick. There is no diversion from the storyline, no relief from the harsh, heartbreaking reality unfolding before your eyes.

A near flawless production! Magnificent cinematography, haunting soundtrack and superb acting. Urmila Matondkar proves herself to be not only beautiful to look at but an incredibly gifted actress. Also brilliant performance by Manoj Bajpai

This movie is set in 1947 around the time India was partitioned and Pakistan was created.
Entralling story by renowned writer Amrita Pritam Singh with Manoj Bajpai and Urmilla displaying some of the best acting I have ever seen. Manoj Bajpai's acting was especially astounding.

The sets look very authentic and the haunting cinematography is par excellence. Don't know why this movie was rated R because movies with similar or greater levels of violence have been rated PG-13. It maybe because of differences in US and Indian movie ratings scales.
Hard to find a weak spot in this film. One area where it could be improved is the action sequences which were sometimes a bit amateurish.
Overall a FANTASTIC movie.

Another great film from a genre (India Pakistan Partition) that teeters on the cusp of being throughly worn out. So many films have been made on this topic that one may begin to think, "Oh, please not another Partition film.", but this one is quite refreshing with its creative story and directing/acting. You may or may not like the ending, but the sad topic of India and Pakistan's partition is one that makes it difficult to find happy endings. It simply isn't black and white and Pinjar does justice to the complexities of this subject.

A tense account of what happens to a young Hindu woman kidnapped by a Muslim in an act of family revenge, at the time of India's partition. Her struggles to find a reason to live and her evolving relationship with the kidnapper/husband unfold onscreen as traumatic political history unfolds around them. Intense, haunting and moving drama, excellent acting by the principals, great cinematography.

Urmila has been known more for her looks and dancing than her acting, and in this film she is given a fine opportunity to demonstrate her true talent. She is well-covered up from start to finish! I was really surprised at how great she was in this film, much as I like seeing SRK deliver an understated performance sometimes, as in Swades or Chak de India. Her husband is played by Manoj Bajpai, and his expressive face conveys so much in addition to his overall acting skills. You will not believe that you can feel this much compassion for a man who has kidnapped his wife.

Somehow Indian filmmaking steps up a notch when it deals with the era of the partition or the relations between Hindu and Musilm in later decades till today, and this is the latest achievement in cinema's attempts to convey the turbulence and trauma that this ongoing strife induces. The story in Pinjar captivates as it educates.

Pinjar is truly one of the best Indian movies I have seen.

Excellent movie - it's not all song and dance. The musical numbers were appropriate for the scenes. This is a very emotional movie that really made me think about the constraints of the society - the limitations of women and the enormous pressure to uphold family honour, even when doing so brings harm to the innocent. This was also a movie about atonement - trying to make up for the wrongs that were done. It was also about forgiveness and acceptance. I watched it every day for the first four days after I received it.

Arrival--very timely

disappointed that the DVD has few skips in it.

I will try cleaning it & hopefully they are minor.