Parzania -- Filmmaker, actress stands by film

Tony Tharakan

Filmmaker stands by controversial film on Godhra riots
Despite the strong reactionevoked by his film based on the Godhra riots,filmmaker Rahul Dholakia has said he is ready toscreen 'Parzania' in Ahmedabad. "If we filmmakers do not express our thoughts, weare as guilty of the crime as those that committedit," he told reporters at the International FilmFestival of India here.

Dholakia, who hasn't managed to find a distributorfor the film, said he wanted more people to see thefilm and was ready to take it to schools anduniversities for private viewings. "I am ready to show the film even in Ahmedabad,"he said.

The world premiere of 'Parzania', depicting thetravails of a Parsi couple who lose their son to theGodhra riots, had been marred by a fracas on Saturdayafter some audience members alleged it was "biased andportrayed Hindus in a bad light."

The film, based on a true story, had been passedby the Censor Board with only a few minor audio cuts,Dholakia said. "I don't think a screening of my film will lead toviolence. It's not a pro-community film. It'spro-humanity," he said. "Everyone is entitled to their opinion. It's afilm bound to provoke discussions," he added.

However, the director blamed the media for playingup the reactions of a minor section of the audience. "We made the film with a great sense ofresponsibility as we didn't want to miss with it. Itis sad that the media forgot about all the audiencememebers who praised the film," Dholakia said.

Sarika bats for the controversial 'Parzania'
Standing by her controversialEnglish film 'Parzania,' actress Sarika has said sheagreed to act in the flick because of its strongscript. Based on a real-life incident during thepost-Godhra riots of 2002, filmmaker Rahul Dholakia's'Parzania' portrays the travails of a Parsi couple(Sarika and Naseeruddin Shah) trying to trace theirmissing 10-year-old son.

"The riots are a delicate issue and it is not easyto make a film on such a topic. I agreed to do itbecause the script had been written with maturity anda sense of responsibility," Sarika said yesterday. 'Parzania' also stars Emmy-award winning actor Corin Nemec, Raj Zutshi and Parzaan Dastur.

Famous for her roles as a child star in the 1970s,Sarika recently returned to face the camera after adecade-long hiatus. "I have signed five more films although I am not ina position to reveal more about them," the actress told PTI here.

After power-packed performances in 'Parzania' andRuchi Narain's 'Kal - Yesterday and Tomorrow', Sarikaseems to have many more filmmakers queuing up outsideher door.

Film on Godhra leads to fracas at IFFI