The delicate relationship between a 15-year-old girl and her grandfather is used to describe how the growing political tensions between Muslems and Hindus in 1992 led to the destruction of a medieval Muslim mosque and subsequently, violent rioting in the streets of Bombay. Naseem (urdu: sahar) means Morning breeze, and charts the story of a young school going girl Naseem in the months leading up to the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992. She shares deep and loving bond with his ill grandfather who represents the era of communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims in India, as he fondly recalls the times he spent in pre-Independent Agra. As communal tension erupts in the city of Bombay, Naseem get increasingly bewildered by changing dynamics at her school and in the neighborhood, while her grandfather watches helplessly at a city getting deeply divided over the Babri Masjid issue.—Rashid Ashraf ([email protected])
Naseem (The Morning Breeze)
1995 | 120 mins | Hindi | Social
Based around the Babri Masjid demolition of 1992, Naseem draws parallels between two generations and the conflicting situations that govern their contrasting worlds. Naseem is a young inquisitive school girl and shares a intensely loving bond with her grandfather, who belongs to an era replete with harmony between the Hindu & Muslims. With days leading up to the imminent demolition of the Babri Masjid, he watches helplessly as the world he had once known to exist is betrayed of its peace and is unfortunately a world in which his naïve & beloved granddaughter will ultimately belong to.
