Film review
A regular day filled with unconscious warnings
Now playing at Dutch cinemas, this Indian Dutch production premiered at IFFR 2020, winning the NETPAC award for Best Asian Film. A novel by Dilip Kumar inspired filmmaker Arun Karthick (The Strange Case of Shiva, 2015) to base Nasir on this story.
Starting with Nasir waking up, the film depicts an ordinary day in the life of this sari salesman. However, this day is all except mundane.
Meet Nasir
Since he wakes up until he comes back home from work, Nasir gets in contact with different religions in India, be it through his workplace, own religion, clients, or on the street. Oblivious to his surroundings, Nasir imagines a future ahead. He works hard for his family and disabled child, cherishes his wife and thinks about his life. However, small visual and diegetic hints show that Nasir’s bubble will explode.
From Hindu to Muslim and the spectrum in-between, filmmaker Arun Karthick transmits what Nasir doesn’t see through statues on the background, portraits of religious icons or comments of other characters on various beliefs, which makes the watch of a seemingly regular day capturing.
Muslim Representation & Tolerance
Writing poetry and imagining a new beginning after meeting an old friend, Nasir walks in his reverie, oblivious to what is happening around him in Tamil Nadu where Hindu nationalism has violently increased in the last decade. Hindu extremism is around him, but, simultaneously, it is not. Arun Karthick portrays just an infinitesimal fraction of the well-depicted Hinduism in India. The latter was on purpose, as for Nasir, religion is important but not decisive. In Indian cinema, Muslims are not the most represented group, and if they are, this is often done in a negative manner (Hussain Bhat, 2019).
In Nasir, the theme tolerance and religion go hand in hand, as the protagonist practices religion but feels comfortable accepting other’s beliefs. He tolerates the thinking of his angry boss and the comments of rude clients. Through respecting other religions he lives, but not everybody is like Nasir. By the end, the bitterness of society and lack of tolerance come to the surface — to Nasir’s life.
Rarely we see non-professional actors shine on the screen such as Koumarane Valavane does. Bringing elegance and familiarity to Nasir’s actions, Valavane effortlessly brings the character to life.
Reality vs Fiction
An actual event evoked in Arun Karthick the urgency to retell a story written in the second person which he had read a long time ago. To convey the feeling of being present, being spoken to, Karthick directs the camera as an observation of Nasir’s day, distant when he moves but close to Nasir, such as an extreme close-up of the protagonist’s ears which are not hearing what the spectator is hearing. They are mute to the violence that is happening outside. Through intertwining sound, cinematography (Saumyananda Sahi), and props in the background, Karthick announces the faith of Nasir.
Immobile and silent, the last and first shots of Nasir speak to each other and signify something different, not only for the protagonist but also for the viewer. Complete silence reigns and makes you hold your breath in complete awe. Every single activity, prop, setting, music and gesture transmit the subtle art of details in Nasir. A powerful depiction of life’s volatility and a reminder of love for one’s fellow humans.
Rating: 4 out of 5 poems.
