Lines
Cast: Hina Khan, Rishi Bhutani, Farida Jalal, Zahid Qureshi, Ahmer Haider, Rani Bhan, Lalita Tapasvi
Director: Hussein Khan
Partition as a subject can be very touchy to deal with, which is why filmmakers have time and again treated it as a treasure trove for their stories. The subsequent conflict between the two lands, which led to uncountable stories, and relationships being lost into oblivion never fails to strike a chord.
Lines, the film that took Hina Khan to Cannes, set against the backdrop of the 1999 Kargil War and the political unrest in the Valley, revolves around similar emotions. The story revolves around a young and independent bike-riding woman Naziya, whose mundane routine sees a change when she decides to reunite her grandmother with her sister who is currently in Pakistan. Born and brought up in Poonch, a district that is bordered by the Line of Control on three sides, Naziya does not lack courage or spontaneity.
On her quest of uniting the two sisters, she falls in love with a guy from Pakistan, Nabeel (Rishi Bhutani), and after an initial phase of hesitation, both the families consent to their marriage.
However, amid their new beginning, the war breaks out and it becomes more difficult to get the legalities sorted before she can move to her in-laws’ house on the other side of the border.
This cross border love story tries to emphasize the philosophy of whether a border should exist between two lands that are so similar to each other. Despite being repeated throughout the film, only the surface of this philosophy is scratched, leaving the idea in its generic form. It also tries to throw light on the plight of the people of Kashmir who are amid a war-prone situation.
The plot will undoubtedly invoke several emotions because we see two sisters reunite, we see an Indian fall in love with a Pakistani, and we witness the war draw a line between the characters. But these emotions are supposed to make one sorrowful, and apart from these obvious emotional triggers, there is hardly anything the story offers in this zone. It however has its endearing moments where Nazia anxiously waits for her husband’s calls or even think of treading the illegal path to reunite with him. Hina beautifully brings out the helplessness and desperation of her character and these are the moments that can make the film memorable.
Lines, however, could not escape from the clutches of the typical Bollywood elements and the makers sprinkled the desi flavour here and there. For instance, we understand the couple have fallen in love as they couldn’t help themselves from dancing on the ‘haseen vaadiyans’ of Kashmir, or Naaziya’s ‘Geet’-like enthusiasm that tries to set her apart from others, and attracts the guy towards her.
Though the Kargil war is the backdrop and it changes the course of narrative for the characters, we only get to see its impact in the last 20 minutes of the film. Those few minutes see a beautiful and exciting story unfold, albeit being predictable.
Even with all that, the film is an honest attempt at talking of stories that can get lost very easily without leaving a trace. Hina shines throughout the film, Rishi utilized his limited screen time well, and Farida Jalal is the quintessential grandmother once again, but not the one you will get tired of.
All in all, Lines stands out for showing the horrors of war and separation and invokes several emotions in people without actually showing the war or imposing over the top nationalism. It leaves a bittersweet taste and makes us think about the people on the other side of the line, with whom we share the same land, same history but are taught to maintain the estranged bond.
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