By Mike Collett-White
"Zero Bridge," by U.S.-born Tariq Tapa in his directorial
debut, is a low-key, partly-improvised drama about a rebellious
Kashmiri teenager who turns to petty crime in Srinagar, the
summer capital of the Indian part of the divided region.
Dilawar, who lives with an illiterate uncle after his
mother abandoned him, meets an attractive older woman Bani, and
is faced with a dilemma when he realizes that in stealing her
passport he has jeopardized her freedom and future happiness.
The film maker, whose father is a Kashmiri Muslim, believes
that in portraying the day-to-day challenges and frustrations
of people living in Srinagar, his film could prove more
political than any documentary or news bulletin.
"If you could come to care about them by the end of the
film then I think that that was in a way a more political act
than (what) a well-meaning documentary could achieve," Tapa
told reporters on Saturday in Venice, where "Zero Bridge"
screened outside the main film festival competition.
"You are just humanizing people who for so long have been
marginalized to an issue or to an exotic location."
Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in full but rule in
parts, and two of three wars between them were sparked by the
dispute. Tens of thousands have also been killed there since
armed revolt against New Delhi's rule broke out in 1989.
India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring militant groups based
in Pakistan fighting for Muslim-majority Kashmir's independence
or merger with Pakistan. Pakistan denies the charge, but says
it provides moral support for groups it sees as "freedom
fighters."
OFFICES ATTACKED, DIRECTOR THREATENED
This month has seen some of the largest pro-independence
demonstrations in Kashmir in almost 20 years, and although
"Zero Bridge" does not directly portray any unrest, it shows
how years of violence and poverty can affect the local
population.
Security is intrusive, the wheels of justice turn painfully
slowly and many young people dream of leaving Kashmir for a
better life. The film also addresses the issue of how many
unmarried women are denied basic rights by their families.
"The violence is what makes the headlines, but most
people's daily lives have to do with being frustrated and
terribly inconvenienced to the point that it just wears on
them," Tapa said. "They come to expect as a matter of routine
that they are going to be detained."
His own experiences shooting "Zero Bridge" in 2006 and 2007
reflect the level of suspicion in Kashmir.
One of the offices he set up in Srinagar during the making
of the film was attacked by an angry mob, incensed when they
heard rumors that a foreigner was making a pornographic movie.
He fled one attack on the back of a stranger's motorcycle,
and was later detained by police investigating the claims about
his project. Tapa spent weeks trying to iron out the
misunderstandings.
The director, who first visited Kashmir as a boy when his
father took him to see relatives there before the visits
stopped in 1989, cast his cousin in the main role of Dilawar
and based Bani's tragic tale on another relative's real
experiences.
(To read more about our entertainment news, visit our blog
"Fan Fare" online at http://blogs.reuters/fanfare)
(Editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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