NASEEM *

I think a knowledge of Indian politics is, if not absolutely necessary, then certainly helpful in any appreciation of Saeed Akhtar Mirza's "Naseem" which deals in the main with an act of violence and its terrible aftermath. It was made in 1995, three years after the events it portrays and was probably a brave film for India to make at the time, (or indeed at any time), but Mirza 'hides' his political message in the story of a young girl and her grandfather and what it's like to grow up in a politically astute but very ordinary family.

Naseem is the young girl in question and life is seen through her eyes. It's certainly a heartfelt movie but as an outsider I didn't find it very engaging and the form it sometimes takes, (the grandfather narrates historical stories which are acted out and may not be all that reliable), can be confusing. On the plus side, Mirza's realistic approach to family life could have come quite easily from the likes of Ken Loach and these scenes of interrupted domesticity are the best in the film. It's an ambitious picture but even at a crisp 89 minutes it feels as if it has bitten off more than it can chew. The murky colour doesn't help either; this is a film that would have been better in black and white.