Half Widow – Review by Shuja Tasleem

Date:


Half Widow” is a label tagged to women whose husbands fell prey to military-run enforced disappearances during the early ’90s in the valley of Kashmir.

Till date, the family members of those who were taken away by the men in boots without any reason are still waiting for their return. With no clue about the whereabouts those people, as per reports over 8000 people are still missing; leaving behind wounded relations back home.

Most of the people who were forcibly taken out of their homes were either teenagers; the fight for whom is being fought by “Half Mothers”, while many of them were newly married grooms; the demand of justice for whom is been carried till date by “Half Widows”.

It’s really important to understand the misery the word “Half” holds in a tag like “Half Mother” or “Half Widow”. Till date, neither the dead bodies nor any sign of them being alive has surfaced. Thus “Half Widow” is a state of a dilemma – whether her husband is dead or alive – that a wife of the person taken away by army men is living for the last 30 years.

Though there is one theory that suggests that the unnamed, unidentified mass graves found in few villages of Kashmir might be of those who have been labeled as “disappeared” in Kashmir.

Unfortunately, till date, the government has never allowed human rights organizations to let the families of disappeared people investigate who all have been buried in these graves.


Now that we all have an idea about the context of Half Widow, I want to go ahead and put forth my views about the movie – Half Widow starring Ms. Sheikh Neelofar and Mr. Mir Sarwar, directed by Mr. Danish Renzu.


The picture portrays the journey of Neela which has been beautifully enacted by Ms. Neelofar and as she embarks on her journey of being a bride to searching the whereabouts of her husband Khalid Beigh, enacted by Mr. Sarwar, Neela finds her inner self and that is the beauty of this movie. The poster of the picture put together with the title of this movie is a perfect description of Half Widow: Liberation from inner demons.

The movie Half Widow is not just a story of resilience, longing, and patience, it is also a story that unravels many otherwise neglected aspects like ordinary day to day social transactions of any war-torn life.

There is just enough – neither too much nor too little – importance given to the political aspect of the story, which is something I personally liked. The pivotal factor that keeps a viewer anchored to the story until the end is to find how Neela will find her closure.


Besides its amazing cinematography that has captured the scenic beauty of Kashmir and its great music – both local folk songs as well as the new ones, the movie has also done a great portrayal of Kashmiri heritage and culture. One gets to see the marvelous Sufi architectural sites located at the old town of Srinagar as well as the preparation of picturesque “paper mâché” items being carried out by local artists. Though if you happen to be a fan of Mr. Noor Mohd, the famous rabab player of Kashmir, there is so much you can to go and watch this movie for.


Been said it all, though I must tell that there comes a point where a viewer feels that the focus of the movie starts to get diluted away with so much happening simultaneously and screenplay slows down a bit, but it soon finds its way back. Being a Kashmiri, I am proud to see a tale from Kashmir being told by a Kashmiri to the entire world.


To sum it up, some stories need to be told and Half Widow is one of them. Go, watch it now.


Author: Shuja Tasleem
You can reach Shuja at [email protected]

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