Shahid

I could not catch this flick in the theatre... It was a busy weekend and my hubby was not too keen. I had been looking for the DVD since its release. Why are DVDs released so late (Jan'14)??? Why can't the DVD be out in the market as soon as it is out of the theatres? It is surprising that such a highly rated movie did not run for the 2nd week anywhere. What is a movie buff like me supposed to do? Why can't there be separate theatres for such films?

I finally managed to find a good copy online. The earlier torrents were not so great and I waited for the good one.


The flick is about Shahid Azmi who was a lawyer in Mumbai fighting for rights of Muslims who were wrongly arrested for terrorism. I did not know much about Shahid. I was in Mumbai when he was assassinated and read about it. Shahid had seen the riots in Mumbai when he was young. Disillusioned, he joined the training camp in Pakistan but later ran away. After that, he was arrested by the police under POTA and kept in prison for 5-7 years. He completed his studies in the prison and pursued law after getting acquitted. He became a defence lawyer and defended people wrongfully arrested on terrorism charges. Of course, in the process, his personal life suffered. He worked long hours and was never around enough for his wife and child. His mother and brothers supported him, emotionally and financially, which helped him work for many cases pro bono.

He was assassinated due to the 17 acquittals in 7 years. Many of them were accused for bomb blasts in Mumbai and Maharashtra. A lot of crap was written about him in papers since people assumed he freed terrorists.

Shahid is played by Rajkumar in the movie. I have liked this actor since 'Love, Sex or Dokha' days. He has been picking the right movies. The movie is directed by Hansal Mehta and produced by Anurag Kashyap. Anurag is an angel for Bollywood... we get to see so many good movies because of him.

My hubby did not enjoy the movie but then he likes South Indian dubbed Hindi movies... so, I don't care about his judgement.

Please watch this flick... there is so much injustice around... specially if you are poor and Muslim. This is a movie about someone who was a hero but not recognized as one.

Awesome.. must watch.