Jannat Ki Talash

Jannat Ki Talash is a 1999 Pakistani film which won the Nigar Award for Best Film of the Year for 1999.^[1]

Plot summary

Jannat Ki Talash is a film set in the time when Pakistan was newly created, and still some Muslims remained in India, who thought of Pakistan as their future homeland. The film beautifully scripted by the senior director Hassan Askari and is about a Pakistani girl Salma (Resham) whose life is changed, once living in India. Shaan loves her, who was her cousin living in newly made Pakistan.

Her brother is getting married, and celebrations are on their way, but Indians and Sikhs (Saud) come and wreck the wedding. They brutally kill everyone including Salma's parents in front of her eyes, they take all the women and children, but Salma escapes. All her immediate family has died off in Pakistan. So she wanders off on the streets of India, then she finds a Muslim group which is going to Pakistan. She, too, follows them with hope that this way she would meet her extended family to have a better life in Pakistan.

She squeezes into an ox-driven cart as she gives up on life. As everything looks peaceful and fine, Saud and his large group of 'Muslim-haters' arrive and hide behind the distant trees. Within minutes, they murder the innocent Muslims, even children with fire and swords. They take the women in their arms and kill the older ones. Saud finds Salma behind the wheel of a cart and lifts her with her hair and takes her, although she tries to commit suicide in order to protect her dignity but does not succeed. He takes her to his home and shows her to his father (Shafqat Cheema) who declines to co-operate with him, and tells him to take her to Pakistan, Saud says no and says he wants to marry the Muslim girl, but first wants to make her a Sikh.

As she wakes up, she pleads to go to Pakistan, her Jannat (imagined paradise). Saud forces her to become a Sikh and marry him, she protests and declines all along during this period. In the meantime, Khusboo is also introduced in the film, she loves Saud very much.

Salma is used as a slave to the family of Indians, Saud's mother loses her temper with her, and slaps and slams her to the floor, Khushboo also beats her up. Salma, now in tears, says once again let me go to Pakistan, Khushboo drags her from her hair and throws her outside. Resham again protests for freedom, and touches Khushboo's heart, and Khushboo lets her go. She runs in the open area towards Pakistan, but Saud, on his horse, finds her and chases after her. In that time, Saud's father comes to protect her.^[2]

She eventually gets to Pakistan, her dream her paradise, but finds no better results, as an older man tries to take advantage of her even after calling her 'his sister'. Resham escapes but again got trapped by four drunken people, she calls them her Paksiatani brothers but they try to rape her and in her defense, Resham snatches one of their guns and kills the trappers . Shaan finds out and stands up for her in court, where the film had begun. Resham tells the story of what had happened to her and the judge releases her and Shaan takes her in his arms.

Cast

• Resham
• Shaan
• Sana
• Saud
• Khushboo
• Abid Ali
• Shafqat Cheema

Awards

References

External links