The ties that bind

The 1947 partition of India not only divided the land but also the souls of many families in two parts. Harun-Arun is one such Gujarati film directed by Indian director Vinod Ganatra, based on the India-Pakistan border issue, which has just won the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival special jury award titled The Liv Ullmann Peace Prize. The screening saw a packed house.

Vinod, who got back to Mumbai after the festival ended on November 1, 2009, spoke to DNA about his new achievement. He is from Kutch but has been born and brought up in Mumbai. The film includes lots of real life incidents from his childhood. “In Kutch, I used to see so many people who crossed the border illegally to visit the famous religious spot Haji Pir. And then they used to return to their homes. It always made me wonder if someone can cross the border for a reason like this, then there is something that never got divided in the partition,” he says.

Harun-Arun puts a message across that for a common man geographical borders mean nothing. To put it in Vinod’s words: “Laathi maarne se aap paani ko alag nahi kar sakte. Paani to ek hee rahta hai.” 

Harun-Arun is Vinod’s third film in the children’s film genre. His first film, Heda Hoda (The Blind Camel), is going to be screened on November 7 at NCPA. The film is again based on the India and Pakistan issue. His second film Lukka Chhuppi has been listed in the Limca Book of World Records as ‘the first children’s feature film fully shot at the highest altitude’ in Ladakh and Himalayas.