Rushdie all for Nandita!

Nandita Das has shown her forthcoming film Firaaq on the Gujarat riots to an eclectic list of people like Salman Rushdie, Deepak Chopra, Amartya Sen, Mrinal Sen and Arundhati Roy by either hosting a special screening for them or by sending them CDs.

Nandita is very excited by the response she's received from them. The most recent person to see her film was Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen.

"I'm really happy that he and others have liked my movie and have stood by me," says Nandita. "I was trying to show the film to Amartya Sen for a long time but he is a busy man and despite the fact that he wanted to see it, plans were not working out. I then sent him a CD of my film and he has really liked it. He even sent me a note after seeing the film. I have known Amartya for a long time and when he is in Delhi, we try to catch up and discuss a lot of things."

Firaaq is an Urdu word that means both 'separation' and 'quest'. The film is set in the context of the aftermath of a communal riot in Gujarat and has a fictional plot based on some true stories that trace the emotional journeys of ordinary people some of who were victims, some perpetrators and some who chose to watch silently.

Salman Rushdie and Deepak Chopra have also been touched by the humane touch Nandita has given to her film. Salman Rushdie noted, "Firaaq succeeds because it allows the humanity of its characters to shine through the darkness, even the horror, of the events it describes, and because of the skill with which the many narrative strands are interwoven."