Based on a true story, ‘Faraaz’ portrays the tale of innocent people losing lives to radicalization and religious brainwashing, which is cancer in today’s modern world.
A terrifying hostage crisis unfolds over one fateful night in 2016 when five heavily armed militants attack a popular cafe in Dhaka, with guns and grenades.
They opened fire, took diners hostage and killed at least 22 people (mostly foreigners) in a span of 12 hours. Hansal Mehta recreates and reimagines the dreadful night that led to the loss of innocent lives.
Central to this story is a privileged Muslim, Faraaz Hussein (Zahan Kapoor), who was with two non-Muslim girls and refused to leave without them, resigning himself to the same fate of getting murdered.
Faraaz questions and challenges the Islamic fanaticism even at gunpoint. “You think you are a revolutionary? You are just a bully with a gun”, he retorts.
Nibras argues, “There was a time when Islam ruled the world and all Muslims lived in golden palaces.” The militants wish to rule the world while Faraaz speaks of peaceful coexistence, telling him that his Islam was one of peace as opposed to Islamic violence, who just borrowed a few convenient phrases from the Quran in order to justify violence.
The movie was short, violent, dramatic, thrilling, emotional, tragic, suspenseful and interesting.
Hansal Mehta’s Faraazis about standing up to bigotry. It is also about protecting the flame of faith that could guide the young out of the morass of prejudice.