The impressionable, open-minded nature of youth is juxtaposed against the backdrop of rising communal tensions in Saaed Akhtar's Naseem. Beautifully traversing the coming of age archetype with a tenderness and intelligence that transcends the particular epoch in which it is set, Saaed Akhtar's Naseem manages a near ethereal sense of moral clarity in its thematic designs centered around love, communal harmony, and individual happiness. The fulcrum of this story rests between our young protagonist and her ailing grandfather, and through an elliptical narrative framework, which oscillates between past and present events, the importance of a pacifist mindset when it comes to leading a good life is exhibited beautifully. All around this young girl escalating tensions among theological persuasions grows closer to conflict with loved ones calcifying in rival factions, and yet through this gentle relationship with her grandfather, who shares stories of his life in pre-Independence India, the young girl begins to recognize that it's love not hate, happiness not anger, which are instrumental to living. Never didactic nor saccharine, despite a subject matter which could easily divulge in that direction, Saaed Akhtar's Naseem manages to be inspiring in its perspective on life, a perspective that is transcendental in scope.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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