Maachis
Encyclopedia
Maachis is a 1996
India
n Hindi
film directed by Gulzar and produced by R. V. Pandit. The title of the film is used as a metaphor that conveys that the youth of any nation are matchsticks that could get ignited due to the deficiencies in the political and policing systems. The film portrays the circumstances surrounding the rise of the Sikh insurgency
in Punjab
in the 1980s and traces the transformation of a youth from a boy next door
to a dreaded terrorist bent on wreaking vengeance.
Maachis tasted critical and commercial success. Gulzar's direction and the music of Vishal Bhardwaj
were strong points. To this day, many numbers from the film, particularly "Chappa Chappa Charkha Chale" and "Chhod Aaye Hum Vo Galiyaan" can be heard playing on FM radio or TV channels. Bhardwaj went on to become a movie director and has directed movies such as Maqbool
as well as the highly lauded Omkara
. "Chhod Aaye Hum" was the first Hindi film song sung by the now famous Indian singer KK.
Maachis is a film about what atrocities can drive an ordinary human to do. It looks back at the Punjab problem and tries to figure out some of the root causes. It also warns that, in the future, there could be many more Punjabs burning and suffering for years.
This story is of one such family, consisting of Veerandra (Tabu), her brother Jaswant Singh (Raj Zutshi), and their mother. One day Inspector Vohra (Kanwaljeet) comes to their house with a police escort to find the whereabouts of Jasjit (Jimmy Shergill). Jassi playfully introduces the police to his pet dog Jimmy and is taken away for questioning. He returns several days later, bleeding and badly wounded. Veerandra's boyfriend Kripal Singh or Pali (Chandrachur Singh) vows to avenge Jassi's beating and joins Commander (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) and Sanatan (Om Puri), both hardcore extremists.
1997 National Film Awards
Bollywood films of 1996
A list of films produced by the Bollywood film industry based in Mumbai in 1996.-Highest grossing:The top ten grossing films at the Indian Box Office in 1996. The films are ranked according to domestic net gross as estimated by Boxofficeindia.com-1996:...
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Hindi
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
film directed by Gulzar and produced by R. V. Pandit. The title of the film is used as a metaphor that conveys that the youth of any nation are matchsticks that could get ignited due to the deficiencies in the political and policing systems. The film portrays the circumstances surrounding the rise of the Sikh insurgency
Khalistan movement
Khalistan refers to a global political secessionist movement to create a separate Sikh state, called Khālistān , carved out of parts mostly consisting of the Punjab region of India, depending on definition....
in Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
in the 1980s and traces the transformation of a youth from a boy next door
Boy next door
The boy next door is an archetype of storytelling. He is often invoked in Western contexts to indicate wholesome, unassuming, or "average" masculinity. He is a young man with a sweet, shy demeanor who is just discovering his physical and spiritual strengths. The boy next door maintains his innocent...
to a dreaded terrorist bent on wreaking vengeance.
Maachis tasted critical and commercial success. Gulzar's direction and the music of Vishal Bhardwaj
Vishal Bhardwaj
Vishal Bhardwaj is an Indian film director, writer, screenwriter, music composer and playback singer.-Early life:Bhardwaj was born in Bijnor but raised in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh to Satya Bhardwaj, a homemaker, and Ram Bhardwaj, a popular poet and lyricist. His father was a government employee and...
were strong points. To this day, many numbers from the film, particularly "Chappa Chappa Charkha Chale" and "Chhod Aaye Hum Vo Galiyaan" can be heard playing on FM radio or TV channels. Bhardwaj went on to become a movie director and has directed movies such as Maqbool
Maqbool
Maqbool , a 2004 Indian film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and starring Pankaj Kapoor, Irfan Khan, Tabu and Masumeh Makhija is an adaptation of the play Macbeth by Shakespeare....
as well as the highly lauded Omkara
Omkara (film)
Omkara is a 2006 Indian film adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello, co-written and directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. It starred Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, and Kareena Kapoor in the lead roles, supported by Vivek Oberoi, Naseeruddin Shah, and Konkona Sen Sharma with a cameo role from Bipasha Basu...
. "Chhod Aaye Hum" was the first Hindi film song sung by the now famous Indian singer KK.
Maachis is a film about what atrocities can drive an ordinary human to do. It looks back at the Punjab problem and tries to figure out some of the root causes. It also warns that, in the future, there could be many more Punjabs burning and suffering for years.
Plot
Following the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, at the hands of her Sikh bodyguards, a wave of violence broke out against innocent Sikhs and their families. Pressure was brought on the police to bring the assassins and their allies to justice. The police, with their limited resources and lack of witnesses, brutally bring in innocent Sikh men and women and interrogate them with third-degree methods. This creates a wave of sympathy for the extremists, and more people start joining them to revolt against an oppressive regime.This story is of one such family, consisting of Veerandra (Tabu), her brother Jaswant Singh (Raj Zutshi), and their mother. One day Inspector Vohra (Kanwaljeet) comes to their house with a police escort to find the whereabouts of Jasjit (Jimmy Shergill). Jassi playfully introduces the police to his pet dog Jimmy and is taken away for questioning. He returns several days later, bleeding and badly wounded. Veerandra's boyfriend Kripal Singh or Pali (Chandrachur Singh) vows to avenge Jassi's beating and joins Commander (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) and Sanatan (Om Puri), both hardcore extremists.
Cast
- TabuTabu (actress)Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film...
as Virender Kaur aka Veeran - Chandrachur SinghChandrachur SinghChandrachur Singh is an Indian actor, who appeared in Bollywood films.-Early life:Chandrachur Singh is a native of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. He was born on 11 October 1968 in New Delhi, India. He belongs to a very affluent family. His father is an ex-MLA from Aligarh and his mother is the daughter...
as Kripal Singh aka Pali - Om PuriOm PuriOm Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...
as Sanatan - Kulbhushan KharbandaKulbhushan KharbandaKulbhushan Kharbanda is an Indian actor, who worked in Hindi and Punjabi films, and is known as character Shakaal in Shaan inspired by the character of Blofeld from James Bond movies...
as Commander - Kanwaljit SinghKanwaljit SinghKanwaljit Singh is an Indian actor who has performed in films as well as television serials. He has acted in Hindi as well as Punjabi films.-Early life and education:Kanwaljit hails from a Sikh family of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh...
as Inspector Vohra - S M Zaheer as Khurana
- Raj Zutshi as Jaswant Singh Randhawa aka Jassy
- Jimmy ShergillJimmy ShergillJasjit Singh Gill , popularly known as Jimmy Shergill , is an Indian actor.-Early life:Shergill was born in a Jatt Sikh family in Gorakhpur, India and studied there till 5th Grade in St. Paul's School. Then, his family shifted to Patiala...
as Jaimal aka Jimmy - Ravi Gosain as Kuldip
- Suneel Sinha as Wazira
- Amrik Gill as Nanoo
1997 National Film AwardsNational Film AwardsThe National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...
(India)
- Silver Lotus Award - Best ActressNational Film AwardsThe National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...
- TabuTabu (actress)Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film... - Golden Lotus Award - National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome EntertainmentNational Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome EntertainmentThe National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment winners:1981 to 1984 and 1992, 1986 & 1977 No Award was given....