Lines Review: Difficult Life On Indo-Pak Border And A Story Of Incomplete Love

Cast: Hina Khan, Rishi Bhutani, Farida Jalal, Zahid Qureshi, Ahmer Haider, Rani Bhan, Lalita Tapasvi

Director: Hussein Khan

Streaming Platform: Voot Select

Ratings: 3.5/5 (three and half stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

The poster of Hina Khan’s debut film ‘Lines’, who traveled from TV to films, was launched at the Cannes Film Festival, after which the film is now streaming on Voot Select. The lines, directed by Hussain Khan, depict the plight of Kashmiri citizens and the scary atmosphere of the India-Pakistan border. Apart from Hina, the film also stars veteran actress Farida Jalal and Rishi Bhutani.

Lines Review: Story

Set at the time of the 1999 Kargil War, Lines tells the story of Nazia (Hina Khan), a Kashmiri girl who grows up on the border of the country where she lives with her mother (Rani Bhan). And lives with Dadi (Farida Jalal). His life would have been difficult due to the continuous barrage of bullets on the border, but these things do not dampen his zeal to live life. She wants to fulfill the dream of her grandmother, who wants to meet her sister across the border in Pakistan. In a way, the entire responsibility of the house rests on him.

Nazia finally manages to bring her grandmother’s sister from Pakistan to Kashmir and reunite them after a long gap of 40 years. In the midst of doing all these things, Nazia falls in love with her grandmother’s sister’s son Nabil (Rishi Bhutani), who has come to Kashmir with her. After a short love story, both of them get married and thus the real story begins. Nabil goes back to Pakistan, leaving Nazia behind as visas and permits take time. But their relationship gets a major setback when the Kargil war breaks out. Because of the war, Nazia has to take a step which she does not want.

The Review and Direction

Alongside memorable performances, the movie features light comedy and soulful poetry. Shot in Kashmir, Lines also has stunning visuals, from homes to mountain peaks, and the greenery. It by no means deviates from its authenticity. Though the script might have been tighter, it has some efficient dialogues. For instance, when an Indian soldier talks about how they’re sure by the system to fireplace on Pak troops despite the fact that they don’t wish to: “Hum jaise hello to hai vo log. Border par to baat bhi karte hai hum,” he says, thus proving that also they are people who treasure humanity past the barbed wire and border guards. In one other occasion, Hina Khan offers an emotional speech about being stored other than her husband because of the international locations’ politics. With no gory enmity or chest-thumping patriotism, Strains is a welcome change from the predictable India-Pakistan conflict narrative. It brings out the nuances of being victims of an ongoing conflict, with nice maturity and authenticity. Nevertheless, the strain between India and Pakistan, which types the bottom of the story, ought to have been careworn upon.

As a director, Hussain Khan goes fully ‘desi’ and he makes use of shade to depict the tones of his characters particularly Hina Khan who’s larger-than-life in her personal method all through. The movie has certainly marked up the scales and delivered a robust story with a great deal of feelings. It has been properly written by Kunwar Shakti Singh and Rahat Kazmi.

Lines Review: Performances

The character of Nazia played by Hina Khan is commendable. Hina’s character is determined, courageous, full of restraint and there is also a glimpse of innocence. On the other hand, Rishi Bhutani is seen giving a performance with Hina.

Farida Jalal, Rani Bhan, Ahmed Haider, Zahid Qureshi, Tariq Khan and others have also breathed their lives in supporting roles. Shot in Kashmir, the film uses poetry with a bit of comedy and ancient locations. Cinematographer Laxmi Chauhan’s lens brings Kashmir to life in the lines. The film does not claim any deep enmity between the two countries, but builds a story about the unfortunate circumstances of those trapped between the politics of the two countries.

Lines Review: The Last Words

Lines stands out for showing the horrors of struggle and separation and invokes a number of feelings in people without truly showing the struggle or imposing excessive nationalism. It leaves a bittersweet style and makes us take into consideration the people on the opposite aspect of the road, with whom we share the identical land, similar historical past however are taught to take care of the estranged bond.