ONLY ART CAN HEAL

Whether on stage or screen, Naseeruddin Shah wants his work to promote a new harmony

- Shreevatsa Nevatia

Released on YouTube late last month, the theme of loss recurs often in The Miniaturist R of Junagadh. Naseeruddin Shah plays Husyn Naqqash in the short film, an artist whose dogged pursuit of the perfect miniature has cost him his eyesight. Partition, we see, is forcing him to give up his home in Junagadh and move to Karachi. Much like the gramophone he plays, his everyday Urdu today seems obsolete, an artefact. Kishorilal Randeria (Raj Arjun), the man who is buying Naqqash's home, seems visibly uncomfortable in a Muslim household. As he refuses the sharbat he's given, we see him as an outsider.

Though melancholic, Miniaturist is never bleak. In its runtime of just 30 minutes, the film repeatedly underscores art's ability to build bridges, ease tensions and foster tolerance. "It's the only thing we can hope for," says Shah, 72. Speaking of present India-Pakistan relations, he adds, "I can only go [to Pakistan with a message of peace and harmony, with the work I do. I'm not a politician. I don't make speeches or anything, but I try and convey my feelings through my work. Only art can heal this divide."