'Parzania' to release on January 26

Mumbai, Dec 28 (UNI) The Hindi film 'Parzania', set in the backdrop of the 2002 Gujarat riots, will be released in theatres on January 26.

The film, starring Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika in the lead roles, is set against the backdrop of the communal conflagration that engulfed Gujarat in early 2002 and left an indelible scar on the minds and hearts of people around the country and the world.

'Parzania' is about a Parsi family living in a Muslim-dominated locality in Ahmedabad. It gets caught in the communal flare-up, where a mob attacks the building in which they live and sets it on fire.

Directed by Rahul Dholakia, the film was premiered at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa last year, where it had received mixed responses.

The director, in a release, said the inspiration for the film was a true story in Gujarat about a missing young boy. The film tells the story about a ten-year-old boy Parzan, who has developed his own world, the world of Parzania, where the buildings are made of chocolate and the mountains of ice-cream. Parzan, in his mind, has created the perfect world, a world that only his eight-year-old sister Dilshad truly understands.

Parzan, the son of protagonists Cyrus and Shernaz, played by Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika, goes missing after the riots. While Cyrus fights for his own sanity and searches for his child, Allan, an American who arrives in Ahmedabad, battles to uncover the truth behind the riots, the release added.

It was reported earlier this year that Sarika won the National award for Best Actress in the film. However, the awards are yet to be announced officially.

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