Bihari Muslims, who chose to opt for East Pakistan at the time of Partition and later for Pakistan during the Bangladesh liberation war, are cursed to remain refugees forever. Confined to shanties of Dhaka, they remain rejected by Bangladesh and disowned by Pakistan.
Some of those \'Biharis, especially those who can afford it, buy their way into what they believe is their country. They travel overland through the breadth of India and sneak into Pakistan, aided and abetted by human traffickers operating on one of the most closely guarded international borders of the world. The film Refugee starts with the dreams or one such family of Biharis making their way across the Rann of Kutch.
The beginning is unusually good-surrealistic landscapes, controlled emotions of characters, and dialogues like bullet points. The film hooks viewers with its first few scenes. But even the best of Hindi film directors seem incapable of holding back. And he end up creating a farce. In comes an officer of the Pakistani Rangers from nowhere, to complete a love triangle. Poor Sunil Shetty, even he cannot save this weak character.
If there are the Rangers, can the Indian Border Security Force be far behind? Apparently, not. In the atmosphere of post-Kargil pop-patriotism, every Indian celluloid hero seems bent on adding his bit to the macho image of the defiance forces. Jackie Shroff is there to portray an officer on the look out for those smuggling in explosives from the country that India wants to be declared a terrorist state. There is very little that poor Jackie could do with such a role.
Refugee was to launch Abhishekh to stardom, with established stars like Sunil and Jackie as mere props. Abhi does try to take advantage of the situation, but even the strongest of props can lift one only to a certain level.
It\'s a lonely journey for the would-be star. His performance is strong enough. He flounders repeatedly, although occasional flashes can be seen. He does have screen presence (he literally towers over it), but it is consistency he lacks. For now, sleep easy, Hritik Roshan.
The pleasant little surprise of the film is damsel in distress Kareena-daughter of 60s screen splash Babita and successful buffoon Randheer Kapoor, and sister of Karishma. She has it all-oodles of oomph, bundles of fuel inside and raging tire outside. Chiseled figure, expressive eyes, controlled emotions, modulated dialogue- she excels on all counts. Except in the last scene, when she is made to deliver a baby in the international no- man\'s-land between India and Pakistan. But then, it\'s not her fault-the real culprits are the screenwriter and the director.
For Hindi film buffs, Refugee is worth a go. It\'s entertaining, and being entertaining means, in the case of Hindi movies, taking leave of your senses and immersing yourself in the make-believe world of the silver screen. A warning: if you want the breath-taking scenes and heart-stopping sound to overpower you, you have to make the effort to go to the cinema halls-they look pretty limp on the small screen.
