2014-2015: Lums Media Arts Society’s Feature Film, Khat-e-falak.
Khat-e-Falak shows us the quest of a young man who sets out to find the answers to the mysteries surrounding his mother’s abandonment. All he is left with is a single, haunting childhood memory of his alcoholic father who forced his mother out of the house; his mother taking a painting with her as she left.
Why a painting? Why not take him instead? The questions continue to consume him twenty years on. The only way he sees by which he could gain some understanding of his mother’s actions is by recreating the painting she took with her. For years, therefore, he has been desperately trying to remake that painting.
The film shows us a woman regularly bringing food to his house, in an attempt to befriend him. Her compassion, however, is not rewarded. His traumatic past has forced him into seclusion and solitude, where no space can be made for anyone except for him and his mother. Even when he tries to clutch at any lingering good memories, he fails. His mother’s departure, coupled with the bitter, unforgiving feelings he has for his father have, hence, shaped his life in this miserable way. The attempt to recreate the painting can be seen throughout the film – the desperation to find answers clearly reflected through it. In the end, the realization of how his futile journey to find answers have left his life colorless, and hopeless finally hits him, and the audience is left with a shattered, broken hero.