Finally watched Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi. Was delighted to come across a movie that is set in turbulent times and against a backdrop of ideological upheavals, and yet does not push any ideology. HKA is just a story about those days, told very well, and essayed by brilliant performances.
Everyone else must have written a lot about this film, so I will just mention a couple of subtle jibes at the methodology adopted by politicians or activists in our country -
Jibe #1
Scene- A rally where some speakers are giving a speach about "true" socialism, and a crowd, made up mainly of poor peasants is in attendance.
Speaker: Sirf 'samaajwaad' shabd jodney se hi koi sachcha samaajwaadi nahi bantaa. Yaad rakhiye, Hitler ki party ke naam mein bhi samaajwaad tha.
Peasant A to Peasant B: Ye Hitler kaun hovey?
Peasant B to Peasant A: Pata nahi, mhaarey gaon se to naa hai!
An excellent illustration of how many well-meaning activists fail because they just don;t speak the same language as their audience
Jibe #2
Another rally, where a speaker at the end of a rally gives a cry - "JAAAAAAAGO!!!", and the camera pans to a peasant, who had peacefully dozed off, waking up because of it.