“Firaaq”, her maiden attempt as a filmmaker, is a film made in a parallel-screenplay format, with different plots unfolding concurrently.

The multi-starrer film opens with the after-effects of Gujrat riots in 2002, with Shahana Goswami and Hanif Nowaz coming back to find their house after hiding for a month following the riots. Hanif wants revenge, while Shahana wants to know the reasons behind the destruction.

Aarti (Deepti Naval) is trying to overcome the trauma of witnessing deaths of her Muslim neighbors and her helplessness to save them. She also deals with her hypocrite husband Sanjay, played by Paresh Rawal.

Naseeruddin Shah is an old and hunched musician, confident that music has the power to bring people from different communities together and spread the message of peace.

Sameer Shaikh (Sanjay Suri) and wife Anuradha Desai (Tisca Chopra) are relocating after Sameer's shop, which he owned in partnership with a Hindu friend, is destroyed by rioters.

And another interwoven plot is that of a muslim boy, Mohsin, who is looking for his father aimlessly after the riots.

Stories of Sameer Shaikh, Mohsin and Hanif are well narrated, while the other two are weak and fail to connect to the central theme.

The film is a strong yet incomplete statement about the Gujarat riots, but, on the upside, the cast has given great performance. Plus, “Firaaq” is not violent or distressing, so you can watch it with your family.