We Are Faheem & Karun

Bluesky

It’s a liminal place, the borderline that runs through Kashmir: desolate, beautiful, a place where terrible things have happened and yet one where magical things seem possible. High up in the mountains, a long, winding road offers dizzying views. Faheem (Mir Tawseef) isn’t used to encountering a checkpoint here, but he takes it in his stride, stopping his motorbike, answering questions, establishing that he’s a local – and establishing something else. The way he catches the eye of one of the guards says it all. This is Karun (Akash Menon), recently posted there, all the way from Kochi in Kerala. He’s a smoky-eyed young man who has never known winter and Faheem is instantly smitten.

The latest work by outspoken gay filmmaker Onir, We Are Faheem & Karun is among the most impressive new titles at this year’s BFI Flare, a soulful romance which is distinctly Indian in style but easy for a Western audience to engage with. It follows a courtship as fraught with difficulty as the land in which it takes place, crossing religious boundaries as well as taking on the stigma attached to love between men. Still, there are times when eyes meet and there’s nothing to do but surrender to it, no matter what the consequences might be. A brief meeting on the road, the gift of an apple – sound designer Arun Nambiar perfectly captures the crunch – and it might have been little more, but when Karun is sent into town to buy wazwan for his hungry colleagues, he happens to purchase it from Faheem’s father, and the two meet again, and then there really is no escaping it.

In the mountain valleys, the scenery is beautiful, the film scored with love songs. Elsewhere, Karun must engage with military tasks that make him deeply uncomfortable, or speak with his mother back home, who is urging him to take a wife. Faheem’s family has other worries: his younger brother, Zaid, is increasingly militant in his expression, unhappy at what he perceives as the arrogance of the troops, and everyone is afraid that he may get into trouble as a result. This is a family in which everybody loves everybody else but only heartache seems to come from that. Faheem is urged to go away, to find peace and safety, but he’s committed to his home and community. With so much pressure already present, is there room for love?

Through the lens of the men’s romance, Onir takes in a good deal more, exploring the complex realities behind assumptions of prejudice and the myriad factors that go into making each of us who we are. The weight of the cold war between the neighbouring states makes other matters feel much smaller than they might elsewhere, and the power differential created by the military presence puts a strain on the men’s relationship. Both Tawseef and Menon handle their roles with an appropriate balance of passion and gravity, and there’s some strong supporting work from a carefully chosen cast. Though Onir carefully avoids sensationalism in dealing with an intensely sensitive situation, the resulting film is one whose emotional impact will stay with you.