Maachis

• Film Director: Gulzar
• Year: 1996
• Main Cast: Chandrachur Singh, Tabu, Om Puri, Raj Zutshi, Kanwaljeet, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Jimmy Shergill, Ravi Gosain
• Music Director: Vishal Bhardwaj

Movie Synopsis

Maachis was a 1996 Indian Bollywood film directed by Gulzar. The title of the film is used as a metaphor that conveys that the youth of any nation are matchsticks that could get ignited due to the deficiencies in the political and policing systems. The film portrays the circumstances surrounding the rise of the Sikh insurgency in Punjab in the 1980s, and traces the transformation of a youth from a next-door guy to a dreaded terrorist bent of wreaking vengeance for the wrong meted out to him. The film tasted both critical and commercial success. Gulzar's direction and the music of Vishal Bhardwaj were strong points. To this day, many numbers from the film, particularly Chappa Chappa Charkha Chale and Chhod Aaye Hum Vo Galiyaan can be often heard playing on FM radio or TV channels. Bhardwaj went on to become a movie director, and has directed movies such as Maqbool as well as the highly-lauded Omkara in the recent past. Chhod Aaye Hum was the first Hindi film song ever sung by KK. In more ways than one, Maachis is a film about what atrocities can drive an ordinary human to do. It looks back at the Punjab problem, and tries to figure out some of the root causes. It also warns that in the future, there could be many more Punjabs—burning and suffering for years.