India and Pakistan’s conflict has been going on for a very long time and is quite intense. There are uncountable people who have suffered as a direct and indirect result of this conflict. Movie makers have tried to translate and manifest their hardships on the silver screen in an attempt to divert more public attention towards this issue. It was only a matter of time before web series content creators also themed their stories around this conflict. Zee5’s drama Kafir is one such web series.
The story of Kafir draws inspiration from the real life story of Shainaz (Kainaaz on screen) and her daughter and documents her journey to secure justice. The series stars Bollywood actress Dia Sharma as Kainaz and actor Mohit Raina as Vedant Rathod who helps Kainaz fight her case.
The story of Kafir goes something like this: Kainaaz escapes from Pakistant by jumping into a river with the intention of killing herself. Instead, she ends up crossing the border and enters India where’s taken caught and taken a prisoner by the Indian army. The Indian army believes that Kainaz is a terrorist and labels her as a militant. While Kainaaz is imprisoned, she gives birth to her daughter Seher (played by child actor Dishita Jain). At a time when there’s no loved one around her, Kainaz is helped by journalist and lawyer Vedant Rathod.
Kainaz and her daughter are denied justice. The story justifies the title of the series in the way that ‘kafir’ is derived from the Arabic word Kafara which means ‘refusal to believe’ or simply, ‘to deny’.
The drama shows how countless people have been brutally tortured because of the prejudice which is now ingrained in the people living on both sides of the border.
Directed by Sonam Nair and scripted by Bhawani Iyer, Kafir draws light to a problem that requires attention on a massive scale to determine a solution that benefits all.
