None can undermine the contribution of Muslims in the entertainment business. Nor has there been any question about the contribution of the Muslim ethos – whether it be in commercial cinema or theater. It is impossible to forget the Shahenshah feel of movies like Mughal-e-Azam and Pukar, the memorable fusion of nawabi lyrics and folk music by Naushad, the full-throated playback thumris¹ of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan or the unforgettable line that made me an ardent fan of Guru Dutt:

‘Ye mahalon, ye takhton, ye tajon ki duniya … agar mil bhi jaye to kya hai …’

To what avail is acquiring this world of palaces, thrones and crowns ?

However, of late, the treatment of Muslims in commercial cinema has moved a step above lavish Urdu, the crochet taqiyah², sherwanis³,dacoits and the bearded chacha⁴. The motif of this article is the revival of the Muslim protagonist and its contribution to this Muslim ethos in mainstream cinema.

What better a movie to begin with than Rang De Basanti? RDB will stand out for long as ‘The Generation X Movie’ in the annals of Bollywood. Shabana Azmi made a comment in the aforementioned interview that encompasses what I have to say. “India’s greatest strength is her composite culture, but in recent times, there is a concerted effort to compress identity into the narrow confines of the religion that you were born in.” Further, I’d like to quote from a particular review of the movie, ’(RDB’s) shock value lies in the way it tests the definition of freedom fighter vs. terrorist.’5

The change in the relationship between Laxman Pandey (played by Atul Kulkarni) and Aslam (played by Kunal Kapoor) before and after the climax of the movie is what this movie has to offer – the lesson that a struggle for freedom is not about or bounded by religion.

Fanaa can only be remembered for its first half, and that too, for two reasons – Kajol and Aamir Khan – the love story of Zooni and Rehan. The shayari⁶ in the first half, despite being overdone, is engaging, but the rest of the movie seems pathetically lifted from Eye of the Needle. An incredible chemistry between the two seasoned artists saw that the movie did a decent job at the box office. You might feel that I’m hurting the cause of the article by citing a movie in which a bunch of Pakistanis/Muslims are portrayed as terrorists – both as the ruthless masterminds and as the stooges. However, there are two things in the movie that argue in the contrary. One is the mental battle that Rehan has to wage between love (that he had once abandoned) and duty. The second is the loyalty of Zulfikar Baig (Zooni’s father played by Rishi Kapoor) and Zooni herself who place their country over and above the return of unrequited love and happiness in the form of Rehan. Through their individual dilemmas, Kunal Kohli explores the thin line that always exists waiting to be transgressed.

Dor explores a few uncharted territories. Shot mostly in Thar⁷ and accompanied with some great folk tunes including the popular Kesariya, the movie beautifully portrays the entanglement of the lives of Meera (played by Ayesha Takia) and Zeenat (played by Gul Panag); both from two different and far off places. While Meera loses her husband, Zeenat must redeem hers (the accused) from a death sentence by getting a pardon from the deceased man’s widow (a law in Saudi Arabia). Nagesh Kukunoor gets us up personal with both characters and their struggle and shows that even in these troubled times, mercy is still ‘twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes’ and also that some of the most beautiful relationships know no religious or traditional boundaries. Where Meera is Zeenat’s only hope, it is Zeenat who proves to be the former’s strength and helps deliver her from her desperate in-laws’ clutches. The sketch of Shreyas Talpade as ‘Behroopiya’ is the most memorable part of the movie and the feelings he develops for Zeenat are simply Nagesh at his poetic best.

Iqbal is less of a movie and more of a ballad of dreams and their realization – the fruits of persistence and undying faith. The movie was released at a time when the nation was celebrating the rise of Irfan Pathan as our generation’s possible answer to the ‘next Kapil Dev’ question posed years ago – but it was all about the impoverished conditions that Pathan rose from that reflect in Shreyas Talpade’s portrayal of Iqbal - the young son of a struggling farmer who nurtures dreams of making it big in the world of cricket. Infused with undying support from his sister and mother but troubled by his father’s opposition and his own disabilities (he’s deaf and dumb), he overlooks all obstructions to chase his dreams. What Kukunoor is able to incorporate in this film is a hegemonic picture of a rural Muslim household. Their joys, concerns, mistakes, and dreams seem every common household’s own.

In this respect, his use of Anwar (Iqbal’s father played by Yatin Karyekar) is worth noting. At one point, referring to Iqbal, he says something like,“I see a better future for him where he can earn a livelihood and respect, he’ll be a farmer … ” and then in another weak moment, he admits, “He was supposed to bring me luck … He was supposed to lift me out of this pathetic ordinary life.”

In what reminds one of the match-fixing fiasco nine years ago that saw the exit of many a cricketer, including former captain Mohammed Azharuddin, Chak De India has Shahrukh Khan play Kabir Khan, a defamed captain of the Indian hockey team. Accused of match-fixing (missing a penalty shot), Kabir comes back from the oblivion to take charge of the women’s national hockey team as a coach. Placed with the hard task of converting a team that is riding low on teamwork and respect in a country where no one cares about women’s hockey, Kabir, motivated by his desire to earn back the respect he lost years ago, goes about his task with a firm resolve. So a tussle between undying patriotism and unforgiving religious bias gives this film its real (and reel) significance.

Manish Jha’s Anwar was a bit disappointing that flopped with only a solitary song salvaging its existence. Penned by Sayed Quadri, ‘Maula Mere Maula’ is a very soulful song that Roop Kumar Rathod does more than full justice to with his tranquil voice. What this piece of lyric does, in effect, is that it sets up a sharp contrast between the protagonist’s purity of heart (and purpose) and the image of this man that is projected to the public. Anwar ( played by Siddharth Koirala ) gets trapped in a web of political conspiracies and communal devilry almost immediately after suffering a personal loss. What is ironic is that Anwar, on the contrary, has a close Hindu friend and is passionate about sketching temples. Even the loving imagery that he has in his heart for his lost love is that of Lord Krishna and his maddening desire for Radha⁸. At the core is boundless love in an innocent, repenting heart and all around is a loveless conflict-loving society that is eager to turn the table and force love to live a helpless life on the fringes.

Aamir is a gripping 90-minute thriller in which a man who has just returned from England gets forced by the antagonist into working for his qaum⁹by blowing up a commuter bus. Raj Kumar Gupta’s debut film is a fantastic example of mainstream cinema’s recent attempt at capturing a realistic portrayal of a modern, liberal Muslim. The crucial part of this movie are the conversations that the protagonist (played by Rajiv Khandelwal) has with his ‘captor’ (played by Gajraj Rao). Especially the one regarding the impoverished conditions in which Muslims are made to live in - a country they are assured is as much theirs as anybody else’s. A question is raised through the antagonist’s questions at the success of India as a democracy; are real issues ever addressed regarding the welfare of minorities or are they just token gestures that are made year after year? The question is answered through the protagonist - “No one ever stopped me from progressing …. I weaved a way for myself because I had the will to do so and so have thousands of others (Muslims) … man creates his own destiny”.

In their own different and unique ways, film makers have begun to chart out a much more realistic portrayal of the Muslim community which is worth noting and applauding. And it’s not just films; young artists are once again exploring the lyrics of Amir Khuro and Baba Bulleh Shah through musical contests. The rise of Pakistani pop stars like Atif Aslam and pop bands like Strings and Jal, comedy shows like Umer Shareef - all of these have contributed somewhat in their own way to India’s secularism.

Footnotes

1. A light, sweet genre of Indian Classical Music with characteristic romantic /devotional content
2. A short, rounded cap worn by Muslim men
3. A long coat-like garment worn in South Asia
4. Uncle
5. http://www.chowk.com/articles/10469
6. Shayari, or poetry, essentially comprises of a couplet (In Urdu, Punjabi or Hindi)
7. A desert that extends mostly in the state of Rajasthan, India
8. The most beloved of Lord Krishna’s consorts and his constant companion
9. Literally means ‘the people’ but misused by many like the antagonist intertwining it with divisive politics

Photo Courtesy: babaskopic, Indiafm, foreignmoviesddl

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