MY NAME IS . . .

This is not a movie review. Im not good at writing reviews considering all the technical aspects of a movie. After watching a movie I just get a feeling like This was superb, Its kinda ok.. or That sucked!!. But still Im tempted to write something about MNIK. When the twin towers collapsed, so did many other things along with it. I still dont believe the Al Qaeda did it. When they blamed it on Al Qaeda, Bin laden must have felt proud secretly, like a kid who received the trophy on behalf of the absent winner. Even though he wished to do something of that scale, it is hard to believe that he is capable of doing that. Perhaps well know the truth fifty years later, perhaps we never will.. Projecting a real or imaginary enemy has been a time tested tactic in politics. The war on terror was inaugurated in Afghanistan and Iraq was chosen as the stage two. Currently unofficial warfare is raging in Pakistan and Iran could well be the next target. And now Uncle Sam says that Syria is a serious threat to world peace!! To quote Adiga - What a fucking joke!! In India, the trend caught up soon. As if the existing laws were insufficient, we soon had POTA. The terrorists continued with their violence. But the ordinary Muslims, the indirect victims of terrorism, are bearing the brunt on a long term basis. Terrorism provided food and fodder to media and the Senas. We have heard so many stories about terrorism. There have been many encounters in which terrorists were killed as in the case of Ansal Plaza encounter and Ishrath Jahan. In some cases the evidence found were a copy of the Quran, a map of India which one can tear off from any history book and some tactical information which any kid with internet access can find out. The media has always been there to sensationalise the issues and garner publicity as in the recent blatant lie series of Love Jihad. When the discussion on Islamic terrorism reached high decibels some people came forward with statements like A whole community shouldnt be blamed for the acts of a few So kind of them! Sometime back the hate mongering Advani said All Muslims are not terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims; the bottom line being all Muslims are terrorist-cement powder who can be converted into hard terrorists by pouring a little Islam indoctrinated water. Islamophobia caught on in India as it did in France. There has been general consensus that the trouble is with Islam itself and in many ways Muslims have been encouraged to shun some aspects of their faith. They implied that the practising Muslim is at the tip of the cliff and can fall off to the extremist valley below anytime. Hence the hijab and the beard also became targets. Following the footsteps of the French some educational institutions in India also banned the headscarves probably because the girls might hide bullets beneath them. The victim mentality has been growing among the Muslims and on the other hand more and more Muslims are being looked upon with a suspicious eye. Coming back to popular culture, we have always had a generous supply of onscreen terrorists. We have also seen the Indian Muslim soldier shouting to his Pakistani counterpart To you Im just a Hindustani!. When Main hoon Na portrayed a Hindu terrorist, apparently for the first time, it was fantasy material then. We have seen terrorism perpetrated by right wing Hindu organisations, but the media has been reluctant in calling it terrorism(Maybe to qualify as a terrorist one needs an Urdu/Arabic name). It was when the brave Karkare delved into the Malegaon blasts; we got our first Hindu terrorist. Sadly, Karkare met with an unfortunate end and now it would be too optimistic to hope that the culprits will be punished.

The mainstream media has been largely responsible in nurturing Islamophobia. And thats precisely why an effort from a mainstream cinema in putting things into proper perspective becomes laudable. A small budget yet impressive film Mumbai Meri Jaan had previously depicted an Islamophobic character. But when the names involved are big, so will be the spread of the message and that is the reason why Im happy about MNIK. The protagonist in the movie is a practising Muslim, who wont miss his namaz wherever he is. And he is more human than any other men around. He doesnt differentiate people by their religion. He even stands against the evil men who use the religion as a tool to fulfil their motives. For him, religion is not a hindrance to humanity, rather it nurtures and supplements humanity. He spreads his love and moves peoples hearts. There is a scene in which the young Rizwan Khan repeats the curse which he heard from some Muslims on the street on the aftermath of a riot. Hearing this, his ammi clears his mind by drawing pictures of a man with a lollypop and a man with a dagger and asks him to point out the Hindu and the Muslim from the two. Then she teaches him the lesson which he carries throughout his life- That there are just two types of men, good and bad. Another great aspect of the movie is that it hits the popular Islam-suppresses-woman-argument on the head. The character portrayed by Sonia Jehan is an intelligent and educated Muslim woman for whom the headscarf is a part of her identity. Post 9/11 she has no way but to discard her hijab. But towards the end of the movie, she gathers the courage to assert her identity encouraged by the recent change. On the whole the movie is a brilliant one and at times reminded me of Forrest Gump. I hope those who watch the movie get its message. A single movie cant reverse the ill effects of a longstanding propaganda, so I pray this movie inspire more such efforts that would foster unity among the faiths in the country. Im not sure if Im hoping for too much, but someday the common Muslim wouldnt have to provehis dedication to the country, someday he would be able to criticize his nation honestly without the fear of being labelled as a traitor, someday he wouldnt be seen as terrorist material and someday he would be judged only by his actions and not by his name.

Feb 17, 2010