Bloody Dissapointing!
The most disturbing thing about Kurbaan is that it will be watched by millions of people irrespective of their seriousness of interest about terrorism because – it features big stars like Saif Ali Khan & Kareena Kapoor, its backed by one of the biggest names in ‘Bollywood’- Karan Johar, it has a big canvas (we Indians love films with larger than life settings no matter how grave the topic/situation is..we want everything in family size & the likes of KJos & Chopras know this too well) and, it’s come at a time when people cosy up to movie theatres more than they do during any other part of the year.
Kurbaan from the beginning was marketed as a film dealing with terrorism (& if I’m right it was even supposed to be titled ‘Jihad’ before better sense prevailed upon I don’t know who..!). It’s a thriller format but the content too is constantly played up (‘socio politico thriller’ if you may want to call it that), though neither is accomplished enough. My problem with the film is that it’s not about terrorism, it’s about the supposed ‘Muslim lifestyle’ & the terrorism coming out of it. Wife beating, women in hijab, women not allowed to work outside, patriarchal household. I don’t mean these problems don’t exist in the community but its not exclusive to the Muslim community & moreover they are separate issues & not necessarily directly linked with terrorism. So, either the makers were trying to be too ambitious or they themselves are not aware of their own prejudices. Yes, there are the essential representations of ‘moderate’ Muslims in the film – Riyaz (Vivek Oberoi) & Rehana (Dia Mirza), but they are as stereotypical in their conception as the characters representing the other extreme in the film. To be moderate, Rehana, a journalist, must wear business suits with its top shirt button open , must have a boyfriend & thus show no sign of her ‘Muslimness’ as Salma, Anjum or Saeeda are shown having by wearing hijab. Thus, hijab (once again) becomes the symbol of suppression by the males of the household rather than a symbol of faith. Mr. Riyaz Masood, again a journalist & Rehana’s boyfriend must only be concerned about ‘the American point of view’ of the news & should prioritise his identies – of whether being a Muslim first or an American first, according to his father (typical RSS/MNS ideology..should Tendulkar be an Indian first or a Marathi first..no surprise that Karan Johar readily apologises on being threatened of militant activities by Raj Thackeray’s MNS). Also, Riyaz’s father’s (played by Kulbushan Kharbanda) concern for thousands of innocents dying in Afghanistan/Iraq should be met with a contemptuous/indifferent look on the face of his ‘moderate’ Muslim son while the same son argues the same point later in the film. The difference – a bearded Muslim speaking about the Muslims is of a ghetto mentality & again, a Muslim with no sign of ‘Muslimness’ speaking of the same issue is a ‘moderate’. This is the line of thinking that the Talibans & the VHPs adopt as well.
I know that Kurbaan is just another not-to-be-taken-seriously Bollywood potboiler but I believe even if the popular forms of entertainment take up topics as serious as terrorism/religious extremism, it should at least do so responsibly. FANAA was a film very close to KURBAAN storywise & though it was regressive too but it never got political or debated religion in the context of terrorism. It remained a love story for most part & never made sweeping political/religious statements. Whereas in Kurbaan, Saif Ali Khan’s character, Ehsaan Khan teaches Islamic studies/Muslim identity probably at a reputed American University (how the film manages that & many other such things is a question that a viewer of the Hindi films must not even bring in his mind). Anyway my point is that a terrorist is teaching Islamic studies/Muslim identity in an American University & while he is in the class he is shown to be open minded. That sends out misguided message. Another instance is the scene at Bhaijaan’s (Om Puri) home, where Ehsaan announces that “agar bhaijaan ka bas chale to wo sabke haath mein Quran de dein”. Replace the word ‘Quran’ with ‘Hathyaar’ in the sentence – it’s a dangerously written line! These two instances are not just twisted in their thought but offensive to Muslims. I, as a Muslim take offence of that (no no I’m not going to vandalise or plant a bomb at Dharma Productions !)
Terrorism of the Muslim extremists have been in the forefront internationally since the 80s & after 9/11 everyone, wittingly or unwittingly made sure it becomes synonymous with the menace. I don’t want to doubt the intentions of the makers of the film (Rensil De Silva & KJo primarily) because that would be foolish but yes, it is irresponsible filmmaking & poorly researched/written film. Terrorism & identity politics have been the most burning issues of our time so it’s only natural that the popular culture also addresses it in its own way but please don’t make subtle versions of Gadars & Indians.
I have a grouse with Anurag Kashyap as well who has co-written the dialogues for Kurbaan. He always have had strong opinions about politics & society that’s evident by his films & his interviews. I really want to know why he agreed to become a part of such regressive storytelling? Because, as his fan, it makes a difference to me.
The story of Kurbaan is written by Karan Johar who’s next directorial is the SRK starrer ‘My Name is Khan’ which most probably again is an issue based (read terrorism/Muslim identity) film wrapped warmly in a love story coming to a theatre near you in the winters of February.
I hope he hasn’t f****d that up!
(This post was originally published on PassionForCinema on 23rd November, 2009 - http://passionforcinema.com/kurbaan-some-filmmakers-have-blood-on-them/ )
No comments:
Post a Comment