My initially reaction after watching Khuda Ke Liye (“K2L”) was not that positive. After talking to a few people I realized that I had perhaps watched a version that had been, post release and unknown to the filmmakers, edited by a butcher (I bought the DVD from a Hallal Meat Shop on Grove Street in Jersey City). The version I saw had Naseeruddin Shah’s portion (except for the scene where Iman Ali, i.e. Maryam goes to his house) and almost all of Shan’s torture scenes missing.
As a story, I found K2L very compelling. One feels for what Iman Ali, as well as what Shan, go through, nonetheless as a movie, I thought, that it was no better than a mundane Bollywood movie. I was disappointed because the story had so much potential, also because the actors deserved so much more. Initially, my thoughts more or less centered around how Iman Ali was a refreshing change from the Lollywood heroines I had seen a decade or so ago on my sole visit to Pakistan. From what I had seen then (although most Pakistani girls are very attractive and beautiful, especially those in Clifton, Karachi, some sections of Islamabad & the whole of Peshawar) was that Lollywood heroines came in two sizes, chunky and extra chunky, and spoke Urdu in two accent, Punjabi and extra spicy Punjabi.
But Khuda Ke Liya is a thinking person’s movie. One cannot watch it, and just move on. The depth of the movie comes at you a little at a time. This is a movie which you appreciate more the day after. It does not take long to begin to laud the efforts of Shoaib Mansoor, the writer, producer, & director of K2L. The music is mesmerizing.
I still have some disappointments. One of my disappointments was that Shoaib Mansoor COULD HAVE avoided using a very stereotypical approach in how he presented Islam & Muslims. As much as Fox News and CNN like to selectively state, whenever it suits their purposes, that Islam is divided between “Fundamentalist” and “Moderates”, it is not. Isam is divided between “Guided” and “Misguided”. Those who indiscriminately kill innocent people and unnecessarily cause mayhem and chaos, those who abrogate & suppress people’s (men’s and women’s) human rights and dignity, those who are intolerant, those who do not believe in standing up for justice & equality, those who are not honest…. are not Muslims (period, regardless of what these people may think they are). This does not mean that Muslims are not suffering from oppression and injustice. From Chechnya to Iraq, to Palestine, to Afghanistan, to Kashmir, to Northwest China, to Philippines, to South Thailand we can see how the Muslims have been singled out and abused. Does anyone know that Philippines (the whole of Philippines) used to be 92% Muslim once upon a time ? Nonetheless, there is a right path that leads towards freedom and settlement of issues, and there a wrong path. Cry for freedom is a human right, resisting occupation and seeking dignity can also be understood and accepted, as long as that does not become the reason for the “misguided” to become inhuman. What some misguided self proclaimed Muslims, under the pretext of their self determination, have done in Bamiyan, Afghanistan and in Kashmir (to the local Pundits) is as wrong and as evil as what the Zionist have done to the Palestinians. While our heart suffers the pain of the guided ones, we cannot harbor any sympathy for the misguided one. Hence, I wish Shoaib Mansoor would have shown the real division in Islam rather than repeat what Fox News and CNN says on this issue. I wish he had shown that some of the so called “Fundamentalist” are merely freedom fighters, while some of the so called “Moderates” are merely opportunist who believe in diluting Islam incrementally, a little at a time.
But who are the Muslims trying to free themselves from ? This in a nutshell is the million dollar questions. The struggle for freedom is not just against colonial occupiers and their stooges (without naming names, let us say that Saddam Hussein once was such a stooge) but also from half baked Mullahs and Imams. Islam has been hijacked (because most Muslims, even Arabs, read the Quran but do not understand it, because Muslim rather listen to some feel good bull shit from an Imam than what the Quran or the Authenticated Hadith tells them, because …) by political tin horn scoundrels pretending to be religious leaders. Some of these religious leaders of Islam are no less of stooges than the political leaders. There is a theory that Osama Bin Laden too is just a puppet of the colonial powers. Hence, at the end of the day you will see that this struggle for freedom is as much against Colonial occupiers (and their stooges) as against fake, phoney, & fraud Mullahs. Have no doubt, above 90% of the Mullahs and Imams today have a political iron in the fire, or are comprised by their economical conditions. Salvation for Muslims will come via reading & UNDERSTANDING the Quran for themselves, rather than depending upon compromised and ignorant Mullahs. I truly believe that a person who understand the Quran will not be misguided and will not hurt anyone.
Hence I am so disappointed that Shoaib Mansoor could have shown the truth about the state of the Muslims today, but was content to be a mouth piece for one of the planks of Fox News and CNN. In all fairness to Shoaib, some of the touches he brings to this movie could not have been ever shown by someone who has not walked the walk. I really liked how he ended the movie, the two “Azaan” signifies that there are multiple voices within Islam and while some are louder and being heard, others are lesser heard, but definitely do exist.
Let us now wait for SRK / K Jo’s “Khan”
