Me ThInKs

In the name of God

Two days back, I watched a movie that I should have seen a year back- Khuda ke Liye. Simply put, the movie means "For God'. Maybe its my faulty perception at work, or maybe its the overdose of Bollywood that all Indians are treated to, but I did not expect this movie to be so good. Not that I know anything about Pakistani movies of course. Its just that, film makers over the years, have tried nailing down a culture they dont really understand, and they have only succeeded in making a mess of it, dramatizing it, or not really conveying the truth. Most often, what could have been a powerful movie, becomes something that you watched for 2 hours and probably wont remember after that.

Thats where this movie is different. Firstly, I didnt know any of the cast members. Which made it a fresh experience for me. Secondly, the film never swayed away from the story. It wove around different acts that happen in God's name, and it stuck by it. So, you have a father who cheats his daughter into marriage in the name of religion. You have a husband who decides that raping his wife is alright because by God, she hasnt allowed him to touch her since they were married. There is an innocent man, who gets imprisoned and suffers torture because he is a muslim. And who can forget how the mullah brainwashes his young flock, in that buttery voice and sighing Allah every two minutes. In the name of God. I think the best part of the movie, was the transition of an ordinary man, into something or somebody else. The way he changes his appearance, tells his mother to wear a hijab, marries his cousin in the name of religion, and eventually takes up a gun, was frightening. Frightening because it was so believable. Frightening because for a minute, you think about how many other young boys are probably going through this right now. How many children or men, have been robbed of their right to live a life on their terms, because somebody took a minute to brainwash them into thinking otherwise? How many people were told they were doing right, when they were realy doing wrong?

Its when a movie makes me think that I know its a damn good movie. I read somewhere that the director of this movie, made it for a friend of his who used to be a singer and then suddenly started preaching religion. Even after the movie ends, certain scenes, certain dialogues, certain moments truly live on. Kudos to the people who had the guts to make such a revolutionary movie.

And while, we are on the elusive subject of God, I wonder why theres so much of protest over giving gays a right to live. The High court decriminalizes homosexuality. While one section fo society is happy, the other is looking up religious books and verses to use for purposes of condemnation. My only argument is gays are people too. For the rest of society that's heterosexual, you wouldnt like somebody making snide remarks or harrassing you all the time. Thats probably what the homosexual side of society has had to live with over years. Am not saying that you become a spokesperson for them. Dont. Dont even try to understand them, if you feel you cant be bothered. But in the same breath, dont criminalize them either. The world is still big enough for everybody irrespective of sexual preference to live together. It always will be. So lets leave God out it.