Adil Najam
(UPDATE: You can view this movie here).
Shaib Mansoor’s feature film Khuda Kay Liye: In The Name of God is to be released in Pakistan on July 20, 2007. There is great buzz about it; as there should be.
Regular readers know how much respect, even reverance, I have for Shoaib’s work. For me he is one of the single most talented Pakistanis I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
Indeed, one of the single most talented Pakistanis ever.
As we have written before, he may also be the single most under-rated Pakistani artist, since his contribution to TV music, to TV drama, to TV comedy, TV stage shows and to popular music remains unknown to many; too many.
I have not seen the movie myself yet and have been hearing about it from a number of people – including some directly involved – for quite some while. The promo clips are now available on YouTube and – no surprise – the quality of cinematography, of artistic composition, of music, of attention to detail all look great. Typical Shoaib Mansoor. Of course, how the whole package comes across remains to be seen. This is, of course, his first feature film but he is already a master of each of the genres in a movie and his long plays (like Alpha, Bravo, Charlie) must have trained him well for this.
To me, of course, the story is Shoaib Mansoor. For others, however, there are other draws. The cast includes Lollywood superstar Shaan, Bollywood maestro Naseeruddin Shah, Iman Ali (who is PTV’s Abid Ali’s daughter and was in Shoaib’s Anarkali music video), and other notables. But the real story here is the story. Or, rather, the topic of the story.
The film has a wonderful and wonderfully rich website, and according to the synopsis posted there:
The film is about the difficult situation in which the Pakistanis in particular and the Muslims in general are caught up since 9/11. There is a war going on between the Fundamentalists and the Liberal Muslims. This situation is creating a drift not only between the Western world and the Muslims, but also within the Muslims. The educated and modern Muslims are in a difficult situation because of their approach towards life and their western attire. They are criticized and harassed by the fundamentalists and on the other hand the Western world sees them as potential suspects of terrorism just because of their Muslim names. This paradox is resulting in great suffering for a forward looking Muslim.
This paradox of the divided society is, of course, a constant theme of ATP too. It is always a controversial subject here and will be much much more controversial for Khuda Kay Liye. It is, despite the controversy, a topic that we as a society have to confront. Thoughtfully and seriously. Since I have not seen the movie I cannot say how he has treated the subject, but based on his track record if there is anyone who has the ability to deal with this difficult issue sensitively and without turning things into slogans, it is Shoaib Mansoor. All the more reason to watch the movie and refrain from judging it in advance.
But there is another important angle to this too. GEO is promoting the movie as a ‘revival’ of Pakistan cinema. As a long time fan of Pakistani cinema, I certainly hope it is. Again, if anyone can do this, Shoaib Mansoor can.
I saw a post today in Metroblog Lahore that made me think that he just might. It was not about this movie, but about a new very modern movie house opening in Lahore. I have long believed that the reason Pakistani cinema declined is not just because of the movies, but also because of the state of movie houses. Well, this new theatre – the DHA Cinema – is quite something.
With tickets at Rs. 250 and Rs. 500 it may be pricy, but from the pictures at the site, it is clearly something that could attract a lot of people simply for the theatre experience. Interestingly, this theater also opens on July 20, and one of the movies it is opening with is Khuda Kay Liye. Coincidence? Probably not.
I must confess that I have been planning to write this post for nearly two weeks now. I had originally thought of calling it something like ‘The Other Lal Masjid Story’ simply because Abdul Rashid Ghazi had taken an interest in this movie. According to Daily Times (July 3, 2007):
Lal Masjid has demanded a ban on a yet-to-be released movie, Khuda Kay Liye, declaring it blasphemous… “The film is against Islamic norms and traditions and is being released on a private TV channel without prior approval from a censor board. We won’t allow this,â€? said Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the Lal Masjid deputy mullah, who did not mention his source of information about the movie. He said he would not object to the movie if ulema approved it. He demanded that the government form a board to review the film. “The government will be held responsible if the film is released without being censored,â€? he said.
I had not understood then, nor understand now, whether his source of objection was the subject matter, the fact that it has an Indian actor in it, or a statement of support for the Censor Board. I guess we will never really know. I do know, however, that it is bound to be controversial for same for at least two of those reasons. As for myself, I will reserve my judgement until after I see the movie. But anything from Shoaib Mansoor, and anything on this subject, I do want to see.
@Ibrahim,
I agree with you about the actual peak period of that region but since most ATP visitors can not perceive much more than what they see in materialistic grandeur and splendor, so I thought that in that context, AlHamra does represent the peak. Besides, its also my personal belief that we have to be best of both worlds, otherwise, the Prophet PBUH would not have had a diverse skill set ranging from mending his shoes to making war strategies, trading in between. There are some supplications which seek the best of both worlds as well.
But I also think (although not sure, as i am a young student of history) that the Muslim decline came when people slowly developed a stronger bondage with material luxuries, heart poisoned, lust increased. The Moguls are a perfect example of that era.
thanx for the history pointers though.
Ghalib sb, very well said! a balanced and sensible comment. Thanks for putting it up right here.
Adnan, Asa,
I think you are mistaken as to the meaning of the word extremism.
Here is a definition of extremism
“Extremism is a term used to describe the actions or ideologies of individuals or groups outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common standards of ethics and reciprocity.”
The terms “extremist” or “radical” are often used to label those who advocate or use violence against the will of the larger social body, but it is also used by some to describe those who advocate or use violence to enforce the will of the social body, such as a government or majority constituency.
Civilization finds it unacceptable to make the use of violence to enforce the will of an idea.
Thus it is perfectly legal/civilized for one to say that “Bush is an idiot” in the western world without any physical harm being done to you.
To say the same about Osama in Taliban’s Afghanistan would make you the main attraction/ chief guest of that evening’s “necktie party”.
Hence the characterization of the Taliban regime as extremist. Hence also the characterization of the “chicks with sticks ” and the “mullah with the danda” as extremists in this forum and in Pakistan.
The key element is force. Hence the emphasis on democracy and the will of the people by all parties in Pakistan.
Thus it is perfectly permissible for an individual to write down his ideas and share it and try to build a consensus on a course of action. He can choose any medium to propagate his idea. Be it film, press, writings, drawings and paintings.
Ultimately, its the power of the idea that will triumph.
Victor Hugo says in Histoire d’un Crime: “One can resist the invasion of an army, but one cannot resist the invasion of ideas whose time has come”
or
“No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come”
Extremism is about negating the power of an idea to replace it with mere brutish force..
Thus coming to the point of this whole discourse, to label Shoaib as an extremist would be wrong, as long as he continues to expound on his ideas in medium and not by force.
before writing some profound statements read the Book Quran and Hadith ull get the answer,even if i say it is,ull concur with me!so dear Karim read the source not the news!!
nice debate about music is haram or painting is haram or not!!! nice going folks,add a little religious tarka and some enlightened moderation spices with little salt of lawlessness we are going to build a great nation!
Shoman’s bread and butter is entertainment,how can he say its wrong? JJ earned from music,now has boutiques,so he left,u call it “jaagna” or “impressed by fundamentalists” there would be opposition. Now this terror thing is a huge business,make a movie,have critics read it,get it released in some movie fare,get some acclaim!!!and the people in pakistan who are moderates,who will criticse it will be labelled “terrorist” and now masjids have gotten a new name “red masjid” LOL in the end what suffers? Islam and Pakistan!coz when the name islam is spoken 2-3 name taken is pakistan!so in my opinion we are all sitting in one boat and at opposite ends!!
What people got out of Red Masjid is Nothing!u have eliminated them and created many monsters,reading MQ comments about red mosque cinema burning and where he wud watch the movie is an intersting comment!but i will never see MQ talking against CDA and the people who let this mosque going up right next to ISI HQ!coz that wont solve the agenda!coz the mosques there for 12 years ,illegally built,and CDA cute and mute?? after 12 years the realise awwwwwwww and mush like reagan says “Mr Ghazi-Shob tear down this mosque” without realising y its there on the first place has nay one asked CDA? just like Robin Cook at the start of iraqi war resigned by saying “if we attack iraq saying they are not fulfilling UN resolutions,thenw e must attack israel as well,why we attacking saddam,a bas-ard we created our selves” so they create and then destroy them and use peoples emotion to rally their evil causes!
I will love the movie if it shows what pakistanis want,than to use a defense mechanism that we muslims have faults an y its in pakistan,what causes it,and that it is not islam as projected by west!!a hoax that musharaf is using a precontext that pakistan is in danger of being taken over by taliban,a hoax likewise was created by another stoog of the west Zia that fooled ppl by saying “reds are coming”and we need “ppl in beards”
people will watch it not by MQ’s mine or Adils or Adnans eyes,they will watch it with a pakistani eye where their country is prime and religion is supreme,any thing on it,more moderates like JJ Saeed Anwar will move towards the other side against whom they trying to make this movie!!!