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| Movie Review: Gadar-Ek Prem Katha (Hindi) |
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| Anwar |
| 07/26/01 at 07:56:38 |
| Aslamu alaikum Bollywood churns out another Indo-Pak Movie, where once again Islam is shown to be a problem, when a Muslim girl wishes to marry a sikh guy, whom she falls in love with (was this actually commonplace during the partition?!). There is no doubt that making such movies gives the Hindu's a great satisfaction and joy, but what is rather shocking is the fact that these movies also recieve much acclaim from many Pakistani's, who do not hesitate in actually praising such films. Below is an article taken from islamonline.net, which rewiews this movie. wa salam Movie Review: Gadar-Ek Prem Katha (Hindi) Why Are Muslims Angry With the Movie? By Ayub Khan 24/07/2001 Cast: Sunny Deol, Amisha Patel, Amrish Puri Director: Anil Sharma When Indian Muslims protested - in some instances violently - the release of the Hindi movie, Gadar-Ek Prem Katha (Mutiny - A Love Story) last month, they were accused of fanaticism and over-reaction. But, even a casual look at this movie will leave no doubt that the Muslim protests were indeed justified, as the film not only hurts religious sentiments but also depicts Muslims as materialistic and un-patriotic. Given the volatile nature of the relationship between Hindus and Muslims in India, the makers of the movie should have been more careful when making it; and should have consulted with Muslim leaders and intelligentsia in order to better research the facts before producing such a controversial movie - a movie that is, of course, totally unacceptable from a Muslim point of view. Gadar-Ek Prem Katha is set in 1947, the year in which India gained independence from British domination and partitioned into predominantly Muslim Pakistan and the mostly Hindu India. The introductory comments at the beginning of the movie maliciously place wholesale blame for the partition, and the subsequent widespread killings, solely on Muslims. It further erroneously claims that the killings of hundreds of thousands of Muslims by Hindus took place only after Muslims massacred a huge number of Hindus. Nothing could be farther from truth. The fact is, the upper caste Brahminical Hindu elite was, from the onset, completely hostile towards the Muslims (and sought every opportunity to keep Muslims oppressed and weak in all fields) and was the first to call for a partition. There is undeniable proof that it was Hindu leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai who first advocated for a separation of the two religious communities. On the other hand, even prominent South Asians have commented that Muslims have tried to live amicably with all communities of the country. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, initially was a strong proponent of unity and was hailed as the "Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity", by Hindus themselves. After the introductory commentary and scenes of Hindu-Muslim rioting, viewers are taken to a Hindu majority city in the now Indian state of Punjab where a wealthy Muslim businessman, Ashraf Ali (Amrish Puri), his family, and hundreds of Muslims are trying to flee from the Hindu rioters. When they reach the railway station, Ashraf Ali's daughter, Sakina, is left behind as the rest of the family manages to get onto the train. Later, when chased by a violent Hindu mob, a Sikh truck driver named Tara Singh saves her. The viewer is then told that Tara Singh and Sakina knew each other during her college days. In a flashback, viewers are shown that Sakina belongs to an affluent business family and studies at an expensive Christian college. By contrast, Tara Singh is a truck driver who brings in supplies to the college every week. However Singh has a beautiful voice, and Sakina helps him land a performance at her college, defying the authorities. Returning to 1947, Tara Singh heroically saves Sakina numerous times from the riotous Hindu-Sikh mobs that are out to get her. Upon learning that her family has been killed, Tara offers to take Sakina to Pakistan and they even make it as far as the border. Viewers are then told that Sakina is overcome by Tara's devotion to her and thus she opts to stay in India, marrying him and bearing him a son. Muslims are rightly outraged at this portrayal of a Muslim woman marrying a Sikh. It is clear from the Qur'an that Muslim women are not permitted to marry non-Muslim men. Just when Sakina settles down with her new family in India, she learns that her parents are not only alive, but also that her father is now the mayor of Lahore. She immediately leaves for Lahore, but once there, finds out that her father has no intention of returning her to her husband and child. He wants her to remain in Pakistan and take up politics. Sakina is taken aback by her family's attitude and is confident that Tara Singh will come and rescue her. On the day Sakina is forcibly being married to a Muslim, Tara arrives with their son and pleads with Ashraf Ali to return her to him. The two get into a heated argument, the dialogue of which again distorts facts. Tara tells Ashraf Ali that Pakistan could only survive as a nation because India had given it the required money as laid out in the partition plan. However, the truth of the matter is that India never paid Pakistan any money and the young nation survived only because of the financial assistance it received from Muslim businessmen and the additional aid it received from the ruler of Hyderabad. An irate Ashraf Ali threatens to kill Tara Singh, but the Qazi mediates and urges them solve the problem by talking. Ashraf Ali agrees and tells Tara Singh that he can retain Sakina only if he is willing to become a Muslim. The next morning Tara Singh, in front of a huge crowd and the Qazi, says that he is willing to embrace Islam. But as it turns out, Ashraf Ali wasn't sincere in his offer and was only seeking an excuse to kill Tara Singh because he was sure that he would not accept Islam. A frustrated Ashraf Ali then asks Tara to proclaim: "Long Live Islam and Long Live Pakistan" to which Tara Singh complies. But, when is ordered to shout: "Death to India", he refuses and shouts: "Long Live India" instead. Again the viewer is erroneously led to believe that that shouting: "Death to India" and "Long Live Pakistan" was some kind of essential element of Islamic belief. Tara then flees with his family. Tragically though, near the India-Pakistan border, gunmen sent by her own father shoot Sakina. Seeing his injured daughter, Ashraf Ali relents of his earlier attitude and then asks for forgiveness from Tara Singh. Movies like Gadar are propoganda films that disseminate disinformation about Islam and Muslims. They portray an unreal image of Muslims and sensationalize issues such as the prohibition of marriage between Muslims women and non-Muslim men; thereby impressing on Muslim youth that it is all right to do so. Regrettably, more and more of these kinds of movies are being made by the booming Bollywood industry; among them of late have been Hena, Roja, Bombay, Border, Refugee, Fiza, and Mission Kashmir. |
| Re: Movie Review: Gadar-Ek Prem Katha (Hindi) |
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| Saleema |
| 07/27/01 at 22:24:45 |
| [slm] Why even watch them? What good will it do anyone to watch a bunch of air heads run around trees and sing to the stars and do haram stuff? Stop going to the movies, Indian or Pakistani and you will cost them millions in lost revenue. Wouldn't that make you* happy? :) That would make me happy. * --- "you" here is being used generally. [wlm] Saleema |
| Re: Movie Review: Gadar-Ek Prem Katha (Hindi) |
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| Anwar |
| 07/27/01 at 19:33:38 |
| Aslamu alaikum I wish all Muslims shared your sentiments, but the sad truth is however, despite the fact that I and you and many other Muslims despise these movies and would never go and watch them alhamdulillah, their are still millions of Muslims who do like them a lot and will go and watch them. Now in order to try and deter these Muslims from having such an attachment to such movies, songs and so on is to provide them with various arguments which highlight the reasons one should not waste his/her time and money in such a pastime. This is ofcourse in addition to giving them dawah to the deen of Allah, which will always be the main cure for all deseases. This is why I welcome good and well researched articles, books, documentries, lectures and all other mediums of dawah aimed at highlighting the manifest evil emanating from such industries, so that those short-sighted people may start seeing things in a clearer light insh'Allah. wa salam |
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