Americaroopam: Kamal Haasan’s Flawed Scripting

Ram Puniyani

The release of Vishwaroopam, the latest film from Kamal Haasan was mired in controversies. (Feb 2013). Haasan decided to arrange a pre-screening for some groups, despite the film being cleared by the censors. These Muslim groups raised lots of objections and demanded for the ban on the film. As matters unfolded, these groups agreed for the release of the film after some cuts in the film, which the renowned actor-producer did and film went on to get very good response on the box office.

The demand for ban was totally out of place and unwarranted. The cutting of some scenes and the background recitation of Quran, before and after the acts of terror, was done by the producer. .Film all through creates the feel that Quran is the source of inspiration for violence. Though Haasan went on to say that the film is a tribute to Indian Muslims, as such the film falls in the trap of the Islamophobia created by America, American media and media here at home. Briefly, in the film the hero helps the US troops against Taliban forces and helps in the Americans in preventing the blast by Muslim group. An analysis of script of the film can be summed up by stating that the hero of the film, a Muslim working with RAW; is a very conscientious person out to save the World from the terror created by Muslim groups. Some writers have summed it up by saying that the film tries to portray ‘one good Muslims and all other bad Muslims’. It leaves an impression that the terrorist Muslim groups are creating problem all over and US is the savior, its agencies trying to protect US and the World from these dastardly acts. Film also roughly goes on to portray that Muslim children are given the arms training right from childhood, and Quran is their training manual for these acts of terror.

While one knows the impeccable secular credentials of both the lead actors of the film, Kamal Haasan and Rahul Bose; still the film is based on the script which is very superficial in its attempt with tackling the problem of terrorism. It’s not that it is the first film trying to grapple with the phenomenon of terror. There had been earlier attempts to deal with the theme, some of them doing a commendable job to go beyond the obvious in unraveling the deeper causes of terror then restricting to the understanding that terrorism is to Islam itself. Films like New York, My Name is Khan, Tere bin Laden Aamir and others did a good job as the script writers tried to break the shackles of the US propaganda and the ‘constructed social common sense’ that ‘All Terrorists are Muslims’. This film takes this formulation as the basic dictum adds to that the imagery that the terrorists keep carrying Koran, keep offering Namaz, and keep shouting Allah Ho Akbar while indulging in the acts of brutality.

How come such a serious film maker like Kamal Haasan falls in to the trap of the US inspired thesis which links terrorism with the teaching of Islam? Haasan claims to have 300 evidences for his script. Going by the story line of the film it seems that his sources seem to be lacking deeper scholarship. One guesses that what is paraded as evidence is mostly the propaganda of dominant global power, America. Look at the statement made in all seriousness that Americans don’t kill women and children! Will the script writer be able to defend it after going through the list of victims of US aggression in Afghanistan and Iraq to give the recent examples?

The film while caricaturing Mullah Umar, as Omar in the film, or the nature of whole Taliban gang, gives the impression that all this is due to what Koran teaches. Here the film gives the impression, the script goes out to elaborate that the hero stands as an exception to all the bad Muslims out to destroy the World. One can say the story line of the film is the passive acceptance of the dominant World view. Karl Marx remarked that the dominant ideas are the ideas of the ruling classes. One can modify it to state that the dominant groups-powers can and do manipulate the social thinking and hide the truth. They project the falsehoods, which the large sections of society go on to accept. Same thing was articulated by Noam Chomsky, the US human rights activists, in his classical formulation of ‘manufacturing consent’. The extensive study undertaken by Chomsky into the policies of US Empire showed its machinations to create the opinion in its favor while attacking other countries for its narrow political goals.

It’s not that there are no dissenting scholars and serious researched material on the subject. There is enough in the arena of serious scholarship and some dedicated websites, which show the deeper truth. One can very well mention the two profound works of scholarship on the subject, Mahmud Mamdani’s ‘Good Muslim Bad Muslim’ and Tariq Ali’s ‘Clash of Fundamentalisms’, which show the deeper connection of the current terror groups, Bin Laden and Al Qaeda outfits themselves being the product of the US attempt to dominate West Asia for controlling oil wealth. The US imperialists worked with the thesis that oil is too important a commodity to be left to Arabs for control. The deeper peep into the current history of West Asia will clearly show the role of CIA in promoting the Madrassas, which picked up Salafi version of Islam to indoctrinate the generation of Muslim youth to undertake acts of terror. The whole sequence of Mujahideen, Taliban and Al Qaeda had been the outcome of that. All this, was richly funded by the United States to fight against the Russians; occupying Afghanistan. Apparently later Al Qaeda turned its guns against Western powers and today is playing the Frankenstein’s monster. The whole formulation of ‘Islamic-terrorism’ was the creation of US media post 9/11 2001, linking Islam-Muslims with terrorism. Here one is not referring to the conspiracy theories, which are doing rounds through various films and social media.

It’s a tragedy of times that despite the large presence of social media and serious scholarship on contemporary history of West Asia, the popular conceptions are those dictated by the US media, and Kamal Haasan’s script neatly falls into the superficial trap laid by the global ‘social common sense’. How come the film mentions the involvement of Al Qaeda type groups into the acts of terror in Malegaon and other cities in India, while totally forgetting Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Swami Assemanand and their ilk who are currently in jails accused of being involved in the series of blasts in different places in India! Why film makers and others remain confined to the superficial level of analysis, which in turn worsens the popular perceptions? Surely, deepening of these perceptions does suit the interests of the Imperialist powers and also the communal forces. This pattern of projection of terrorism leads one to conclude that the power of ideas propagated by America, the other dominant social groups with their prowess to influence and shape the opinions emerging from mainstream media and films like Vishwaroopam, is immense. Films like Vishwaroopam have their own right to be screened without any cuts but are disgusting for the poverty of their research and regressive values, which in turn strengthens the Islamophobia, being perpetuated all round, and is serving the Western powers to dominate the oil zone primarily and also other areas. It strongly helps the communal thinking also.

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Viswaroopam: Kerala Shows The Way!

One of the most redeeming scenes we have witnessed during the current Islamist protest against the screening of the Kamal Hassan film Viswaroopam is the protection offered by the public to the theaters when the film was screened in various parts of Kerala.

The Hindu reports that when the ultra-fundamentalist Social Democratic Party of India (what a name for a group still wallowing in the tribal values of the seventh century Arabian desert people!) tried to stop the screening of the film in government owned Kairali theatre in Thiruvananthapuram, DYFI workers assembled at the theatre offering protection.  In other places too cultural activists came out in support of the film and offered protection to screen the film emboldening the theatres to continue to exhibit the film.

While in a civilized society it is the duty of the police and other law enforcing authorities to protect the public from hooligans, sometimes it becomes necessary for the civil society to come forward and take on the cultural fascists who use their muscle power to muzzle the voice of freedom and progressive values.

While we understand the decision of the producers of the film to have a discussion with the fundamentalist groups protesting against the film (after all, they are in business and has to, at least recover the money they invested), it is indeed depressing to find that in addition to the Central Board of Film Certification, the producers of a film has to get the approcval of religious nuts before a film is exhibitted to the public in India - supposely a Secular State!

Vishwaroopam comes home to plaudits, brickbats in equal measure

Special Correspondent

(The Hindu, 26 January 2013)

Amidst protests, the fans of actor Kamal Hassan gave a warm reception to his latest film `Viswaroopam,’ in the capital on Saturday.

As the film was not released in Tamil Nadu, the fans of Mr.Kamal Hassan from Madurai and Tirunelveli reached the Kairali and Sree theatre complex in the city to watch the film. The enthusiastic youth showered flower petals and sprayed milk on the huge flex boards of the actor put up before the theatre complex. Some of them offered pooja too. The fans had a word of praise for the State government for taking the initiative to screen the film. In spite of news about the protests against the film alleging that it hurt the sentiments of a community, the theatres were crowded.

Later, a group of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) took out a protest demonstration to the theatre complex. They destroyed the boards put up before the theatre. Meanwhile, DYFI workers under the aegis of the district committee assembled at the theatre offering protection for the screening. Kerala Cine Exhibitors Association president V.Mohanan told `The Hindu’ that all those cinema houses which had stopped screening in the wake of protest will resume shows as usual from Sunday. “Across the State, the film was released in 86 theatres, but at least 14 theatres were forced to give up the screening in the wake of protests. Cultural activists in various regions, including Perumbavoor and Palakkad have come out in support of the film offering protection and this has emboldened the exhibitors to resume the screening in full swing from Sunday. Cultural and political activists have taken an active interest in preventing such undesirable tendencies,” he said.

Leader of the Opposition V.S.Achuthanandan said in a statement here that the blocking the screening and unleashing violence against the film amounted to infringement on creative freedom and right to expression. Permission for screening the film was granted by the Censor Board after scrutiny. The violence against theatres was cultural fascism. Those opposing the film can campaign against it, but should not resort to violence. This was proof of intolerance. Mr.Kamal Hassan hails from a family which upheld religious amity. He and his brothers are symbols of religious unity. Casting a wrong impression about a revered artiste was unfair, he said.

The SFI State secretariat demanded the government to give due protection to the theatres screening the film. It described the protests as uncalled for in a statement here. Legal action should be initiated against those targeting the cinema houses. Communal forces were trying to upset creative freedom. The attacks and ban on a work of art were not conducive for a civilised society, the statement said.

(http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/vishwaroopam-comes-home-to-plaudits-brickbats-in-equal-measure/article4348207.ece

 Accessed on 31 January 2013)

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Identity to the Fore

Ram Puniyani

Parliament was rocked (May 2012) with the discussion on the alleged insult of Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar in the cartoon in NCERT text book for standard XI.  The MHRD Minister immediately declared the withdrawal of the book and asked for review of all books for which a committee has been appointed. This is yet another instance where the intent and meaning of the said cartoon has not only been misrepresented but also the hype has been associated with the alleged insult of Dr. Ambedkar. Interestingly this cartoon appears in the book, which is part of a series, brought out by NCERT, which can easily be rated as of being of very high standard, being very lively and incorporating the core issues related to the politics of the country.

The cartoon by one of the foremost Indian cartoonist, Shankar Pillai, shows Dr. Ambedkar sitting on a snail and prodding it to go faster. Behind the snail Pundit Nehru is standing prodding the snail to move faster. The whip in the hands of Nehru, in no way is directed against Ambedkar, but is directed against snail. Ambedkar is in command of the snail, which is depicted as the process of making of Indian Constitution. The reading of the cartoon, put extremely creatively in the book, is to show the slow pace of the constitution making process. In what way this is against Ambedkar, defies the logic in toto. The dalit leaders who have raised the issue, Ramdas Athawaley, and later supported by Mayawati and others needed to think more on the lines, as to why Constitution making process was at snail’s pace rather than picking up a totally misreading of the point and making it an emotional issue.

Cartoonist Shankar at Work
Courtesy:
http://cartoonacademy.blogspot.in/

On the same issue some youth rampaged the office of Prof Suhas Palshikar, who has been the advisor of NCERT committee, which went into the making of this book. What a paradox, the person who drafted a Constitution giving us freedom of thought and expression, in his name the same freedom of expression is being throttled. The cartoon was made in late forties, when Ambedkar and Nehru both were very much there, and surely both must have mused at the cartoon and realized their helplessness in pushing the speed of Constitution making rather than penalizing the legendary cartoonist Shankar.

Final issue of Shankar's Weekly

The whole episode raises multiple questions.  None of these relates to the plight of dalits and Indian constitution. One recalls that just a decade ago NDA Government led by BJP had undertaken the exercise to ‘review’ the Constitution on the grounds that it needs to change. That time dalits stood in unison and saw the designs of BJP, the political arm of RSS, to change the secular democratic structure of constitution and to replace it with one based on Hindu holy books as desired by the RSS in its pursuance of its agenda of Hindu Rashtra, was thwarted. A decade later we need to be more concerned about the threat to the values of Indian Constitution rather than focus on an emotive issue related to the same.

 The Hindu's response to the Cartoon Controversy

Why was the Constitution making process slow? Is it because Dr. Ambedkar wanted it to be slow? Not in the least. It was slow despite the best efforts of Dr. Ambedkar and despite full support from Nehru, because the opposition to this process was prevalent all around. RSS chief M.S. Golwalkar articulated the opposition to this process by saying that we don’t need a new Constitution as we already have the 'glorious' constitution in the form of Manusmriti.

RK Laxman on the protest against Hindu Code Bill

One recalls here that the chief architect of Indian Constitution Dr. Ambedkar had burnt Manusmiriti on the grounds that it has provisions of slavery of Shudras and women. The process of Constitution making was slow because communal orthodox forces were not for the social change which the Constitution envisaged. Those following the values of Ambedkar need to focus more on the fact that the forces which were making the process slow have become stronger today and are posing an obstacle to the issues of social justice even today. Social justice was the major plank for Dr. Ambedkar and even while introducing the draft of Constitution in the Constituent assembly he pointed out that with this Constitution we are entering the era of ‘One Man One Vote’, i.e. political democracy, but the social democracy seems to be still a goal not very easy to achieve.

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