India has been frequently targeted by foreign terrorist attacks for more than a decade, costing us lives and bringing in shock and fear amongst common people. For a democracy that has sustained in a vitiated political neighborhood where military juntas, army controlled governments and dictatorships continue to rule, attacks on Indian soil spell more than just hostility over a stretch of land in Kashmir. They attack a way of life and a thought process of tolerance and enterprise.
Yet, in the world of Hindi cinema, you would be hard pressed to find too many films that actually tell stories of terrorism as it is. Often terrorism or terrorists become a backdrop to hyperbole and melodrama. Gun totting maniacs are tagged as the bad guys, and made into villains. Most films don’t go beyond the surface level, never approaching subjects centered on terrorism with a research-based approach. A filmmaker might begin looking at terrorism or insurgency with noble intent, but as they begin the process of making a film, the end result often gets diluted.Authentic research and writing based on such research are sorely lacking.
Commercial interests and the pressure to play it safe, to be politically neutral, come in the way of films attempting to tell gritty, reality based stories about terrorism. What you get is a melodramatic Misson Kashmir, inadequate in its background research and yet, made by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, a Kashmiri Pandit. Otherwise, filmmakers like Mani Ratnam have touched upon the impact of terrorism on the lives of people in films like Dil Se, which looks at the life of a suicide bomber. Ratnam did approach an insurgent’s character with depth and layers in Roja, where Pankaj Kapur promises to reform himself in the end. Then there’s Aamir by Rajkumar Gupta, a gripping portrayal of a man forced to turn a suicide bomber, touching but politically passive. Nikhil Advani tackled homegrown terror and crime in D Day, which a filmy ending to the Dawood Ibrahim story that completely pandered to the front rows.
As cinema is changing swiftly across the mainstream in India, adapting to reality has slowly become a necessity for filmmakers. Some that have complained about not getting funds or a suitable producer to back films based in reality are finally getting opportunities to present those stories that they have always wanted to tell.
Omerta, by Hansal Mehta, is one of the best examples of such films. Set to release this April (20 April), the film is a gripping thriller centered on the life of Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British born Pakistani terrorist. Saeed has wreaked havoc on Indian soil and also masterminded some of the most high profile terrorist attacks in recent memory. Be it the blood thirsty assassination of journalist Daniel Pearl, or funding the 9/11 attacks, Omar, an educated and polished British man, was behind these chilling incidents. He was also integral to recruitment and training of Western and local youth for terror camps, and part of training suicide bombers in Pakistan. Rajkummar Rao, the finest actor that India has today, plays Saeed Sheikh with a touch of the diabolic sophisticate. He is brilliant, and has called his much-applauded role “the toughest that I have done so far.” Omerta, while incomplete in exploration of what made Omar Saeed such a fanatic, is an engaging portrayal of what makes a master terrorist, brick by brick. Mehta has utilized background information from media coverage to write out a chilling portrayal of Omar Saeed Sheikh.
Like Mehta, debutante director Aditya Dhar has found his inspiration in the 2016 Uri attacks by the Indian Defence forces. This film takes the route of a thriller, focusing on the bravery and strategic brilliance of the Indian Army in selectively attacking terror camps across the Pakistan border. In retaliation of a series of bloody attacks on the Defence forces by Pakistani terrorists, Dhar has written this film based entirely on media reports and conversations with military experts. The talented young actor Vicky Kaushal will act in it, and Ronnie Screwvala will produce it under his new company, RSVP. With bright young actors like Yami Gautam and Kriti Kulhari joining it’s cast, Uri promises to be a slick, engaging film about a key military operation that was carried quite recently. Its currency makes the film a hook for young audiences too.
In May, director Meghna Gulzar’s Raazi will release. Based on the book Calling Sehmat by Harinder Sikka, this film tells the story of a young female spy of Indian origin. A Kashmiri college student takes on the mantle of passing on crucial intelligence about Pakistani Army sponsored operations to the Indian Army; the book draws from real life incidents. In this film, Alia Bhatt, a popular young star today, is married to the son of a Pakistani Army general, having access to important information. Raazi is eagerly awaited for it’s true to life, gripping story.
What these films establish is the fact that despite a random Censor Board, that has a legacy of hacking off words, sentences, dialogues and scenes to keep Indians ‘protected’, filmmakers and producers are treading into politically volatile and sometimes, controversial territory. They will focus on the patriotism trump card to make their films viable no doubt. Even so, that they will make films adapted from real incidents involving the Indian Defence forces, diplomacy and the complex politics of Kashmir, is a positive start.
In Hollywood and international cinema, recent US armed interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan have inspired brilliant films and TV series. Be it the Oscar nominated films Zero Dark Thirty about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, or The Hurt Locker, and American Sniper, The Green Line etc, Hollywood has taken a tough look at America’s
terror policy. Criticism and analysis are part of their story telling. With recent shows like The Looming Tower, or Homeland, American TV continues to take a critical, reality driven angle to their government’s role in military interventions, and aggressive anti-terrorism measures. Similarly, Vishal Bharadwaj, a filmmaker that has addressed typical Indian stories with universal flair, is currently in the process of adapting The Exile, a book by Kathy Scott Clark and Adrian Levy.
Bharadwaj will focus on the story before USA seriously hunkered down to find Osama Bin Laden. Based on thorough research, and exceptionally well thought out analysis, Scott Clark and Levy detail how Bin Laden was evacuated from Tora Bora in Afghanistan just thirty feet before US troops were ready to capture him. It looks at the special hidden place Bin Laden was given, and explore the link between the terror attack on the Indian parliament to Osama Bin Laden. It also takes a critical look at Pakistani ISI strategy to keep Osama hidden as that ensured inflow of more than a billion US dollars of aid money for a decade. Bharadwaj’s razor sharp writing holds promise of blowing the lid off Pakistan’s betrayals of international opinion and heinous strategy. It also brings the story as it played out from inside the complex where Osama was kept under strict protection.
Nikhil Advani, whose D Day took a filmy turn and adaptation of the first season of Homeland as Prisoners of War for Hotstar India didn’t quite win audiences, has pledged to make a film on the Batla House encounter. Advani will also focus on what really happened inside this building before and during the encounter with security forces. He wants to look at whether those brands terrorists here, could have just been students.
Filmmakers with experience and with dedicated teams working on writing and research for films that adapt real life terrorism is a positive sign for Hindi cinema. Films have to become oriented towards our reality for them to remain relevant to a 18 to 35 audience that has a large number of options on streaming platforms and from Hollywood.
Besides, these stories reflect the evolution of India as a nation, and the crucial role that our defence forces play in keeping us safe. They can be educative and reflective. One hopes, that with so many filmmakers attempting such content, we get to see some truly engaging and quality films around terrorism and it’s damaging consequences, that also connect with India’s mass audiences.
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The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, visited Siachen Base Camp on 10th May 2018 and addressed the soldiers posted there. He also visited the Kumar Post. President Kovind is the second President of India to visit Siachen. The previous visit was undertaken by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in April 2004. This makes President Kovind the first President to travel to Siachen in 14 years.
Politics of ‘Kar-Natak’ unruffles political bigwigs
Come May 12, Karnataka goes to poll for 224-Assembly seats for which a whopping number of candidates have filed nominations. Bulk of the seats are being contested by the ruling Congress, and the opposition BJP as well as Janata Dal (Secular) or JD-S. Besides, Independents and candidates from regional parties are also contesting in large numbers. The intervening period is witnessing a hectic flurry of political activity in all major and minor contending parties. Undoubtedly, experts don’t see any wave either in favour of against the key political parties — ruling Congress, rival BJP and the JD (S) — nevertheless, the electioneering is witnessing exchange of barbs or jibes via social media, allegations and counter-allegations in election rallies and the last-minute efforts to woo the voters.
Siddaramaiah’s emphasis on regional issues has earned some mild criticism from certain quarters, but concurrently it is also seen by some as bulwark against BJP’s brand of nationalism, which the local BJP leadership is finding it difficult to effectively puncture this narrative. While making the assembly polls a battle between regionalism and BJP’s style of nationalism, Siddaramaiah government has also come out with welfare schemes like food for the poor — Indira Canteens.
In the wake of the BJP’s announcement of the campaign schedule of PM Modi and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Siddaramaiah brooked no delay in riling the BJP by calling its star campaigners as “north Indian imports” and their presence in Karnataka an admission of the fact that the BJP has no leaders in the state. One critic has dubbed this as return of the north vs south rhetoric to Karnataka. Bristled at its leaders being dubbed as outsiders to Karnataka, the BJP hit back by accusing Siddaramaiah of stooping low and pointed to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, also non-Kannadigas like Modi and Adityanath.
Being aware of the BJP’s strategy of playing up a nationalistic brand of politics, Siddaramaiah has brought to the table his brand of identity politics — Kannadiga — which is touted as Siddaramaiah’s way of ensuring even the voter wears his Kannadiga identity on his sleeve. The growing resentment over the BJP-ruled Centre’s efforts of pushing Kannada to play the second fiddle to Hindi even in Karnataka, especially in exams conducted by departments of the Government of India found its articulation in incidents of defacing signage at Metro rail stations in Bengaluru and spraying paint over the names of the stations written in Hindi. Some experts opine that this linguist pride has got intertwined with the Kannadiga identity and Siddaramaiah is tapping into the feeling among proud Kannadigas who feel that a Kannada speaker is considered inferior to someone who articulates in Hindi. Recently, this author was in Karnataka and chanced to have one-to-one talk with Siddaramaiah in Nagnahally district of Mysore, wherein the latter expressed full confidence of again forming the next government. The chief minister who was conducting door-to-door campaign ruled out the possibility of any negative impact of anti-incumbency factor because his government had dome more good things on account of which the people were satisfied with his government.
BJP’s hitch
Majority of political observers agree that under the current scenario, the BJP is finding the going tough in Karnataka. They also opine that the BJP’s chief ministerial face Yeddyurappa and his supporters are finding it difficult to counter Siddaramaiah’s narrative based on Kannada pride and the manner in which he has managed to paint the Central government as the villain. The state BJP unit, finding itself on a weaker wicket, is pegging hopes on PM Modi, its pinch hitter, to rescue the team, like he did in Gujarat assembly elections at the fag-end of campaigning.
The BJP’s attempts at making corruption as its main plank seem to have run into a rough weather because Yeddyurappa as the CM face weakens this plank as he was, in people’s perception, infamously immersed in corruption and his governance found wanting on different fronts. Besides, the BJP high command’s decision to refuse a ticket to Yeddyurappa’s son reinforces what Siddaramaiah has been underlining that the north Indian leaders call the shots in BJP, reducing Yeddyurappa to a figurehead.
Theatrical antics
Theatrical antics in the form of jibes, barbs, allegations through social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook have come to roost in Karnataka. Now with the Congress as well as the BJP being desperate to win Karnataka, both have taken to social media in a big way, making political use of technology, and even the JD (S) is not lagging behind.
Electoral rivalries between the BJP and Congress no more remain confined to just rallies and road shows, but increasingly about tweet wars, Facebook likes and WhatsApp forwards.There has been frequent exchange of barbs on Twitter between present incumbent Siddaramaiah and the BJP’s chief ministerial face BS Yeddyurappa. The Congress social media unit, comprising about 50 volunteers, reportedly works on graphics, tweets and Facebook posts to counter “fake news” put out by BJP handles. The BJP’s social media units, comprising 5,000 volunteers spread across the state, are working to spread the BJP messaging since August last 2017. Their main job is to highlight what they call the “misgovernance” of the Siddaramaiah government and “negativity towards Hindus.”
In the wake of dissemination of fake news assuming serious dimensions, a leading English Daily has recently warned that Internet fakery is now taking an even more vicious avatar called “Deepfakes”, which uses Artificial Intelligence to make anyone say or do just about anything on video. Undoubtedly, social media is credited to have made the world a more democratic place; nonetheless, it is also said to produce fakery that plays on naive minds, and polarises society more ominously than the rampaging mobs during riots.
Looking ahead
The tone and tenor of election campaigns, especially during the state assembly elections, is assuming such dimensions that belittle the importance of India’s claim to be the largest successful democracy in the world.
Political slugfest, mud-slugging, usage of unparliamentary language and character assassination on individual basis and on the basis of caste have become features frequently deployed during the election campaigns, as witnessed in UP assembly elections and in Gujarat assembly elections and a part of this scenario can be seen in Karnataka as well.
This is a dangerous trend that needs to be curbed at the earliest by making suitable amendments in the election law. Karnataka has the distinction of being a State where no party since 1985 came to power for a second consecutive term and no CM has returned after a full five-year term since Devaraj Urs in 1978. Undoubtedly, both Congress and the BJP are confident of winning the elections; nevertheless, if Congress succeeds in wresting power for the second time consecutively, it will explode 33-year old myth and for that we will have to wait till May 15.
Dr. Anil Singh is Executive Editor of News24, the author was recently in Karnataka & views expressed are author’s own
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