The loose translation of the above Urdu couplet by legendary poet Momin Khan would be: All your life you lived in non-Muslim ways. In your old age, how can you become a Muslim? For me this couplet quiet sums up Khuda Ke Liye – In the Name of God.
I’ve been reading a lot about Khuda Ke Liye – first Pakistani movie to release in India after 43 years, a movie that has become a craze all over Pakistan, so much so, that on one hand there was a fatwa against it by some radical maulvis and on the other hand an endorsement from Pervez Musharraf, the director of the movie went on vacation with his family, as soon as the movie was released fearing his life, the film was recently honoured with Pakistan's highest civilian award Sitar-i-Imtiaz, etc.., I was very curious to watch Khuda Ke Liye and since I had missed it when it released in India a few months ago, I decided to buy the DVD of the film.
I remember getting bowled over by Pakistani director Sabiha Sumer’s excellent film Khamosh Pani a couple of years ago when it was shown at the MAMI festival. Khamosh Pani told the story of a youth in rural Pakistan who falls under the influence of fundamentalists, and turns his back to his mother and his lover.
Writer / Director Shoaib Mansoor’s movie Khuda Ke Liye – In the name of God goes a step further. The story is interesting as it handles two major issues – religious extremism and racial profiling - and twines them well. There are other issues also that the movie tries to focus on; condition of women during Taliban days in Afghanistan, theological issues of acceptance of music and cultural contextualization of Islam and the way various groups are putting forward their own version of the religion. The film’s introspective theme also takes a look within the contemporary Pakistani society and shows the wedge between the moderates and extremists, it also brings to the fore the less-acknowledged truth that Muslims are being viewed with increasing suspicion in the West. All it takes for you to become a terror suspect is be a Muslim, even though a progressive and moderate one. Besides this, the film also highlights the double standards in the largely patriarchal Pakistani Muslim society where women have to follow what men decide for them, even against their wishes.
Loaded with such relevant issues Khuda Ke Liye turns out to be a film that not just entertains you, but it raises questions in your mind about the denigration and hypocrisy in our society and religion. The movie also attempts to take on the raging debates consuming the Muslim World and Muslims living in foreign lands. The story starts somewhere in pre 9/11 timeframe and ends in late 2002 in the midst of which it follows various characters facing an array of issues in life.
It is a heart wrenching film with good performances by all the actors Shaan, Fawad Khan, Iman Ali and Naseeruddin Shah, who has a cameo in the film and not surprisingly a very powerful one. The film’s music and songs are mesmerizing, particularly 'Allah Ho' and ‘Bandeya’.
Khuda Ke Liye is a brilliant movie, especially if you are interested in what Islam has to say on various issues. Shoaib Mansoor deserves kudos because he tackles a bold and controversial theme that attacks Islamic fundamentalism in a subtle way and that too, in Pakistan. With honest intentions, deft handling of a serious, sensitive and pertinent subject Shoaib Mansoor has done a creditable job as Writer / Director.
A theme like the one depicted in Khuda Ke Liye – In the Name of God is more for the thinking viewer, who loves to ponder over the movie after watching it.
The loose translation of the above Urdu couplet by legendary poet Momin Khan would be: All your life you lived in non-Muslim ways. In your old age, how can you become a Muslim? For me this couplet quiet sums up Khuda Ke Liye – In the Name of God.
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