Bollywood’s obsession with Islamophobia

Asif Khan and Arbeena Shah

For the most part of its history, Hindi cinema and the Muslim relationship have revolved in intricate orbits. Their deportment and the nature of the film world are increasingly getting intertwined with each other. Taking upon itself to reform that, they optically discern as a fanatical group. Bollywood inclines to engender content pertaining to Muslims that tells them how they are supposed to live placidly in the country. Their religion is optically discerned maniacal which fuels bellicose tendencies in them against their country.

It looks conspicuous that Bollywood wants Indian Muslims to follow the cinematic version of Islam otherwise as shown in their movies they will land in trouble. In short, the only trustworthy Muslims in Bollywood movies are those who place India first while others are optically discerned as miscreants or threats. And in the spirit of this, radical symbolism and negative personification of Muslims is done.

A year ago, Indian filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan noted in The Quint’s show ‘Film and Politics Roundtable‘ how Islamophobia is personified in films. “You look at the color palette, or how the production design is done while portraying Muslims. It’s mostly black, it’s mostly dimly lit, and it’s shot at a low level to have a demonizing effect. But as you show the other side, it’s all flowery and bright lights and shot at an eye level.” He had said. 

This deliberate and relentless attack on the spirit of Islam has been a defining characteristic in Bollywood’s content over the years. A plethora of movies by Bollywood ever since partition have banked on this theme and made gold at the expense of persecution of the Muslim community. While Bollywood films ‘Amar, Akbar, and Anthony’ in the 1970’s avowed the secular nature of the country others like Phantom or the recently relinquished ‘Sooryavanshi’ juggled a good and lamentable Muslim portrayal.

This repetition and propagation of selective conceptions to influence the masses are perilous because this adds fuel to already rising levels of Islamophobia in India. And, it’s high time that this trend ceases because the grand prosperity of ‘Sooryavanshi’ is an ocular perceiver opener and tears apart the gasconade secular nature of India.

The repeated display of Indian Muslims as a threat to society has landed the minority vulnerable to mob attacks which have now been rampant in India. People may say that Bollywood has its impeccability put these lines to practice. “Repeat a prevarication often enough and it becomes the truth”, is a law of propaganda commonly attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels. Psychologists refer to something like this as the “Illusory veracity effect.

Muslims have been demonized to an extent that it will take the life of Bollywood to rehabilitate their damaged image. When asked about his movie Rohit Shetty, the director of the highest-grossing movie of 2021 ‘Sooryavanshi’ which has taken Islamophobia to a new level replied in an interview with The Quint, “I ken there is an audience for such films.” And it’s a mammoth success just translates to that.

Sooryavanshi which contains everything that a typical Bollywood drama is kenned for, a more immensely colossal-than-life protagonist, objectification of women, Islamophobia, and Pakistan don’t only fail Muslims. They reveal much more about Bollywood.

‘Tip Tip Barsa Pani,’ a musical of Sooryavanshi visually perceived the camera moving impeccably to capture Katrina’s body on an immensely colossal screen for her fans. 30 years ago it was Raveena Tondon (another Bollywood actress) today it is Katrina Kaif while the male lead remains unchanged. An exasperating reminder of how Bollywood treats its elements differently. But it’s run-of-the-mill for Bollywood, over time Indian audiences have accepted this as mundane much homogeneous to Islamophobia.  

As Sooryavanshi film shows Muslims praying before doing anything evil then by their logic their prayer must be evil too. So isn’t barring Muslims from performing their prayers as we see in the modern-day Indian replica of what Bollywood has fed Indian people. Another worrying aspect of the film is that it tries to strengthen the conspiracy of love Jihaad, which has been argued to be an act of abducting and converting Hindu women to Islam.

Rajasthan’s chief minister Ashok Gehlot had earlier in 2020 slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying the party had manufactured the term “love jihad” to “divide the nation and disturb communal harmony.”

Sooryavanshi became a top grocer post-COVID lockdown at a time other films failed to make a big mark even after good reviews by film critics. Its success speaks volumes about the current atmosphere of hatred and animosity for Muslims fed by dirty politics. Also, it goes on to show the minimal level of media literacy present in Indian audiences. Under such circumstances, Bollywood becomes even more dangerous because it can trigger anyone among its Indian audiences to wage an attack on its Muslim counterparts. So Bollywood must stop romancing Islamophobia and focus on other problems in its society rather than acting as a propaganda machine in the 21st century.

The authors are freelance journalists and movie critics from Kashmir.

You can read the original piece that was published via Maktoob media by clicking on the link below.

https://maktoobmedia.com/2022/01/25/bollywoods-obsession-with-islamophobia/

Song and Prank Culture

Bloom of Kitsch and Camp Culture in Kashmir.

Asif Khan and Arbeena Shah

Thumbnail of Downtown song

Music as said has this quality of transcending boundaries and thus reaches a wider audience. It has become a popular way of artistic expression among Kashmiri people.

Nowadays a song titled, ‘Downtown’ was brought forth by a YouTube prankster Musaib Bhat. He has been praised to the skies in Kashmir as his rap video continues to unfurl magic among the people and media.

This song doesn’t present itself as a serious high-brow aesthetic but as an exaggeration where performance and performing are the focus rather than aesthetic. Its combined subversive nature refuses to abide by the rules of syntax or refined language. It doesn’t explore the reality of downtown aesthetically rather as a lived reality. Its dance structure and categorization of high Kashmiri and low Kashmiri, overloaded expressions of the protagonist mixed English and Kashmiri language, all tend to dissent against the traditional parameters.

The song pays allegiance to the aesthetics of ‘Camp Culture’. The Oxford dictionary defines camp culture as an aesthetic style and sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its bad taste and ironic value.

The street language of Shehar-i-Khas hired in the song along with popular dance steps settle it in the Kitsch category. Kitsch is a German word for ‘trash.’ Oxford dictionary defines Kitsch as, “art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated ironically or knowingly”.

Robert Scruton defines Kitsch as “fake art, expressing fake emotions, whose purpose is to deceive the consumer into thinking he feels something deep and serious.”

Clement Greenberg in his essay in 1939, ‘Avant-Garde and Kitsch’ wrote, “where there is an avant-garde, generally we also find a rear-guard. True enough-simultaneously with the entrance of the avant-garde, a second new cultural phenomenon appeared in the industrial West: that thing to which the Germans give the wonderful name of Kitsch: popular, commercial art and literature with their chromeotypes, magazine covers, illustrations, ads, slick and pulp fiction, comics, Tin Pan Alley music, tap dancing, Hollywood movies, etc. For some reason, this gigantic apparition has always been taken for granted. It is time we look into its whys and wherefores.”

‘Downtown’ song pokes fun at everything and that is how the makers aspired to hold the public gaze and it would not be wrong to say that it has pass the test. The song accentuates various characteristics of Shehar-i-Khas with expressions laid on thick satirically. Kitsch art usually arouses the audiences and is prone to get popular and attract profits. Greenberg had long predicted the success of such songs when he wrote in the same article that Kitsch’s enormous profits are a source of temptation to the avant-garde itself, and its members have not always resisted this temptation.

Though the genre of the song doesn’t allow for its serious evaluation, its technicalities can’t escape under the garb of satire. One can easily point out the tremulous camera work at different instances especially while moving the ‘Tanga.’ The song symbolically points at the culture of violence prevalent from decades in Shehar-i-Khas. That can be attributed to local people as well as to the acts of violence committed on street dissent. One may also argue that Shehar-i-Khas hasn’t been surveyed to its full potential. The makers should have cruised to different places and captured some shots to make it more relatable. Perhaps while taking the names of the bridges, it would have added another feather to this song, had the bridges been shown in the background.

But here we shouldn’t restrict the debate to this song but dive deeper into the content that the maker has been serving to his audiences. Millions across the world turn to social media to buy themselves some moments of laughter from prank videos across the globe. You will see pranksters anticipating their prey to make people laugh which inevitably earns them fame. And this genre of videos has grown into a full-fledged prank culture where people seemingly enjoy these videos at the expenditure of the prank victim.

For some pranks turn into abuses, however, a plethora of pranks on the internet serve abusive sermons to their audiences who either laugh it out or revolt if they find it challenging their conscience. For example, a famous comedian turned radio jockey was seen apologizing for his remarks during a prank. Though many jumped in defense of the radio jockey overall there was an outrage in the people against it. Some even called for responsible behavior on the prankster’s part.

Pranks are usually driven by the intent of manipulating the truth for laughs. They may be funny for the people watching but the story is parallel for the victim who has to go through unnecessary anxiety and fear. Pranks have travelled to Kashmir and much like the song are being liked by the people. Local pranksters out on the streets chalk out their scapegoats to dupe them. These prank videos are often used to legitimize barbarity and debase the targets of joking.

Renee Hobbesin her work titled ‘Youtube Pranks Across Cultures’ writes “because pranks are a form of interpersonal humiliation involving a three-way relationship between the one who humiliates, the victim, and the witnesses, typically, pranks involve people in unequal power relationships”. Some scholars conceptualize pranks as a developmentally normal form of “dirty play”, a dimension of preadolescent and adolescent boys’ gendered identity that questions adult authority through a metaphor of playful terrorism.

Now let us take a look at some prank videos produced by the face of a Downtown song. There is a prank aimed at a truck driver where the prankster is seen with a cow. The prankster reveals that the name of his cow is Ishrat. Something the society should have questioned because this association of a female with a cow is a patriarchal notion prevalent in our society.

In another video, the prankster is seen calling a person, “Che chai shakal ti tichi” (you look like a bus conductor). This uncovers the element of classicism in his pranks. There are several other videos laced with rude and offensive things. In another one of his pranks, the prankster scares a person to death amid COVID-19 by declaring himself as Covid positive while asking for his phone. Then you find him hitting a person with a cleaver who is then on the verge of crying in a Butcher prank.

Hobbes further writes in his study that “scholars acknowledge that across cultures, jokes and pranks are often used to justify violence and to dehumanize targets of joking.”

We aren’t just sharing laughter but accepting a culture that might level up confusion in our society in the long run. As this culture recruits more people, we can be at liberty to imagine its future concerning our society. We would not have the power to restrict the phenomenon once it takes off.

Tomorrow when we or someone from our family runs into a vulgar prank, we would have to accept that as an evolution. Such ugly progression would then be inevitable and many would pay homage to it. Because we are addicted to entertainment now and we tend to search for it. The contradictory nature of both these trends with accepted ethics is pretty evident yet popular trends like roasting and pranking are finding a place in our society.

Kashmir is at the influx of various things being transmitted through different apparatuses. There is an urgent need for gate-keeping and the role of people having an eye for such transition has just grown in responsibility. They need to be aware of people smartly and sensibly. Our media also needs to stop being so desperate following popular culture and making news out of anything. The way such songs and certain roasters rule their headlines must be stopped. The media shouldn’t stoop low for such news merely for gaining more readerships. We expect better from them and from our society.

The writers are Media Graduates from University of Kashmir. They are the budding Movie Reviewers and Feature Writers.

The piece was originally published in Greater Kashmir:

https://www.greaterkashmir.com/editorial-page-2/song-and-prank-culture

Gifted writer returns with his alluring Novella

After two years Asif Khan is back with his second book ‘My Unveiled Bride,’ The cover of the book was released on the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Adha.

July 21, 2021

Book cover-My Unveiled Bride

After making his successful debut with ‘Prisoners of Paradise,’ Asif Khan is back is with his second book, ‘My Unveiled Bride.” The author revealed the cover on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha. It is an idiosyncratic and thrilling saga of love set in Kashmir.

The book has been published by Pandora’s order, a US based publishing company. The book is expected to be released by the end of next month.

Aspirants and Kota Factory: Belly Flopper into Competitive Examination Preparations

Both might appear to walk along similar lines in certain aspects but Aspirants is totally the salt of the earth among the two

By Asif Khan, Arbeena Shah

Whether you are an adult with high aspirations to get into civil services, or a teenager toiling hard to crack JEE examinations, the current scenario laced with the deadly virus of COVID-19 is bound to test your motivation and dedication. But worry not as we bring forth the ‘must-watch’ content that will boost your energy level and raise the bar of your motivation graph amid the pandemic.

Amassing 1.7 crore views alone, the episode 4 of ‘Aspirants’ series where Naveen Kasturia (Abhilash) and Sunny Hinduja (Sandeep Bhaiya) are drenched to the skin in the rain while their fellow aspirants like Shivankit Singh (Guri), Abhilash Thapliyal (SK) and Namita Dubey (Dhariya) are standing under their umbrellas, one begins to contemplate the significance of Plan B (alternative).

This 190-second symbolic scene of the current popular web series depicts the umbrella as plan B. And it saves those who have already chalked it out. Undeniably, it remains one of the striking scenes in the entire web series. There are no dialogues in the scene but the atmosphere around the slow-motion rainy scene accompanied by the emotional track ‘Dhaaga’ depicts the despaired ambience of the moment.

Spanning over five episodes, newly released Aspirants is predominantly a tale of three best friends- Abhilash, SK and Guri- popular as ‘tripod’ in their college for their strong friendship and often collective appearance. The show also depicts the coiled lives of UPSC aspirants with their struggles and failures. It also digs deep to show an intimate image of aspiration of India. Besides being successful in that, the series invests on a stubborn heart, unwilling to sacrifice his dream for anything else.

‘Aspirants- Pre…Mains…Aur Life’ and ‘Kota Factory’  are both being presented by India’s most loved streaming platform, TVF (The Viral Fever); the first to bring the concept of ‘web series’ to the Indian audience, in association with Unacademy, one of the largest Indian online educational platforms. The former series deals with UPSC aspirants while as the latter revolves around IIT candidates. Both are available on YouTube for free.

The characters are shown preparing for UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) exam at Rajendra Nagar (Delhi), known as the hub of IAS coaching.  Hence, the series, through these characters, peeks into the struggle of UPSC aspirants and the colossal pressure they encounter with each passing attempt. Besides, it is also a divine ode to a millennial friendship revealed alongside.

Apart from these three characters, emerges another powerful character & aspirant- Sandeep. Though with a less screen time, it’s mostly through Sandeep one learns, cries and gets inspired. He represents low income students going through financial crisis with bundle of responsibilities on their shoulders. Some of the tough, wise and genuine life lessons are taught by Sandeep bhaiya in this series. Just when Abhilash finds himself in dilemma, one sees Sandeep’s wisdom coming to his rescue. And his lessons are not exclusively for Abhilash but for thousands of students in quest of finding the right path. The series acts as a morale booster for not only those who qualify but, for also those who fail.

From selecting the right optional subject to choosing either a partner or career, to deciding on holding onto the existing job or not, to finding the alternative plan; the series is a package of every perplexity UPSC aspirants go through. The plot craftily and emotionally brings the real portrayal of the students aspiring to clear one of the toughest exams on screen. One not only gets inspired with Sandeep’s wise dialogues but, also through some poetic lines recited by SK from time to time such as:

‘Kon kehta hai ki asmaan mai suraakh ho nahi sakta, ek pathar toh tabiyat se uchalo yaaro’

Abhilash is an ambitious guy who has come to study for IAS after quitting his engineering job. Guri is an outspoken Jatt hile SK is poetic and a soft spoken guy who thus balances the overall picture. Sandeep bhaiya, on the other side, reflects people’s anxiety to better their future. Because UPSC doesn’t only guarantee you a job rather it wraps you in dignified apparels in the society.

The friendship theme never really takes over the show and it’s the ambition for the UPSC which is at the driving seat till Sandeep Bhaiya intervenes and adds another feather to the show. Hence, the writers must be complimented for holding on to the spirit of the show. 

This mini-series dives into the story through flashbacks- switching between the present and past of the lead characters, skillfully joining all the dots of the story and hence, successfully able to glue the viewer till the end. The shift between the past and the present has been made smooth through the distinct appearance of the characters. We get to know about the friendship history of ‘tripod’ and why they drifted apart.  Moreover, the duration of each episode (40-45 minutes) comfortably pins the viewer making it a gripping watch.

The series contains several heartwarming and memorable moments. The performance of the cast is commendable and have look fit as a fiddle throughout.  The series is a perfect example of good cinematography, storyline and background score.

It doesn’t override ambition and creates a sense of balance between realism and ambition, with some noteworthy points of suspense. One of which may be the return of Sandeep Bhaiya to the series as AssistantLabor Commissioner.

It is, undeniably, a must watch for all the aspiring UPSC candidates searching for some positivity and motivation amid the lockdown.

Another mini-series to watch out is Kota Factory which revolves around the struggle of IIT aspirants preparing for JEE (Joint Entrance Examination) at Kota (Rajasthan), the hotspot of IIT coaching centres in India. It can be called a mini version of Aspirants, but the realistic element in the former series works magic for it.

Coaching for the entrance examinations in Kota, Rajasthan, to get into the sixteen functioning IITs—which test quantitative aptitude of high school graduates in Physics, Chemistry and Math—is today a multi-million-dollar industry. However, the rising level of suicides in Kota over years has given a bad tag to this place. The atmosphere is stringent and doesn’t allow any free time to explore other dimensions of life.

The five-episode-series titled, Kota Factory, in black and white, through the character of Vaibhav takes us into the life of an IIT candidate who leaves his home in the middle of the year to get admission in Kota’s top coaching institute– Maheshwari which would ultimately land him into IIT. Unable to get into Maheshwari, Vaibhav ends up in another coaching institute Prodigy where he befriends Meena and Uday- who provide him incessant support. The series again doesn’t spin the yarn and has honestly tried to show the journey of young IIT candidates. The two shows might appear to walk along similar lines in certain aspects but Aspirants is totally the salt of the earth among the two.

The achromic pallette of Kota factory depicts the monotonous and charmless life of an IIT candidate who cuts himself off from the rest of the world. Initially, Vaibhav feels unstable and frustrated but, later on learns to cope up with the help of motivational talks given by his physics teacher popularly called as Jeetu bhaiya. Just like we have Sandeep in Aspirants to come to Abhilash’s rescue, we have Jeetu in Kota Factory to help out Vaibhav.

The series portrays the complex and stringent schedule of IIT aspirants, their prosiac lifestyle at rented rooms and the burden of their parents’ expectations. They can’t quit even if they feel incapable for IIT. It also highlights the bitter truth that coaching has, undoubtedly, become a business, a factory, where students are seen as commodities, bound to provide the profit to the centres by fetching the top rank.  It shows Kota is only meant for those who are capable to climb upto the top, average students find no space and aren’t even heard even if they try to raise a genuine concern. The candidates don’t try to change the system rather they woefully change themselves.

But again the stumbling block in the series, rather than in the entire structure of the education system, is the absence of critical thinking in these class rooms. It seems they are manufacturing robots who are cut from the outside world. Hence, raising concern on the robust process of preparation these candidates go through.

To conclude, both the mini-series are an excellent examples of well-researched filmmaking. Besides, these series are treat for such aspirants as well as those searching for some quality, realistic and gripping content in this lockdown.

The authors are the graduates in Media Studies from University of Kashmir. They are freelance feature writers and film reviewers. They can be reached at arbeena96@gmail.com , prolifickhan121@gmail.com

The Present: Soul stirring and brutally honest

Though Israel may have stopped the bombings right now, artistic pieces like these wake us up to the reality of the continued occupation of Palestine, and re-emphasize the fact that even under a so-called ceasefire innocent people die. The genocide of their honour, innocence, privacy and happiness continues.

A little girl looking through a check point in Israel

As Israel concludes another massacre of innocent Palestinians including children, world leaders issue more dead statements on witnessing a modern-day Holocaust in occupied Palestine.

The start of this new attack once again shows the dominance of the United States of America and Israel over almost the entire globe.

Israel hasn’t really been able to curb the artistic voices of Palestinians. Such art comes back like a bad penny for Israel.

Farah Nabulusi, a British-Palestinian Oscar and BAFTA-nominated filmmaker and human rights advocate, surely is a repository of such currency. Hers is a name that will remain in the bad books of the Zionist dominated politics of Israel, primarily because of her simple, sophisticated way of revealing minute aspects of Palestinian life under Israeli occupation through her realistic films.

Keeping the wheels turning with her 2020 release, The Present, a haunting and soul-stirring Oscar-nominated short film, Nabulusi once again waves the magic wand as she did in her other productions, Today They Took My Son, Oceans of Injustice, and Nightmare of Gaza.

The Present marks her directorial debut. It is the story of a labourer, Yusuf (played by the Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri) who along with his little daughter goes out to buy a wedding anniversary present for his wife. The story is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and describes the clear as mud situation of Palestine with utmost simplicity.

Lao Tzu said that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, and nothing less can be said for this artistic piece. It dwells in the complexities of the Palestine situation in a father’s fervent struggle to buy some moments of joy for his family.

The film goes on to show how people of conflict don’t have the luxury to choose for themselves, as everything is filtered through oppressor’s scanner. The characters despite being stuck in a terrible war-like situation still search for moments of happiness and joy.

The story opens in a dark scene where Yusuf, the father, is about to go home from work, portrayed in bright spotight. This indicates hope and happiness in his life and the darkness of the harsh circumstances outside.

As he sets out to buy an anniversary present for his wife, along with his daughter Yasmine, a journey that was supposed to be a harbinger of joy turns ugly with the oppressors’ gaze. Scenes depicting the checkpoint reveal the inhuman treatment Palestinians meet at the hands of the Israeli army. Yusuf has to pass through a tight chamber like Checkpoint 300 in Bethlehem daily in order to go to work.

The emotions accompanying the film are all relatable, from a daughter giving her shopping list to her father or a romantic dialogue Yusuf shares with his wife, or the scene where his daughter plays with birds inside the shop. It’s all wrapped in ordinary apparel and this is one of the strengths of the film.

The innocent expressions of little Yasmine in the daughter’s role look totally pure and appealing. One can hardly take away eyes from her. Saleh Bakri’s chemistry with his character too is nothing less than perfect.

He is a handsome man with some issues in his back and frequently rests on painkillers. His back problem can be interpreted as the problem of occupation Palestinians have been resisting. One cannot stand properly and has to bend if the back isn’t sound, indicating that the people of Palestine cannot live with dignity under the Israeli occupation.

This is depicted in a scene where Yusuf pleads the Israeli army to let him go along with the refrigerator when it doesn’t fit inside the checkpoint tunnel.

The screenwriting too maintains an overall balance. The storyline is excellent and holds the viewers tightly. The ending scene is remarkably powerful. The protagonist’s frustrated outburst towards the end works well and one can relate with it as it comes as a reaction to what the Israeli soldiers make him go through. It doesn’t look staged or dramatized, and gives an impression of strong story telling.

The actor also gets good support from Mariam Kanj and Mariam Basha.

Though Israel may have stopped the bombings right now, artistic pieces like these wake us up to the reality of the continued occupation of Palestine, and re-emphasize the fact that even under a so-called ceasefire innocent people die. The genocide of their honour, innocence, privacy and happiness continues.

The Present is a film recommended to everyone to get a realistic picture of Palestinians’ life under occupation.

This piece was earlier published on

https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/16/20409/The-Present-in-Palestine

Asif Khan and Arbeena Shah are graduates in media studies from the University of Kashmir, and work as freelance feature writers and film reviewers

Bollywood’s Kashmir: Of Unfairness And Betrayal

Vidya Balan and her husband-Arbaaz Khan-Army chief at Gulmarg.

As the pandemonium smothering the political theatre of Jammu & Kashmir apotheosized, following the defeasance of the quasi-autonomous cachet, Kashmir is witnessing Bollywood insurgency with flocks of inhabitants from the entertainment industry migrating to delve around the landscapes of the valley. Calling their inmates to join them in this movement of exploring and capturing Kashmir, their skillful camera work over snow-covered gigantic mountains to famed Dal Lake of the valley is enough to arouse their audience’s imagination about Kashmir.

The Indian audience has always been prone to buying opinions from the big screen without really bothering to dwell deep into the subject. Thus, Bollywood to a great extent becomes responsible for feeding Indian minds and constructing views about different issues it touches.

For Kashmir, the filmmakers portray it as an avatar of Aphrodite, a territory seductively pleading for a thuggish exploration or as enemy of peace, attributing this sentiment to the religion practiced in it. Thus, Indian cinema has been rightly accused for the spread of Islamophobia.

Good Muslim fighting for his nation in the background hardly leaves an impression on the audiences as he remains buried in the backyard. So, in a nation where media literacy is imperceptible, what was supposed to be a harbinger of entertainment can become a propaganda machine. This radical disconnect is lachrymose on part of the entertainment industry. And if cinema is a reflection of society, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Islamophobia is prevalent in India. The underlying philosophy of Indian cinema must be debated because manipulation of characters is only going to terrorize Kashmiris/Muslims.

Kashmir and its people, especially women, have been represented voyeuristically in the Indian cinema. Therefore today, if the some Indian voices wishing to take away girls are being raised, Bollywood must be held accountable for demonstrating what Fred called ‘scopophilia.’

To show it as a place of sexual awakening is a testimonial to the colonizer’s gaze persisting in flicks surrounding Kashmir. But, more fascinating than this is the sadistic nature of Kashmiris who though being taken to task, strive for making it into Bollywood.

The native people relentlessly act in movies that are contrary to the reality of their suffering. They must realize that their representation carries a different weight altogether. After being through decades of tyranny by a wicked representation of the Indian entertainment industry, the honey-mouthed Bollywood fraternity preaches Kashmiris the lessons of hospitality and love.

Even those Kashmiris who bounce off the walls on bollywood flicks revolving around feminism, must realize that the Indian cinema sells empowerment that is deeply rooted in foul-mouth, alcohol, sex, and smoking. They define liberation as the destruction of one’s identity, religion, and culture. Hence, Kashmiris should be summoned, counseled to renounce their blind acceptance of the narrative auctioned by the cinema.

Bollywood has always failed to justify an iota of the sorrow embanked by Kashmiri hearts. Had we not been forgiving the floods of pain would have long drowned the icons of Indian cinema. 

They don’t portray our suffering because they don’t believe that we have suffered. It’s against their collective consciousness to commit their cameras to our pain. They will sow the seeds of confusion and create appropriate conditions for its growth because all that they cannot afford to do is to acknowledge our sorrow.

They will choose people among us who will sell their conscience and iconize them. Thus, within their hands rests the duty to make those seeds culminate. They are the collaborators, agents of ostensible change and these influencers will create pockets where they will keep their assets active to work and thus it would go on. Some deceive them by saying that they stand with them, while others come promoting culture, feminism, and other identical concepts just to fuel anarchy in society.

Recently, Shehnaz Gil’s video on the internet is doing rounds where she is seen flaunting herself on a song, ‘Bumbro Bumbro’in a traditional Kashmiri attire which she captioned as ‘the Kashmiri way’. But, the song was never Kashmiri’s way. It can be her explication of the reality of suffering but surely,not the Kashmiri way. Thereby, adding insult to the injuries of Kashmiris once again by batting for the same old narrative.

The Indian celebrities while stepping into so called ‘Paradise on Earth’ never utter a word against bollywood’s misrepresentation of Kashmir and its people. As many big bollywood production banners are exploring locations in Kashmir, all they are doing is repeating the cliche words, praising beauty of Kashmir and the native people for their hospitality and love as in the past. So, Panglossian people must expect disparate treatment on big screen, this time as well.

Asif Khan and Arbeena Shah

The authors are the Indian Cinema Critics and students of Mass Communication & Journalism, University of Kashmir.

Book Review: The Plague Upon Us

Provides a compelling insight into collective trauma and its testifying power as well as takes the question of collective truth engendered by the defense false narrative in Kashmir.

Book cover-The plague upon us

Book Review: The Plague Upon Us

Author: Shabir Ahmad Mir

Publisher: Hachette, India

Pages: 264

Genre: Literary Fiction

By Asif Khan

The Plague Upon Us breaks new in the macrocosm of creative writing about Kashmir and comes up with a fresh insight into the trauma and chaos fathered by occupation. It provides a compelling insight into collective trauma and its testifying power as well as takes the question of collective truth engendered by the defense false narrative in Kashmir.

This book employs the style of Holocaust writing to narrate four accounts via the main character. The book dwells deep into the complexity of life in a conflict-laden land and captivatingly traverses through the different life dimensions of the helpless populace of Kashmir.

While doing so, the book puts up a stellar show to manifest how the people of conflict don’t have the luxury to choose. The people must plump for a life-saving option as survival is what they desire. We see love, loss, betrayal, hopelessness and Frankenstein monsters getting born out of the world’s longest-running conflict.  However, the book fails to take us beyond what is already known and experienced in Kashmir.

Shabir Ahmad Mir hails from Gudoora, Pulwama and was the first runner up in the FON South Asia Short Story Contest for his short story, The Djinn Who Fell From The Walnut Tree, in 2016. He has also won the Reuel International Prize for Fiction in 2017 and his short stories have been published in various reputed journals.

Set in the ’90s the story of the novel is told through four different perspectives in four tales. In the introductory tale, we meet Aziz Pohl and his son Oubaid. There is a tormenting voice inside his head which has been with him ever since things took an ugly turn and he lost all his friends.

Oubaid’s father, Aziz Pohl, a poor shepherd who loved to go into the mountains along with his flock of sheep. Oubaid’s life was going normal until one day when his father’s dead body is brought from the mountains. The dead body bore cigarette burns, the nails were plucked and the teeth were broken.

Iftikhar Wani, a local journalist, believes that Oubaid’s father was killed in a fake encounter. He tries to probe but very soon is picked up, tortured, and shot dead. Iftikhar’s son, Muzzafar, becomes Oubaid’s friend and later on, after joining the college Muzzafar meets an enthusiastic teacher, Ashfaq. He is also killed one day as protests take over the college when the news of the rape of two Kashmiri girls surfaces. Muzzaffar, later on, joins the armed movement under the banner of ‘Tanzeem.’ He then becomes one of the main and important characters in the story.

Being Muzzafar’s close friend Oubaid gets frequently summoned by Major Gurpal, the mastermind of the army. There is hardly anything that goes unnoticed to Major. He has close local allies to give him up to date information on different happenings. He is invested on both fronts, with arms as well as with his sources among locals. He is a ruthless murderer and rapist but yet people are working with him with or without their choice. He punishes everyone who is a Tanzeem sympathizer and successfully created an atmosphere of fear.

As Oubaid is tortured he shares his knowledge regarding Muzzaffar with Major and agrees to cooperate in future too. Thus Oubaid’s life witnesses a paradigm shift after that as things start to take a grotesque turn. Later on, he is forced to join the renegade Brotherhood formed by Major Gurpal. The Brotherhood (modern-day Ikhwan) is an amalgam of ex militants formed to demolish the Tanzeem. They are horrifically powerful as they abide no law and could do anything to anyone.

The same tale is then told three more times from three different viewpoints. The second tale introduces us to Hamid Puj and his daughter Sabia. The third tale starts from Lateef Zaeldar and his son Tufail and at last, we meet Iftikhar Wani and his son Muzzafar. All the tales start from these different characters but overall the story remains the same.

There is a vintage web of love between Tufail and Sabia. The opportunistic Zaeldars (landlords) bewilder Oubaid and defiant Muzzafar. The author has also tried to reflect on how Pakistani and Kashmiri aspirations meet to form a common ground but his stand remains debatable as the author hasn’t talked much about it. From what is Azaadi to Kashmiris is seen as a Holy war by militants coming from across the border.

The technique that the author has chosen to tell this 229 long page story is again new and interesting.The author uses first and third-person narration in the book.

The four tales are interlinked in a sense that the background of some characters is unveiled in the later stories.  This approach has indeed worked well for the book as it introduces the same characters time again in addition to a few others. Thus if one fails to remember any character in the previous fable the next tale would come to aid.

For example, in the first tale, we meet Oubaid’s mother, Maimoona, who comes from the Zaeldar family. But it’s only in the third tale that we come to know that she wasn’t a proper Zaeldar girl but an illegitimate child of Akbar Zaeldar and Bharti. Her roots are given only in the third tale so we see the same character at different times that makes it easy for a reader to pick up things from where he left. Following this approach, this book has fled from the tradition of journalistic realism that has come to define Kashmiri fiction writing. And that’s the first thing for which the author deserves praise.

The story runs at a moderate pace and keeps the reader hooked. At some instances, it seems as if we are watching a movie due to the thrill it generates at certain points like:

People fell off like leaves on the bridge, and off it. Hit, Injured, Crying, Running, Bleeding, Falling, Dying, Pretending to be dead……Twenty-one people dead, the official count declared. (pg 104)

For a moment Tufail froze. His mind was completely blank. Then, roused by the cries and howls that went up all around him he started to run. But in his panic, and blinded by tears, Tufail ran into a dead-end-the wire-mesh fence that surrounded the campus. He knew he could not jump over it easily because of the wild shrubbery on both sides of the fence….(pg 140)

The language is lucid and easily comprehendible. Though the absence of hero/heroes may be because of some well-known reasons but that has definitely affected the overall story. The book somehow gives a numb feeling, especially towards Kashmiris. It sounds like an oriental but empathetic historical account of Kashmir. But yes that may have been what the author wanted to achieve. That’s a different debate altogether.

There is Oubaid’s obsession for Jozy and the Tufail’s feelings for Sabia, who is more comfortable with Oubaid. But what made Tufail fall for Sabia when initially he didn’t like her need more elucidation. There should have been some additional scenes where the shift of Tufail’s feelings would have been properly justified. There must have been something about Sabia that made Tufail crave for her. Because we are talking of Kashmir in the ’90s. The development of old school love had to be revisited and brought into the book. The description of the characters is also missing because we differentiate between Jozy and Sabia only by their names. We don’t know how they looked. Since Oubaid was smitten with Jozy physically the author could have added more flavor to the story by giving Jozy’s description. How did she look? And what attracted Oubaid most about her.

The book highlights some important aspects of Kashmiri society, the class struggle evident from the Hamid Puj’s desperation to bid farewell to his ‘Puj’ title. The author has accentuated on one dark truth of Kashmiri society where people follow a trend of treating people as per their professions. Hamid Puj was suffering from an inferior complex and didn’t align with his family business of earning from Butchering. So he wanted to get away with what he saw as a bad tag. So the class struggle is something that the author has tried to show using Hamid Puj’s character. 

Another key factor that has been touched is the versatility of occupation how it plays different roles for different people. As there are some people like Hamid Puj who collaborate with the army and ultimately becomes a rich person and on the other side you have people like Oubaid or Muzzaffar who suffer ruthlessly at the hands of occupation. So the author has tried to reflect upon the commerce of occupation how it is manipulated by certain key stakeholders for their benefits.

The author uses memory as a testimony to narrate the story andwhich is the case with almost the entire literature produced from Kashmir under the banner of resistance literature. And like resistance literature sources from the memory of collective trauma manufactured by dissension and militarization. This book does the same things by bringing to life the trauma of ’90s again.

The most beautiful thing that the book does is that it convinces the reader to reflect upon the idea of absolute truth. In this book, different characters have individual truths to offer and the book rides forward by presenting a collective truth. Major Gurpal in the initial of the book looks a ruthless animal but as the book nears climax it is found that he like other Kashmiri characters in the story is suffering and forced into all the chaos without being given a choice. All that he does is to some extent chosen for him by a virtue of being a soldier. This is evident from a scene in the book where he opens up about himself and his interest in poetry. One feels sympathetic for him towards the end.  

Again the characters in this book have truths to tell so whose truth should be or not be considered? The author successfully portrays in front of us, the dilemma of truth, that trauma is itself a truth and is always incomplete. This is one of the important dimensions of Kashmiri conflict that the book has explored. 

Tufail’s character development is poor because throughout the book he is not shown as someone with a poetic bent of mind. But as he gulps down alcohol while sitting with the Major of the army and Nisar Puj he comes with a Ghalib’s couplet.

Mae say ghraz hai nashat hai ruh-siyah ko,

Ek gunah bekhudi mujhe din raat chahiye (pg 160)

If the author had made him a poet in Sabia’s love this couplet could have been justified but suddenly out of nowhere Tufail pronouncing these words came as a surprise to me.

There is a fundamental flaw in the very basic philosophy of the book where every side is shown as a sufferer and all suffering labelled as truth. But the suffering of all the sides is different. The army major suffers because he had pledged to his state’s false narrative and ergo is investing himself in that only ripping apart ethics and other such philosophies.

The arrival of the book is obliviously too late because this book is just an account of the happenings that are again already well known. If the same book released earlier in the 2000’s it might have been a benchmark work but today an author has to come up with something new to hook his audience. This book walks on the general pathway which is more than acceptable but that still remains its biggest flaw.

The paper quality is fantastic and the cover is sober to compliment what is inside the book. Though I found the price of the book to be high but this book deserves a place in the beginner’s list. And saying all this I want to congratulate the author for his debut book and wish him good luck for his future.

Asif Khan is student of Mass Communication and Journalism, University of Kashmir. He is a poet and author of ‘Prisoners of Paradise’. Can be reached at prolifickhan121@gmail.com

‘He Was My First Coach.’ Football Star Khalid Qayoom Mourns Father’s Passing

A footballer in his time, Abdul Qayoom was first to believe in his son’s abilities

The sky in Srinagar had grown dark. A curious young man with a light beard, probably in his early thirties, was ready to bid farewell to his passionately beloved sport. What had shot his way to success was now his most hated thing.

Sitting beside his father’s resting place in the numbing cold, he stirs up the memory of the past to see his father alive one more time in his imagination, saving him from a crowdbeating, as fans in the turbulent Polo Ground went spiralling out of control during a match.

Soon he is brought back by the flight of the pigeons eating corn scattered near his father’s grave. His great father passed away the day before, while he was stuck at the Delhi airport due to bad weather, following the I-league football matches.

“Daaida!” he was constantly calling his father by the name they were used to.

He tries hiding his tears behind his mask. His feet feel like concrete and his back as though put through a shredder, seated against a pillar by the iron fence of the graveyard. Surrounded by air despondent, his eyes remain glued to his father’s resting place.

The snow had carpeted the entire graveyard except the grave, which was canopied by a movable iron shed to protect it from the snow. It suddenly became too much for him. Struggling to breathe, he threw away his mask, shivered, and asked his repeated question:

“Ba kemisu trovthass che, Daaida!?” In whose custody did you leave me, Dad!?

After all, his father had invested himself as an equal in his son’s dreams, striving to make them true.

Khalid with his father during his brother’s wedding.

A celebrated footballer of Kashmir who has represented almost all the leading football clubs of the valley, Khalid Qayoom is one of the most influential and successful players in the modern-day football era of Kashmir.

The young midfielder dashed off the field midway when he heard the news. A blanket of sorrow was spread across their locality in the Old City of Srinagar. People, both men and women, rushed to Khalid’s home convulsed with sobs. They cried their eyes out at the funeral and were seen consoling each other.

“My heart sank when I heard about the unfortunate incident. He was a true gentleman and a pious person, always ready to help anyone,” says Altaf Ahmad, one of Khalid’s neighbours, with a deep sigh.

Khalid and his father were like two peas in a pod. People would always find his father, Abdul Qayoom, by his side during matches. The talented footballer son, who had impressed everyone with his skills and passion for football, was recently featured in the Real Kashmir FC team for the ongoing football I-league.

“He is brilliant with his game without a doubt,” says Adnan, a fellow mate playing for Real Kashmir.

Currently skipper of the Principal Accountant General Office football team, Khalid is only just touching new heights in the football arena. Behind his enormous success over the years are the struggles of a stubborn father, who bent over backwards to help his son.

Khalid would always feel his father’s pat on his back, motivating him through the thick and thin of his struggling life as an aspiring footballer. He would often pick and drop him in his initial days of training. He would reach out to his coaches to get feedback from them.

Abdul Qayoom, 53, wasn’t just a successful father but Khalid’s first mentor, who would critically assess his game and provide him with an outsider’s view of his performances.

A footballer in his time, Abdul Qayoom was first to believe in his son’s abilities and always remained deaf to the voices rising to say that by pursuing football his son was doing nothing but building castles in the air.

He believed in burning the candle at both ends, and Khalid was taught that from very early in his childhood. “He was my first coach. I achieved everything through his guidance,” he says in tears.

Khalid’s great father had a keen eye for the game, yes, but his suggestions held equal importance outside in society’s affairs, where his advice was often sought to mediate between parties in conflict. A true philanthropist, a God-conscious person who always tried to do better for his people, he never believed in ad hockery, and disliked dishonesty and fraud.

“He never declined whenever we asked him for help in any matter,” says N— while recalling incidents from the past. Her brother Abdul Qayoom would visit her on Fridays.

“He didn’t come the past two Fridays but I am still waiting for him,” she says as her sister consoles her.

Khalid’s father had been taking care of many families like a brother or father, and it seems that with his demise many families have turned orphan. And the fables shared about Abdul Qayoom speak volumes about his character. He was a hero in a real sense. Khalid may owe every inch of his success to his late father, a feat that may not put him in the books of the world… but his contribution remains stamped and preserved in the hearts of people.

Khalid is trying to make peace with the unfortunate circumstances. He feels that the football field only adds salt to his wide open wounds. “I don’t see my father there now,” he says in a rush of emotions.

But he adds that by playing football he is living his and his father’s dream, so he must continue to shine for his father’s sake and add many more laurels to his name.

“He wanted me to be a successful footballer so stepping down isn’t an option,” he says.

Asked of his plans to rejoin the I-League, Khalid Qayoom remains silent. The entire football fraternity extends condolences to his family. May the sportsman lace up his shoes and rule the field once again.

https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/11/19986/He-Was-My-First-Coach-Football-Star-Khalid-Qayoom-Mourns-Fathers-Passing

Jhelum, a musical video review

Nowadays, the young Kashmiri artists are quite interested and passionate about musical video-making. It is often said with regard to short video that, shorter the video, the better it is. Since real emotions strike within seconds only. Taking cue from this, ‘Jhelum,’ a short musical film with a runtime of 7 minutes and 42-seconds, voices for a novel Kashmiri attempt in short film industry but somehow fails to make the eyes taste something new.

Jhelum’s cinematography whisked with marvelous music composition puts every emotion to justice by bearing testimony to the hard work of the makers of the video, the duo of Faheem Abdullah and Imbesat Ahmed.

With a short French-beard upon his chin complimenting the light mustaches and an equally curious innocent face over whose forehead fall the tresses of hair, dressed in black like his questions, the young protagonist is out seeking answers to the mysteries veiled in river Jhelum’s bosom. He is looking to find something hopeful that could satisfy his desire and end his quest.

In the backdrop of durood-resonating crack of dawn of Sher-i-Khaas from the mosque loudspeakers, the camera hovers over river Jhelum and the congested area around it and thus, makes the establishing shot of the video.

A hawker is seen riding the narrow lanes of the famous Mahraj Gunj market while the dawn is starting to take over fully. After fiddling with the radio tuner and failing to reach a desired bandwidth, dressed in black the boy keeps the radio aside and gets up while his mother is busy doing the daily chores. After he leaves, Ashfaq Lone’s voice from the radio announces a proliferation of river Jhelum. The boy then goes out to buy bread and that’s where the song, Jhelum roya…, plays in the background.

“Mye Chu Basaan Az Chu Vyeth Byeh Kus Taam Raaz Aunmut,” alight bearded man wearing spectacles sitting aside an old man at the bread maker’s shop says after passing a deep sigh.

From that moment, the song scale in the background is intensified. Hence, begins the guy’s quest for hope. But as the story ends, the boy returns home with nothing but despair as he comes out of Jhelum with small red gems. In this journey, he is accompanied probably by his curly haired friend. His mother appears in between the video at the end to give it an emotional touch.

One of the main attractions of the video remains its cinematography which captures the hawker riding the cycle in the narrow lanes of Sher-i-Khaas, Srinagar. The medium close shot of old man at the baker’s shop along with the other man reading newspaper is beautifully portrayed. The beauty of the narrow lanes through which the boy runs is phenomenally taken care of. The video is shot in a perfectly sad weather where the sky is fully engulfed with heavy clouds.

Khankah gives a mesmerizing view much to the treat of viewers as the fluttering of pigeons in front of it is captured with a full shot and later shown from low angle shot amid cloudy sky to show its divine power.

The protagonist with his strong facial expressions has fully immersed himself in the role as per the requirement of the story. The close up shot of his face as he comes out of his face totally connects with the viewers without saying a word. Faheem Abdullah and Rauhaan Malik have done a tremendous work with the music composition part and is definitely a treat to listen.

With all this being said, the screen play falls short of conveying the message clearly. For instance, in the opening, the boy goes out in search of finding some hope but on his journey takes the viewers through confusing points. The graveyard scene just comes and passes without adding anything to the overall structure of the story. The story is discrete and fails to connect different dots like the presence of the mother at the bridge in black burqa is again worth questioning. Ashfaq Lone’s voice airing in the morning instead of evening is astonishing as he primarily airs at evening.

The water levelof Jhelum doesn’t look alarming as aired on radio. Somehow, it could have been much better if the maker’s camera focused bit more on Jhelum. By showing its muddy gushing water, it could have given the sense of rising water levels and the possibility of floods but everything surrounding Jhelum looks calm.

The subtitles at the beginning and the end carry parallel messages; one devoting the video to the women of Kashmir who lost their beloved and the other attributing it to the woman who drowned in Jhelum during the filming of the song.

However, despite all these glitches the video must be appreciated for its individual performances especially in these testing times. 

http://risingkashmir.com/home/news_description/370483/Jhelum-A-short-musical-film

Why Ertugrul Strikes A Big Chord In Kashmir

“Interestingly, and underlining the power of imagery, many young and educated Kashmiris see the series as inspired by ‘the glorious historical past of the Muslims’. But the media-aware younger generation roots for the Turkish epic, saying that it scores over Thrones by shunning ‘vulgarity.’

WITH an earlier generation fired by the charged accounts of Arab warriors, Kashmir, 40 years later, is hooked to the fictional exploits of a Turkish hero whose son founded the great Ottoman Empire eight hundred years ago.

After conquering Pakistan, the television drama series Dirilis: Ertugrul, produced with loads of cash from Turkey’s state coffers, has won wide approval here for what many regard as clean and wholesome content, and as a counter to viral Islamophobia, but earned sharp censure from some sections of the clergy who have declared cinema of any kind as haram. 

For young Kashmiris, however, the drama’s appeal lies partly in its use of the Islamic idiom and traditions ostensibly for a positive portrayal of Muslims as a counterpoint to stereotypical depictions in sections of Western media.

Interestingly, and underlining the power of imagery, many young and educated Kashmiris see the series as inspired by “the glorious historical past of the Muslims.”

In the age of Netflix and YouTube, comparisons are inevitable with the Western show, the Game of Thrones, which also appears to have an avid following in Kashmir. 

But the media-aware younger generation roots for the Turkish epic, saying that it scores over Thrones by shunning ‘vulgarity.’

Hanna Peerzada, 27, who is studying for her doctorate in English literature at the Kashmir University, however, won’t countenance comparisons between the two.

“Ertugrul is historical fiction based on probable events, possible time and real people,” she says. “On the other hand, the Thrones is popular fiction that feeds on fantasy, porn and outlandish language.”

Hanna thinks that the essence of the past in the Turkish drama is “certainly credible,” even though much has been glamourized for theatric effect.

For this university student, its battle scenes bring images of Badr, and how Muslims fought with swords to protect and spread their faith.

Ertugrul takes us to the 13th century when the Ottoman Empire was established. With recommendations coming from people like Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the show has already been a big success in Turkey, and has decimated numerous YouTube records on appearing in Urdu.

The series is seen as an effort by Turkey alongside Pakistan and Malaysia which had earlier joined hands to fight rampant Islamophobia in the world.

In Kashmir, where a prolonged lockdown after the abrogation of the Article 370 was followed by even a longer one due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Ertugral has come as some relief.

Many Kashmiris feel that their Muslim heroes are being misrepresented and denied the respect they deserve. For a long time they have not seen heroic Muslim characters who have not been stereotyped as looters and barbarians, and a threat to humanity, mainly by Bollywood and Hollywood.

Like their suppressed co-religionists across the world, Kashmiris too view Ertugrul as a hero – and as an answer to the demonization of the Muslim peoples.

“Ertugrul has come to our rescue,” says Yawar Fayaz, 33, a medical representative currently watching the fourth season of the series.

“The way things are in Kashmir, the lockdown, and Imran Khan’s endorsement, all have played a big role in making Ertugrul a huge success in Kashmir,” says Faheem Iqbal, 22, a poet and writer from the Dooru-Shahabad area of Anantnag. “We (Muslims) have been represented in Ertugrul as we have actually been in our past, and not through the lens of any biased filmmaker.”

“I love Ertrugul for his bravery, his love towards his qabeela (tribe) and Halima. Our children can learn a lot about their glorious past from this series,” says Mehnaz Jan, a 26-year-old business developer at a telecom service-provider in Dubai.

Women find the drama appealing because it doesn’t objectify the gentler gender or show it as submissive.

“You will see Hayme Hatun and Halime Sultan, the mother and wife of the main protagonist Ertugrul,  two strong-headed women of Kayi tribe, making important decisions along with their male counterparts.” Ruqayya Khan, a recent law graduate from Srinagar, says.

“I love how beautifully Ibn Arabi quotes Quranic verses and how he trusts Allah in every difficult situation,” says Nourreen Manzoor, a Kashmiri dental surgeon working in Jammu.

For Junaid Wani, a college student from Habba Kadal in Srinagar, such shows are an assurance that resistance to any form of oppression is the right way to move forward.

SOCIAL IMPACT

Kashmir has seen nothing like its present rage for this Turkish series.

From naming their new-born babies Ertugrul to copying its dialogues, Kashmiris are picking up things from the drama and assimilating them into their lives.

Young Kashmiri men prefer to have Ertugrul’s photo as the profile picture on their social media accounts, while an image of Halima, the female protagonist, serves for the women

Ertugrul memes are being shared on social media and many pages and groups going by its name have been created. Even phones ring with the epic’s musical score.

People have taken to greeting each other with their hands on their chests.

“There is an identity crisis in our youth, especially in teenagers and young adults,” says Wasim Rashid Kakroo, a child and adolescent psychologist working with the UNICEF and Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences. “That’s why they relate themselves to the characters of the show. And loving it is in itself a support to Ertugrul’s ideology. It can be taken as a mark of protest against oppression and injustice of any kind.”

Sabahat Muzzaffar, a researcher in clinical psychology at the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences says the thrill of seeing opponents defeated could be satisfying for Kashmiris who have been suffering for long without being able to do anything about it.

“We have seen that anything that sides with religion is followed with great enthusiasm here without people actually reflecting on it,” says Dr. Aftab Ahmad Rathar, a sociologist and lecturer.

“Kashmiris are reacting to this series positively because they relate their struggles with those portrayed in the show,” says Suraiya Jabeen, 30, another sociologist working as a teacher at a government high school in Ananatnag.

“We aren’t aware of the motives behind the series, yet we are following it blindly,” says Dr. Mushtaq Ahmad Rathar, an assistant professor of political science at the Government Degree College in Ganderbal.

“If this trend is legitimised, we would have to be ready for everything that comes out of such cinema, be it positive or negative.”

DEBATE AMONG THE CLERGY

Saudi Arabian government and a section of Muslim scholars have come out and declared Ertugrul as haram (prohibited) for the ummah. Dr. Zakir Naik, whose video went viral on the social media, says: “Almost all movies or series would not fulfill the criteria of being declared halaal (permissible). But, because of the evil that has spread throughout, anyone who is not watching serials is recommended to not watch those. But those Muslims who are addicted to serials or movies should stop seeing them. However, if they aren’t able to do so, then it’s better to watch Ertugrul than Hollywood or Bollywood movies.”

Mufti Tariq Masood, another cleric from Pakistan, had the same view.

A section of clerics in Kashmir also share strong views on the issue. But, why have clergy turned attention to Ertugrul when the lives and deeds of Muslim figures have been filmed or dramatized earlier as well?

Cinema can’t be used to preach Islam. We are the people of the Book and follow whatever is written in it for us. Ertugrul should be left on its own without actually making it the talk of the town,” says Dr. Shakeel Ahmad Shifayi who teaches at the MP ML Higher Secondary School, Bagh-e-Dilawar Khan in Srinagar.

https://kashmirobserver.net/2020/08/04/why-ertugrul-strikes-a-big-chord-in-kashmir/#:~:text=And%20loving%20it%20is%20in,and%20injustice%20of%20any%20kind.%E2%80%9D