‘RAEES’ AND MONSTERS WITHIN
[This blog post is in response to the ban imposed by Pakistani censor board on a film by Indian superstar SRK; the given reason being that “the content undermines Islam, and a specific religious sect, (while also) portraying Muslims as criminals, wanted persons and terrorists." - dated 6th Feb. 2017;
The film's story may or may not be based on the life of a real-life Muslim gangster / powerhouse who ruled the roost in prohibition-struck 80s Gujarat, India.
Ironically, Pakistan is not immune to illegal sale and consumption of alcohol; gangsters e.g. Ladla, Chotoo, Pappu, Uzair, Beater, etc. who also happen to be Muslims; extra-judicial killings occur to get rid of notorious criminals. And tagging something 'anti-Islam,' like this movie has been, ensures no debate occurs for fear of reprisals.
The film also marks the debut of Pakistani actress Mahira Khan in an Indian film - and that too, opposite SRK, a cool, history-making win for Pakistani talent - fulfilling a long-held quoted dream of Pakistani actresses and actors to be in an Indian blockbuster with any of their A-list actors].
Banning ‘Raees’ is the least of our problems. As a country, we are so used to being told what is right for us, who is morally upright, who is patriotic, who we should trust, how much of our money is required for a project or institution, what the true face of Islam is and who is a good terrorist, that we have forgotten how to ask questions, how to communicate non-violent dissent and how to get heard.
The same goes for art and artists. Let’s be honest: Pakistan has never cared about singers, musicians, painters, artisans, poets, actors and actresses, writers, technical crew, extras. As a society we look down upon these professions. If an actor has a hit drama or film, his first instinct is to open up a designer shop or some other form of business so that he has a secure form of income. An actress starts looking for a sugar-daddy or husband. Noor Jehan is not studied anywhere. Mehdi Hassan is not commemorated beyond a ticker. Nadeem Baig is not revered. Sultan Rahi is a meme. No one knows nor celebrates Anjuman's birthday. Nazarul Islam who? Shaan and Saima are never invited on radio or TV (PTV or cable) to talk about their decade of No. 1 stardom. Afzal Rambo is not asked to a business / creative seminar in any educational institute to speak on how he battled social, religious, financial and family pressures to make it in the industry as an outsider and thrive as the perennial second-lead. Dancers from 80s are not considered worthy of being remembered. Books on Pakistani cinema are few and have the feel of graveyard shift to them. No tourism is generated by promoting locations of iconic scenes in films. No artist has ever received a 5-minute silence, 20-tank salute or national holiday. Unlike Pakistani cable TV's obsession with celebrating even D/Z-list Indian wannabes, giving them airtime and talk shows, you will never see a prime time anchor talking about Pakistani entertainment or talent unless the episode is airing on Eid holiday - when nobody watches the 8 and 10 o’clock programs, too busy in festivities - basically recording an unimportant filler episode. (I am witness to top anchors recording Eid interviews with some actor / actress / director / writer in lethargic boredom, and were negative, derogatory and vapid in their questions as opposed to celebratory, interested and informed). In fact, generally, anchors thought it was beneath them to cover film / TV / theatre. Culture is just not serious business unless it’s politicized or islamized. Pop culture is reduced to popularity contests or scandals as per social media, not actual work.
There has never been an organic cinematic growth in Pakistan. As long as there was money to be made, a film was produced. Pakistani filmmakers were never brave enough to talk about issues that existed in society and made either age-old romantic dramas till late 70s or gandasa films rooted in OTT primal fiction till early 2000s. It is beyond parody that 'Maula Jutt' (1979) remains the only original film ever created in Pakistan (even though it's a sequel to the lesser known 1975 film 'Wehshi Jutt'). Syed Noor's muse-invention and forgettable B-grade pelvic thrusted 'inspirations' of Hindi films dominated the 90s, followed by hackneyed TV-movie style 'revival of cinema' in late-2010s built around promoting C-grade m/f copies of Indian stars Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Salman Khan, SRK, Katrina Kaif, Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh and fishing an entire catalogue of potboiler commercial Hindi films for 'inspiration,' basic story, dialogues, look, dress, style, music, sound, framing, editing, coloring, and even controversies! (No one can dance like them but they sure try). All this is being stage-managed with the support of big channel houses, sponsors and ISPR. The movers and shakers of this copy-paste 'revival' have forgotten that when Waheed Murad was IT in 60s commercial social/family films, there was no one like him during that entire decade in India, or anywhere else; he was an original, breath of fresh air, and made by audience, not ISPR or Momina Duraid or Dawn.com; same is the case with Sultan Rahi and Shaan. By copying others, you may earn easy lame money, but cannot manufacture magic or creativity or build an audience around exciting memories, because why should anyone watch a Pakistani copy of 2-3 films when they can readily click on the net to watch the actual Salman Khan, veteran of 35-years, strut his stuff. The movers and shakers are stuck in medieval time-loop of ideology and inferiority complex. Innovation and pushing boundaries here means getting the leads to use expletives and having a sex / dating life. This is the scope and length and breadth of thought. They are busy playing catch-up with Pakistanis, who have long moved on.
There is no excitement or magic or craze or fandom - and no real audience either, i.e. non-orchestrated, organic audience in Pakistan of 'Pakistani' films. No one is waiting in Pakistan for a Pakistani film to open next Friday.
Compare this state of affairs with two countries that defy historical and geographical 'established truths' time and again through their films, and show a level of cultural and political maturity lacking in Pakistan: South Korea and India.
South Korea is a product of war and strife, monarchy, military dictatorship, numerous occupations, and fractured independence - it even has an annexation: that with North. Technically, it should be raising battles with China and Japan, not having cultural exchanges with them. It should have unresolved grievances against U.S. and Russia too. And yet, it has the audacity to produce a film like ‘Joint Security Area’, where border soldiers from North and South become friends, get killed under mistaken fire and military bureaucracy of both sides lies to its people over the incident; ‘Silmido', true story of a prisoners unit trained by military for infiltration and assassination in a foreign land; ‘Inside Men’ that shows the comfortable corrupt nexus between news media, political leaders, business enterprises and judiciary; ‘Silenced’, a true story of systemic sexual abuse by teachers who got lenient sentences for the crime; ‘New World’, a tense thriller about skewed vision of law enforcement officers.
All of these films were blockbusters in Korea, showing the propensity of the people to embrace controversial and unpleasant topics - and of the Establishment to grudgingly accept the will of the consumer. Happily Ever After is not sought or coveted in Korean cinema. The primary importance is placed on the human condition - not welfare of an institution, ideology, caste, democracy or religion. It is cinema’s way of saying ‘This is who we are today, not tomorrow,' taking ownership of all warts and grey of events, society, people.
There was a time when Indian art cinema existed on the fringes of mainstream commercial ventures, albeit a 'Pyaasa' here and there. Not anymore. Roughly 16 years ago, Indian Hindi filmmakers started merging socially ambiguous realities in commercial films and produced stuff like ‘Rang De Basanti’, ‘Company’, 'Munna Bhai MBBS 1 &2', 'My Name is Khan', 'Chak De India', ‘Jolly LLB’, ‘Udta Punjab’, ‘Talvar’ and ‘PK,’ among others.
Even American cinema with all its prestige, power and genre-variety cannot boast of multi-layered portrayals and exploration of themes beyond the hackneyed status quo. In a 100 years, they haven’t moved beyond summer movie super-hero bonanza, crime-bosses, dysfunctional families, WW2, brotherhood / sisterhood and race issues littering each film with one caricature after another.
Women are more real, have meatier, non-exploitative roles in Korean and Indian films too. No woman is running in a tank top through the fields having make-out sessions in 'Berlin File' and girls are people with goals in 'Dangal'. In fact Korean action films routinely have male and female actors of similar age groups (unless the story demands a teenage tag-along), and women are not wrinkle-free and stick-thin like in American films (though they may have had 'feature-enhancing' procedures of their own). U.S. and Pakistani cinema is still stuck in objectification of women because the society hasn't moved forward or vice versa.
The world is also not black and white in Korean and new Indian films: A person doing a bad or illegal thing may not necessarily be a bad human being - a mythical evil to an impossible good - he just happens to have a dark shade in personality or circumstances make him so. Cowboys and Indians? Maula Jutt and Noori Nuth? No, each portrayal is much more complicated and humane than that.
Culture - be it in the form of science, art, literature, architecture or environment - takes a people forward, helps them start a conversation, evolve and grow. It’s a very powerful thing. And that’s why under-developed countries, insecure governments and institutions try to control freedom of thought and expression. No one in Pakistan will ever make a film on armed forces like ‘Rang De Basanti’, no one will showcase a corrupt news media ala ‘Inside Men', no one will make a casting call for ‘PK’ to highlight Shia-Sunni problem or religious exploitation, no one will raise a camera for Karachi gangs like ‘Company’. No one will tell a true story, and no one will come to see it either.
At least let us watch ‘Raees’.
The film's story may or may not be based on the life of a real-life Muslim gangster / powerhouse who ruled the roost in prohibition-struck 80s Gujarat, India.
Ironically, Pakistan is not immune to illegal sale and consumption of alcohol; gangsters e.g. Ladla, Chotoo, Pappu, Uzair, Beater, etc. who also happen to be Muslims; extra-judicial killings occur to get rid of notorious criminals. And tagging something 'anti-Islam,' like this movie has been, ensures no debate occurs for fear of reprisals.
The film also marks the debut of Pakistani actress Mahira Khan in an Indian film - and that too, opposite SRK, a cool, history-making win for Pakistani talent - fulfilling a long-held quoted dream of Pakistani actresses and actors to be in an Indian blockbuster with any of their A-list actors].
Banning ‘Raees’ is the least of our problems. As a country, we are so used to being told what is right for us, who is morally upright, who is patriotic, who we should trust, how much of our money is required for a project or institution, what the true face of Islam is and who is a good terrorist, that we have forgotten how to ask questions, how to communicate non-violent dissent and how to get heard.
The same goes for art and artists. Let’s be honest: Pakistan has never cared about singers, musicians, painters, artisans, poets, actors and actresses, writers, technical crew, extras. As a society we look down upon these professions. If an actor has a hit drama or film, his first instinct is to open up a designer shop or some other form of business so that he has a secure form of income. An actress starts looking for a sugar-daddy or husband. Noor Jehan is not studied anywhere. Mehdi Hassan is not commemorated beyond a ticker. Nadeem Baig is not revered. Sultan Rahi is a meme. No one knows nor celebrates Anjuman's birthday. Nazarul Islam who? Shaan and Saima are never invited on radio or TV (PTV or cable) to talk about their decade of No. 1 stardom. Afzal Rambo is not asked to a business / creative seminar in any educational institute to speak on how he battled social, religious, financial and family pressures to make it in the industry as an outsider and thrive as the perennial second-lead. Dancers from 80s are not considered worthy of being remembered. Books on Pakistani cinema are few and have the feel of graveyard shift to them. No tourism is generated by promoting locations of iconic scenes in films. No artist has ever received a 5-minute silence, 20-tank salute or national holiday. Unlike Pakistani cable TV's obsession with celebrating even D/Z-list Indian wannabes, giving them airtime and talk shows, you will never see a prime time anchor talking about Pakistani entertainment or talent unless the episode is airing on Eid holiday - when nobody watches the 8 and 10 o’clock programs, too busy in festivities - basically recording an unimportant filler episode. (I am witness to top anchors recording Eid interviews with some actor / actress / director / writer in lethargic boredom, and were negative, derogatory and vapid in their questions as opposed to celebratory, interested and informed). In fact, generally, anchors thought it was beneath them to cover film / TV / theatre. Culture is just not serious business unless it’s politicized or islamized. Pop culture is reduced to popularity contests or scandals as per social media, not actual work.
There has never been an organic cinematic growth in Pakistan. As long as there was money to be made, a film was produced. Pakistani filmmakers were never brave enough to talk about issues that existed in society and made either age-old romantic dramas till late 70s or gandasa films rooted in OTT primal fiction till early 2000s. It is beyond parody that 'Maula Jutt' (1979) remains the only original film ever created in Pakistan (even though it's a sequel to the lesser known 1975 film 'Wehshi Jutt'). Syed Noor's muse-invention and forgettable B-grade pelvic thrusted 'inspirations' of Hindi films dominated the 90s, followed by hackneyed TV-movie style 'revival of cinema' in late-2010s built around promoting C-grade m/f copies of Indian stars Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Salman Khan, SRK, Katrina Kaif, Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh and fishing an entire catalogue of potboiler commercial Hindi films for 'inspiration,' basic story, dialogues, look, dress, style, music, sound, framing, editing, coloring, and even controversies! (No one can dance like them but they sure try). All this is being stage-managed with the support of big channel houses, sponsors and ISPR. The movers and shakers of this copy-paste 'revival' have forgotten that when Waheed Murad was IT in 60s commercial social/family films, there was no one like him during that entire decade in India, or anywhere else; he was an original, breath of fresh air, and made by audience, not ISPR or Momina Duraid or Dawn.com; same is the case with Sultan Rahi and Shaan. By copying others, you may earn easy lame money, but cannot manufacture magic or creativity or build an audience around exciting memories, because why should anyone watch a Pakistani copy of 2-3 films when they can readily click on the net to watch the actual Salman Khan, veteran of 35-years, strut his stuff. The movers and shakers are stuck in medieval time-loop of ideology and inferiority complex. Innovation and pushing boundaries here means getting the leads to use expletives and having a sex / dating life. This is the scope and length and breadth of thought. They are busy playing catch-up with Pakistanis, who have long moved on.
There is no excitement or magic or craze or fandom - and no real audience either, i.e. non-orchestrated, organic audience in Pakistan of 'Pakistani' films. No one is waiting in Pakistan for a Pakistani film to open next Friday.
Compare this state of affairs with two countries that defy historical and geographical 'established truths' time and again through their films, and show a level of cultural and political maturity lacking in Pakistan: South Korea and India.
South Korea is a product of war and strife, monarchy, military dictatorship, numerous occupations, and fractured independence - it even has an annexation: that with North. Technically, it should be raising battles with China and Japan, not having cultural exchanges with them. It should have unresolved grievances against U.S. and Russia too. And yet, it has the audacity to produce a film like ‘Joint Security Area’, where border soldiers from North and South become friends, get killed under mistaken fire and military bureaucracy of both sides lies to its people over the incident; ‘Silmido', true story of a prisoners unit trained by military for infiltration and assassination in a foreign land; ‘Inside Men’ that shows the comfortable corrupt nexus between news media, political leaders, business enterprises and judiciary; ‘Silenced’, a true story of systemic sexual abuse by teachers who got lenient sentences for the crime; ‘New World’, a tense thriller about skewed vision of law enforcement officers.
All of these films were blockbusters in Korea, showing the propensity of the people to embrace controversial and unpleasant topics - and of the Establishment to grudgingly accept the will of the consumer. Happily Ever After is not sought or coveted in Korean cinema. The primary importance is placed on the human condition - not welfare of an institution, ideology, caste, democracy or religion. It is cinema’s way of saying ‘This is who we are today, not tomorrow,' taking ownership of all warts and grey of events, society, people.
There was a time when Indian art cinema existed on the fringes of mainstream commercial ventures, albeit a 'Pyaasa' here and there. Not anymore. Roughly 16 years ago, Indian Hindi filmmakers started merging socially ambiguous realities in commercial films and produced stuff like ‘Rang De Basanti’, ‘Company’, 'Munna Bhai MBBS 1 &2', 'My Name is Khan', 'Chak De India', ‘Jolly LLB’, ‘Udta Punjab’, ‘Talvar’ and ‘PK,’ among others.
Even American cinema with all its prestige, power and genre-variety cannot boast of multi-layered portrayals and exploration of themes beyond the hackneyed status quo. In a 100 years, they haven’t moved beyond summer movie super-hero bonanza, crime-bosses, dysfunctional families, WW2, brotherhood / sisterhood and race issues littering each film with one caricature after another.
Women are more real, have meatier, non-exploitative roles in Korean and Indian films too. No woman is running in a tank top through the fields having make-out sessions in 'Berlin File' and girls are people with goals in 'Dangal'. In fact Korean action films routinely have male and female actors of similar age groups (unless the story demands a teenage tag-along), and women are not wrinkle-free and stick-thin like in American films (though they may have had 'feature-enhancing' procedures of their own). U.S. and Pakistani cinema is still stuck in objectification of women because the society hasn't moved forward or vice versa.
The world is also not black and white in Korean and new Indian films: A person doing a bad or illegal thing may not necessarily be a bad human being - a mythical evil to an impossible good - he just happens to have a dark shade in personality or circumstances make him so. Cowboys and Indians? Maula Jutt and Noori Nuth? No, each portrayal is much more complicated and humane than that.
Culture - be it in the form of science, art, literature, architecture or environment - takes a people forward, helps them start a conversation, evolve and grow. It’s a very powerful thing. And that’s why under-developed countries, insecure governments and institutions try to control freedom of thought and expression. No one in Pakistan will ever make a film on armed forces like ‘Rang De Basanti’, no one will showcase a corrupt news media ala ‘Inside Men', no one will make a casting call for ‘PK’ to highlight Shia-Sunni problem or religious exploitation, no one will raise a camera for Karachi gangs like ‘Company’. No one will tell a true story, and no one will come to see it either.
At least let us watch ‘Raees’.
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