Love stories set against communal histories have always run into trouble
EVER since Mani Ratnam skilfully crafted a Hindu-boy-meets Muslim-girl-romance in the backdrop of the Mumbai riots in his 1994 epic, Bombay, Bollywood has never really tired of this theme, repeating it ad nauseam film after film.
But the latest film on the theme, Game of Ayodhya—scheduled to release this week amid mounting controversy—seeks to reprise the same old tale in a new package, drawing heavily from the report of the Liberhan Commission, which was set up to probe the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992.
A judicial commission report may not usually interest an average filmmaker per se, but the 1,029-page tome submitted by Justice (retd) M.S. Liberhan to the central government in 2009 has inspired a politician-turned filmmaker from UP to make a feature film that mines recent political history for drama.
Produced and directed by Sunil Singh, Game of Ayodhya, starring Makarand Deshpande, Aroon Bakshi and Singh himself, in pivotal roles, is scheduled to release on December 8, two days after the 25th anniversary of the demolition in Ayodhya. “My film is based on true events as mentioned in the Liberhan Commission report,” Sunil Singh tells Outlook. “We have not tweaked the facts and have used real-life footage featuring leaders such as Atal Behari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharati and others in it.” Sunil Singh says he has made this film primarily to make the younger generation aware of an important event which altered the course of politics and history of the country. “Twenty-five years have passed since the shrine was demolished but those born after 1992 do not know much about the circumstances leading to the demolition, or for that matter, the conspiratorial game played behind it and the key people involved in it.”
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 18, 2017-Ausgabe von Outlook.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 18, 2017-Ausgabe von Outlook.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
My Secular Mentor
A rare psychologist of Indian culture, Sudhir Kakar leaves behind seminal works that will have relevance for many generations
Battle of the Bahubalis
Gangsters in Bihar no longer enjoy the kind of dominance that they did in the 90s, but that has not kept them away from politics
Memories of Riots
Have frequent communal tensions changed the social fabric of Bihar?
Didi's Achilles Heel
Mamata Banerjee stays the course but her party, plagued by corruption charges, spins out of control
Memory Metamorphosis
What happened on March 14, 2007 in Nandigram? People still ask this question as they take part in the dance of democracy
Minority Report
He has not lost the Dhubri seat in Assam since 2009. Now he is fighting for political survival as Bengali Muslims look to favour the Congress
THE POWER OF PURPOSE
Doing good is good business as it transcends bottom lines and impacts lives positively, yielding profits that go beyond numbers.
CURRENT FARMING METHODS ARE EXACERBATING CLIMATE CHANGE
Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) project is supporting transition of 850,000 farmers covering 377,801 hectares of land and operating in 3730 villages. \"Natural farming is in harmony with nature. It is a holistic land management practice that leverages the power of photosynthesis in plants\", says Mr. T Vijay Kumar, a retired IAS officer, who is the Executive Vice Chairman of Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, a non-profit organization set up by the Andhra Pradesh government in 2014. Since 2016, this platform has been utilized to integrate and promote APCNF activities, aimed at fostering the overall development and empowerment of farmers. Excerpts from an interview with Mr T Vijay Kumar:
IN PURSUIT OF SUSTAINABILITY
Harshavardhana Gourineni, Executive Director, Amara Raja Energy & Mobility Ltd, in an interview shares how through its products and operations the company is helping reduce carbon footprints and meet SDGs. Excerpts:
COOLING NO MORE A LUXURY, BUT A NECESSITY
With the rise in demand of air conditioners due to heat stress, sustainable air conditioning is the way forward to bring relief to people as well as manage emissions