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Produced by Shabana Azmi, the Zee5 film Mee Raqsam asks - how can an art form become the possession of any particular religion?
Produced by Shabana Azmi, the Zee5 film Mee Raqsam asks – how can an art form become the possession of any particular religion?
Original Hindi post translated by Nishtha Pandey.
The film Mee Raqsam released on Zee5 last Friday, is a very different kind of film that tries to throw light on many subjects simultaneously.
The socio-political atmosphere in which we live today controls our lives. From what we eat to what we wear, all activities of most of our people are dominated by the our religion.
In these times, Mee Raqsam proves that anyone in a democratic country has the right to live life on their own terms.
Along with this, the film also opens the layer of those beliefs of the society where no art is imprisoned in a religious realm. Art mixes with the civilization and culture of that country and becomes a part of the country. Mee Raqasam makes us realize that art is something that resonates with people irrespective of culture and religion.
Bharatnatyam as a dance form is known worldwide as part of Hindustani Tehzeeb. Some people define it as a Hindu dance form. A type of dance that was used by devadasis to please Hindu Gods.
In such a situation, if a Muslim girl goes to a dance school or wants to learn Bharatnatyam then for some so-called ‘guardians of culture’ she is non-religious and unfaithful towards her religion. Not only dance but fulfilling your dream in the world of music also becomes an act of going against one’s religion.
Mee Raqsam, produced by Shabana Azmi, has been directed by her brother Baba Azmi. It is an attempt to question the mindset which associates art with religion. In this movie, Naseeruddin Shah plays the role of a leader of the Muslim community, Danish Hussain plays the role of a caring father and Aditi Subaidi plays his daughter.
The movie sheds light on the fact that it is not just Muslim society but that Hindu society too is not very liberal towards art.
In the movie, we see Naseeruddin Shah’s character who is a prominent Muslim leader calls Marraim’s father un-religious and ‘kafir’ for letting his daughter learn Bharatnatyam. We also see Mr Jai Prakash who is a prominent Hindu leader going against the fact that his own daughter likes Sufi sangeet despite being Hindu.
This idea of relegating art to religious diktats cages the liberty of artists to experiment and prosper in one’s passion.
The film Mee Raqsam also talks about the family not supporting their loved ones just because of the fear of society and deep-rooted patriarchy.
For example, in the film, when Marraim’s fufi gets to know that she is taking Bharatanatyam classes, she says ‘nach-gana seekh ke kya ise mujra karna hai?’ (Does she want to learn dance for being a courtesan?)
Such taunts and restrictions break the spirit of many young kids who just want to follow their passion irrespective of religious and cultural norms.
The way in which the story is told and shown in the film Mee Raqsam, people will slowly get a grip on it. This movie stays with you the rebellion against intolerance is ultimately lightweight, but the relationship between Salim and Maryam runs deep and lingers long to the audience.
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After some time, unable to bear it any longer, I signed off from the home lunch. My MIL must've heaved a sigh of relief because my portion of groceries would be saved!
Until I married I had never imagined even in my wildest dreams that my diet/ food intake could assume such alarming proportions and affect conjugal harmony. Having stepped into my marital home I discovered to my bewilderment that the four female inmates were frugal eaters. My spouse and his dad ate moderately well.
The family faced a dilemma: my requirement surpassed those of the ladies but most certainly couldn’t be clubbed with the men’s. Why? Simply because they were MEN. “How could you even think of it”? They snubbed me often. (Incidentally, the parents-in-law refused to accept contributions from either of us). They probably expected me to be demure and submissive since I was ‘‘eating off” their money.
So each morning as I left for work I was served three chapattis with a few spoonfuls of curry. Can you believe this curry catered to the ladies’ lunch the previous day, and dinner for all six inmates? The horror of horrors, it crept into my lunch box too. The chapattis made at the crack of dawn were fine till breakfast but by lunch, they turned leathery; the accompanying curry insipid, tasteless.
We can’t bombard impressionable young women in the name of enlightened entertainment to feed them the same drivel. At least let us not label misogynist movies as helping the cause of women.
I have watched at least 2 ‘purported’ trailblazing Bollywood movies in the recent past that left me with a feeling that I had taken part in the ice-bucket challenge all over again. This time around, however, without even the satisfaction of having supported a worthy cause.
Both the movies have about a 90% liking rate on IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes. Both are touted to ‘sensitively’ portray the taboo topics that seem to be mostly hidden underneath a layer of banana peels – dangerous to even tread nearby.
Zaira Wasim renounced working in movies a while ago, but trolls need to understand that it is her choice, and that the shooting for the upcoming 'The Sky is Pink' was probably wrapped up before that!
Zaira Wasim renounced working in movies a while ago, but trolls need to understand that it is her choice, and that the shooting for the upcoming ‘The Sky is Pink’ was probably wrapped up before that!
A new movie, The Sky is Pink, will be released on 11th October 2019, and has Zaira Wasim in a pivotal role along with Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar.
There were reports that Zaira will not be taking part in the promotions of the movie, since she quit the Bollywood film industry some time ago, but social media trolls have again called her out a couple of days ago after spotting her in the trailer of the movie, which was released on the 10th of September.
Women who do not seem to be religious are universally considered "bad girls". Can we not judge women on the basis of how religious or traditional they are?
Women who do not seem to be religious are universally considered “bad girls”. Can we not judge women on the basis of how religious or traditional they are?
Recently, I came across an article which spoke about a study which said that women are more religious than men, universally, across religions and cultures. I am always skeptical of how such studies are reported in the media, and I went looking for the original study.
This study, published by The Pew Research Center, found that, “globally, women are more devout than men by several standard measures of religious commitment. But the study also reveals a more complex relationship between religion and gender than has been commonly assumed. While women generally are more religious, men display higher levels of religious commitment in some countries and religious groups. And in other contexts, there are few, if any, discernable gender differences in religion.” The reasons for this gender gap are understood to be both biological (nature; men’s testosterone makes them more prone to taking risks, and less religious) and social (nurture; women are socialized into being more religious.)