Turning the focus on the brilliant 2018 release Mulk, Subhash K Jha presents a new installment of This Day That Year feature and director Anubhav Sinha speaks about the making of the drama.
Whose land is it anyway? At a time when the Indian Muslim finds himself isolated like never before, Anubhav Sinha’s Mulk serves as a jolting reminder of how far into the darkest recesses of distrust and animosity, terrorism has taken the blame game.
It is very hard to believe that Sinha whose earlier credits include fluff stuff like Tum Bin and Ra.One, has actually created this modern political masterpiece which attempts very successfully to humanize a community that has been demonized by some negative elements. And yet Anubhav Sinha’s doesn’t take sides, doesn’t make the Indian Muslim community a portrait of injured innocence.
What it does do—and full-marks to Anubhav Sinha for writing a script that doesn’t bend backwards to humanize the community under siege—is to lay bare the layers of deception that mars a truly fruitful dialogue between sane rational elements in both the Hindu and Muslim community.
When the son (Pratik Babbar) from a Muslim family in the dense bylanes of Varanasi decides to became a so-called jihadi, the ramifications on his family are deep and wounding.
It is in portraying the family’s anguish that Anubhav emerges with cinema that’s masterly and timely. There comes a time in the taut narrative when the patriarch of the family is asked to choose between home and safety. Rishi Kapoor making that resolute choice reminded me of Balraj Sahni in Garam Hawa.
Kapoor has shaped up into that rare actor who can do anything effortlessly. His portrayal of Murad Ali Mohammad is clenched and compelling. He brings to the character an empathy that never serenades selfpity. But my favourite performances in the film are by Manoj Pahwa as Rishi Kapoor’s hounded brother and Rajat Kapoor as a Muslim anti-terror police officer who has turned against his own community to cleanse its reputation.
Pahwa as the terror-accused father of a jihadi, makes your heart melt with compassion. In the best-written sequence of the film he tells his brother why he always tried to be a good sibling, and never failed to fall short.
Also brilliant is the ever-capable Kumud Mishra as the judge presiding over a case that in may ways, changes the way we look at terror-accused families, not to mention court proceedings in our films. Ashutosh Rana and Tapsee Pannu are absolutely brilliant as the prosecutor and defence lawyer. And when Tapsee takes over the climactic courtroom finale questioning why our society has polarized into “them” and “us” , she proves herself one of the strongest contemporary female actors today.
Some moments in this thought-process reforming drama made me break into goosebumps. When the terrorist-son (Prateik Babbar)’s body is brought home , we hear sounds of mothered anguish and panic, as the camera moves through the family home prowling in pursuit of answers to questions that lie too deep for tears.
I am not surprised that Evan Mulligan’s camera has captured the splintered cultural conundrum of Varanasi like never before. Mulk is a work that won’t settle for the status quo. It forces us to think and reconsider our value system at a time when cows are valued more than human lives.
Anubhav Sinha prefers to say “boo” instead of “moo”.
Says Anubhav, “The more Mulk grows the better I appreciate its value in my personal trajectory as a filmmaker. I feel my career started with Mulk. What I did before that is a blur. No , I am not disowning my earlier films. But I have no right to own them. I was not making them from my heart.””
Anubhav can’t understand why Mulk was banned in Pakistan. “This is such a predictable and banal response. As soon as you hear ‘Pakistan’ being mentioned in a Hindi film, just get rid of the film. At a time when Pakistan had risen to a new leader and a new hope, Mulk talked peace instead of violence seems to displease them.
Anubhav, urging Pakistanis to download the film illegally to watch it says,”The idea of making a film on the dilemma of Indian Muslims, psnatched the monopoly of Hindutva back from fringe elements.I greet all my friends, Hindu or Muslim, with ‘Jai Shri Ram’. My biggest joy is when my Muslim friends reply with ‘Jai Shri Ram’ as I would to their ‘Asalaam wale qum’. I did many of my media interviews for Mulk wearing saffron. I also did some in a Pathan suit. I love the colour green as much as saffron,And to those critics who want to know why my storytelling in Mulk lacks subtlety, I want to ask you: ‘You want me to be subtle at a time when human beings are being lynched in our country? Just because Mulk addressed some uncomfortable truths, trolls were having a field day. They said that the film has been funded by Dawood because that’s the easiest way to malign it. But I am not affected by such nonsense.I come from Varanasi. Abuses, profanities and threats don’t bother me. I am 6-foot-tall guy and I can take care of myself.”
The minute the trailer of Mulk came out Anubhav started receiving calls from friends in India and abroad. Many of the concerned callers were Muslims. “‘Look after yourself,’ they said, and that worried me. The isolation of the Indian Muslim due to the acts of some terrorists is an issue that should bother all of us. I grew up in Varanasi where there would be a communal riot every other week. Then I moved to Aligarh, where the Muslims made me feel completely at home. They never made me feel different, so when did this business of ‘them’ and ‘us’ start?”
Having steered clear of politics all his life, Mulk was Anubhav’s political film. “I made it because this is a subject that I have to address. However, there isn’t a single politician in my film.”
Despite its seemingly controversial theme, Mulk got the star cast that Anubhav wanted for it. “I went to Rishi Kapoor with much dread, wondering, if not him, then who? But he heard my narration and immediately agreed to be in the film. Rajat Kapoor was one of the last actors to come on board. When he heard what the film was about, he agreed to play any part in it. After the film was passed with only a few minor cuts, I sent thank you messages to all the members of the censor board. I don’t think too many filmmakers do that. I went to the censor board thinking there would be trouble, given the theme. I even considered consulting with Anurag Kashyap, who’s had trouble with the board before. Finally though, I had no trouble at all.”
In closing he said, “ Mulk is a film that needed to be made. We can no longer sweep the isolation of the Indian Muslim under the carpet. I greet my friends with ‘Jai Sri Ram’ and they look at me as if to say, ‘Et tu, Brute?’ But I want the fringe groups to know – you don’t represent me. Jai Sri Ram doesn’t belong to you.”
