Shabana Azmi: ‘The fight today is not between religions but between world views that are tolerant or intolerant’

Shabana Azmi’s Mee Raqsam, is on its approach to the Coalition of South Asian Film Festivals. The movie will likely be showcased on opening evening and will likely be within the firm of greater than 60 movies from South Asia. And Shabana couldn’t be extra proud.

Shabana mentioned in an interview with Hindustan Times that the movie is a tribute to her father, late legendary poet, Kaifi Azmi. It is directed and produced by her brother Baba Azmi and Shabana is the one presenting it. Set in Kaifi’s birthplace Mijwan, it tells the story of a younger Muslim lady who needs to pursue bharatnatyam. As she meet opposition from her group, her father stands by her aspect.

Watch full interview:

 

The movie’s lead star Aditi Subedi can also be from Mijwan. “What it has done is that it has created sort of a chain reaction in the villages of Mijwan where suddenly the girls are feeling that it’ s OK to have a huge dream because it is possible that the dream can be realised. That to me, is what would have made my father very, very happy because he worked for the empowerment of the girl child and women all his life,” she informed HT. “There are so many people in our small towns who have so much talent,” she added.

Mee Raqsam’s largest energy is the father-daughter relationship shared by Danish Hussain and Aditi. Shabana says her dad and mom additionally taught her by instance. She recalled how till the age of 9, she would stay with a commune of eight-nine households, all sharing a single toilet. “We never had any money. All the money we used to get, my father would give to the Communist Party,” she mentioned, including that he would give solely Rs 40 for the household’s wants each month. “All the values that we got is from what we saw around us. Let’s remember that 70 years ago, my father wrote an iconic poem Aurat, which said ‘Uth meri jaan, mere saath hi chalna hai tujhe’, at a time when it was believed that the role of the woman was to sit at home and look after children. He said ‘No! You have to march, shoulder to shoulder’,” Shabana mentioned.

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The movie additionally stars Naseeruddin Shah, who performs a bigoted, unaccepting group chief who tries all he can to maintain the younger dancer away from her desires. But Shabana needs to make clear that the movie reveals no group in strictly adverse gentle. “The film is not targeting a community. It is targeting a way of thinking, a world view. Because both communities have been shown with their problems and their good qualities also. We have to understand that the fight today is between not religions but between world views that are tolerant and liberal on one side as against the intolerant and fundamentalist on the other. That, I think is a very powerful thing that the film says,” she mentioned.

Mee Raqsam premiered on Zee5 in August.

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