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Shahid Kapoor’s gritty and violent Haider opened to rave reviews on a day which also ironically happened to be the birthday of India’s biggest proponent of non-violence - Mahatma Gandhi. And while most of us enjoyed the cinematic spectacle, few bothered to think about the film beyond the performances and drama. Based during Kashmir’s worst period of insurgence in the 90s, Haider provided a rather one-sided take on things. If there is one criticism which can be leveled against the film, it’s that it portrays the Indian army in a bad light and seems to champion the cause of just one minority. Every coin has two sides and while Vishal Bharadwaj and writer Basharat Peer had their say with Haider, one Indian army man decided to raise his voice and give his take on the popular film.
Posted on the popular website Agniveer - Self-Help | Motivation | Spiritualism | Rationalism | Behavioral Repatterning | Vedas | Hinduism | Anti-Casteism | Women Rights this insightful and though-provoking review has already opened up a fresh debate about the film online. Titled ‘A soldier reviews Haider movie’ the writer provides a different take on the film. It opens with a gut-wrenching description of the volatile situation in Kashmir at that time. All descriptions are based on personal experience of the writer who was stationed in Kashmir at that time. He claims that while the Muslims of Kashmir were being constantly harassed to join terrorist groups, thousands of Kashmiri Hindus and Sikhs were massacred or forced to flee the valley. And in such a situation, it fell to the Indian army to try and keep things under control.
He writes, “If someone suffered most severe human-rights violation in history of mankind, it was the Indian Army in Kashmir. We left our families in different parts of India and survived under harshest of conditions. For days we would sleep over guns in harsh climate and remotest locations just to keep tab on infiltrating militants. Anyone of us could be bombed away in a sudden attack of fundamentalism. Innumerable among us lost our lives. I lost my hand like so many others who lost their limbs or eyes. To die in a bomb blast was considered lucky. Because if you chanced to be captured by the militants, you would be slowly and mercilessly tortured to death. Militants and their supporters took pride in this gruesome ‘halal’ ritual.”
He further goes on to mention that nobody remembers Saurabh Kalia, a soldier who gave his life for the motherland, since he is nowhere as popular as Shahid or Vishal Bharadwaj. In a nutshell, the writer is basically outlining all the various aspects of the situation in Kashmir which seem to have been conveniently glossed over in Haider. He says that one needs to have actually been there to be able to claim to know the problems faced by the people of Kashmir, Hindus, Sikh and Muslims alike. He writes, “You need to spend just a few days in the valley to understand the true nature of struggle that lies hidden under this garb of Kashmiriyat. It is simply a ploy to extend the reaches of Islamic fundamentalism. The same fundamentalism of Al-Qaeda and ISIS that is shaking the entire world.”
In conclusion, he labels the film as a shameless commercialization of anti-nationalism. He writes, “Today, on one side Pakistan is targeting Indian Army and minority locations in Kashmir with bullets. And around the same time, our own country-men create a film like “Haider” that paints Indian Army a villain.”
So after reading about this take on Haider, what are your thoughts? Do you agree with this soldier’s review or do you feel the writers of Haider were justified in their take on the situation? In any case, one thing is for sure, this review definitely makes you re-evaluate the way you feel about the film and forces you to think beyond the simple story it conveys.
An Indian soldier lashes out against Shahid Kapoor's Haider - Films of India
Posted on the popular website Agniveer - Self-Help | Motivation | Spiritualism | Rationalism | Behavioral Repatterning | Vedas | Hinduism | Anti-Casteism | Women Rights this insightful and though-provoking review has already opened up a fresh debate about the film online. Titled ‘A soldier reviews Haider movie’ the writer provides a different take on the film. It opens with a gut-wrenching description of the volatile situation in Kashmir at that time. All descriptions are based on personal experience of the writer who was stationed in Kashmir at that time. He claims that while the Muslims of Kashmir were being constantly harassed to join terrorist groups, thousands of Kashmiri Hindus and Sikhs were massacred or forced to flee the valley. And in such a situation, it fell to the Indian army to try and keep things under control.
He writes, “If someone suffered most severe human-rights violation in history of mankind, it was the Indian Army in Kashmir. We left our families in different parts of India and survived under harshest of conditions. For days we would sleep over guns in harsh climate and remotest locations just to keep tab on infiltrating militants. Anyone of us could be bombed away in a sudden attack of fundamentalism. Innumerable among us lost our lives. I lost my hand like so many others who lost their limbs or eyes. To die in a bomb blast was considered lucky. Because if you chanced to be captured by the militants, you would be slowly and mercilessly tortured to death. Militants and their supporters took pride in this gruesome ‘halal’ ritual.”
He further goes on to mention that nobody remembers Saurabh Kalia, a soldier who gave his life for the motherland, since he is nowhere as popular as Shahid or Vishal Bharadwaj. In a nutshell, the writer is basically outlining all the various aspects of the situation in Kashmir which seem to have been conveniently glossed over in Haider. He says that one needs to have actually been there to be able to claim to know the problems faced by the people of Kashmir, Hindus, Sikh and Muslims alike. He writes, “You need to spend just a few days in the valley to understand the true nature of struggle that lies hidden under this garb of Kashmiriyat. It is simply a ploy to extend the reaches of Islamic fundamentalism. The same fundamentalism of Al-Qaeda and ISIS that is shaking the entire world.”
In conclusion, he labels the film as a shameless commercialization of anti-nationalism. He writes, “Today, on one side Pakistan is targeting Indian Army and minority locations in Kashmir with bullets. And around the same time, our own country-men create a film like “Haider” that paints Indian Army a villain.”
So after reading about this take on Haider, what are your thoughts? Do you agree with this soldier’s review or do you feel the writers of Haider were justified in their take on the situation? In any case, one thing is for sure, this review definitely makes you re-evaluate the way you feel about the film and forces you to think beyond the simple story it conveys.
An Indian soldier lashes out against Shahid Kapoor's Haider - Films of India
