New Delhi: Kamal Chandra’s controversial and divisive movie, Hamare Baarah, is the latest in a long list of Bollywood propaganda films targeting minority communities. It follows in the footsteps of Vivek Agnihotri’s 2022 film The Kashmir Files and Sudipto Sen’s 2023 film The Kerala Story, which have been accused of peddling lies about the Muslim community and showing them in poor light.
For now, the Supreme Court has stayed the 14 June release of Hamare Baarah, starring Annu Kapoor. The title is a play on an old family planning government campaign, ‘Hum Do Humare Do’. From the trailer, the implication is clear–Muslims produce children after children, and Muslim women have absolutely no autonomy over their bodies.
“Making a satire does not mean targeting or misinterpreting religious concepts to target or attack a community. There is a fine line between critically commenting and denigrating,” said a director who has made a film on caste and gender for Netflix. Incidentally, the Karnataka government too had banned the release of the film for two weeks on the grounds that it could incite “communal riots”.
“It is obvious from the trailer what this particular movie’s intentions are, and that the success of previous movies like The Kerala Story has clearly helped embolden people to take up such projects,” said the director who did not want to be named.
‘Vilification of Islam’
Going by the trailer and promotional material, Hamare Baarah portrays Muslim women with zero agency, and Muslim men as perpetrators of sexual violence. One of the film’s posters shows Annu Kapoor standing in front of a group of Muslim women who have their hands tied and mouths sewn shut.
“We have seen the movie trailer in the morning and all the offensive dialogues continue in the trailer,” the Supreme Court observed on 13 June. Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta of the vacation bench of the Supreme Court were hearing a plea by petitioner Azhar Basha Tamboli and lawyer Fauzia Shakil challenging the Bombay High Court’s order to grant the release of the film.
“The said film is a wanton vilification of the Islamic faith and the practices of married couples as per the Holy Quran as it is violative of Article 19 (2) of the constitution,” stated the petition to the Supreme Court.
The film was initially scheduled for a 7 June release, which was stayed by the Bombay High Court following a complaint filed by Tamboli on the grounds that it misrepresented the Quran. The court directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to form a three-member committee that could watch the movie and give detailed feedback. However, when the panel requested more time for its report, the HC allowed the film to be released after the filmmakers agreed to delete two contentious dialogues. Tamboli then approached the Supreme Court.
“The name, trailer, the display of brutality towards Muslim women in the film is nothing but Islamophobia to feed the hate mongers. Bulli Bai app, Sulli deals and now this film, there is a continuous flood of propaganda,” said Dr Asma Zehra, All India Muslim Personal Law Board member.
The Kerala Story created a similar stir when Sen chose to depict the alleged brainwashing of Hindu women by ISIS recruiters, who used Muslim women to lure them into the organisation. Hamare Baarah takes it one step further by also suggesting that Indian Muslims deliberately produce more children in an attempt to alter the country’s demography.
One of the characters, who is likely an imam, calls Muslim women fields that need to be ‘sowed’, stating that the concept is mentioned in the Quran’s ‘Al-Baqarah’ chapter.
But according to Zehra, this is far from the truth. Fertility rate among Muslims has actually been on a decline, and several reports have also talked about it, she said. She added that it’s time to focus on real issues rather than pushing false narratives and targeting Muslims and Muslim Women.
“Crimes against Girls and Women have increased fourfold as per NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau). Muslims are just 14 per cent, there are issues of over 86 per cent women of Female foeticide infanticide dowry harassment and death, sexual violence and abuse etc,” she said.
The Supreme Court directed the Bombay High Court to take a decision on the petition alleging that the film was insulting to the Islamic faith. The matter will be decided after the judges watch the movie, which the makers have been asked to provide on a pen drive.
More films under the scanner
Almost simultaneously, there is also an ongoing case before the Gujarat High Court on a separate movie. The court on 13 June stopped the release of the Hindi film Maharaj on Netflix. Directed by Siddharth P Malhotra, the film is based on the 1862 Maharaja Libel Case. The case pertains to Jadunathji Brijratanji Maharaj, a religious leader of the Vaishnavite Pushtimarg sect, suing social reformer and journalist Karsandas Mulji in the Bombay High Court for writing an article accusing him of having sexual relations with women devotees.
Jadunathji is played by Jaideep Ahlawat of Paatal Lok (2020) fame. The movie also marks the debut of actor Aamir Khan’s son Junaid Khan, who is playing the role of Karsandas.
While Maharaj is based on an actual legal case and its outcome, Humare Barah relies on interpretations of certain teachings of the Quran, which the makers haven’t credited to any authority.
“If someone is really interested in the welfare of Muslim women, let them bring out stories of positive interventions of Muslim women in different fields, let them talk about or come in support of getting their fundamental rights assured from the governing bodies and educational institutions and let there be more stories on communal harmony and success stories of all women including Muslims, OBCs, Dalits, Adivasis etc,” said A Rahamathunnissa, National Co-Secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)
So Muslims are not allowed to marry more then once in India and the women are not treated worse then cattle with easy divorce, no maintenance and nikah halala. Shah Bano never happened, Satanic verses never happened so now a ban on a movie to appease again.
Form the web, I find this: The verse in question is Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 223, which reads as follows:
“Your wives are a place of sowing of seed for you, so come to your place of cultivation however you wish and put forth [righteousness] for yourselves. And fear Allah and know that you will meet Him. And give good tidings to the believers.”
There are those who would understand this this merely based on the ‘as you wish’ part and other that would point to the relation of love between a farmer and his fields. Since both exist in society, is it wrong to show the dark side?
Bramhins exploited lower castes (Parinayam). The Indian Army perpetrated excesses on populations of Manipur, Kashmir etc. The British exploited India. Husbands physically abuse thier wives (Darlings). Should films not be made on this?
I think films should be made with an eye on accuracy. Pretending social evils and discrimination don’t exist won’t make them go away. Vilifying evil forces us to take stands on aspects of our culture. What we like, what we don’t and what we are willing to take into the future.