Stereotyping Muslims
Stereotyping Muslimsshare
Aseem Chhabra
November 29, 2009
The images in Kurbaan of Muslims plotting bomb attacks and blowing up subway stations does a disservice to a community and a religion that believes in peace
If Renzil D’Silva’s Kurbaan is to be believed, then America’s suburbs (at least the Indian neighbourhoods, as the film’s protagonist played by Saif Ali Khan refers to the area where he moves in with his wife), have been taken over by creepy, scary looking Muslims, who physically abuse their wives, brainwash them and are plotting to blow up planes and subways. Kurbaan is a terrifying film about the existence of Islamic terror in our backyard, but it is also a very irresponsible film.
First, I have to complement the director. Kurbaan is fairly well made, with a mostly tight script, which starts to go haywire by the end. The film is certainly a lot better than the politically muddled and poorly acted New York. I say this even though Kurbaan is Bollywood’s take on Rosemary’s Baby. Instead of Dakota House in Manhattan, the film’s plot has shifted to perhaps New Jersey. The Satan worshippers who lived in Rosemary’s building have been replaced by evil Muslims, who walk like robots and want to take revenge for all the mess America has caused in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Khan, Om Puri and even Kiron Kher - whose recent repertoire has never gone beyond her loud, over-the-top performances - are quite effective in scaring us, with their menacing looks and venom spewing dialogues against the wrong policies of the US government. But that is also what is wrong with the film.
I was in New York City on September 11, 2001 and since then I have lived through all sorts of terror warnings – from Richard Reid’s shoe bombing attempt, which has now made security check ups at airports a tedious experience, to the London underground train explosions, thanks to which we are constantly warned in New York City subways to watch for suspicious-looking people or random packages lying around. We get by our lives, but these daily reminders keep us on the edge. And I have lived through times when brown-skinned people were asked to get off planes because their fellow passengers felt uncomfortable, and hate crimes were committed against anybody who remotely looked Arab or Muslim.
We live with this fear, as do people in other parts of the world. And so why make a film that would just add to our worst nightmares? The last half hour of the film – by which time D’Silva’s script is beginning to fall apart – has the entire cast of characters running helter-skelter through various subway stations (mercifully those scenes were shot in Philadelphia, and so it seemed like a make-believe world to a New Yorker like me). There are explosions, gunshots, deaths, and general injuries to the extras. It was not pleasant to watch. It was too real.
Are we to learn from the film that there are elements of terror lurking around us? Well, we know that. Or are we to fear Muslims in general? And that perhaps could be the ultimate problem with the film. Kurbaan portrays Muslims as stereotypes. The images of Muslims plotting bomb attacks and blowing up subway stations does disservice to a community and a religion that believes in peace. Most Muslims living in the west are good citizens, living normal lives, concerned about issues that affect all of us – jobs, housing, education, health care and their children’s future. But often the conservative media and other right wing elements portray Muslims as less than honourable citizens. Good thing that Bollywood films have a very limited reach in the mainstream community in the US. Otherwise Kurbaan would do a lot of damage to the image of Muslims living here.
I sense that Dharma Production’s Kurbaan may just be the taste of things to come. I am already frightened about the notion of Karan Johar’s My Name is Khan!
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/54/2009112920091129015828849bbf11d 48/Stereotyping-Muslims.html?pageno=1