http://www.screenindia.com/20011221/tvcov.html
Green scarf, beard, fur cap, nawab, pandan, kothewali, salam, khuda hafiz, talaq and a distinct off-mainstream culture… these are some of the things that one immediately associates with a Muslim social, thanks largely to mainstream Hindi cinema of the decades gone by which portrayed the Muslim community in a distorted perspective and image which is far removed from the reality then and now.
A community with a mature culture and an identity of its own has always been segregated from the mainstream and portrayed with a narrow perspective in the form of cliched and stereotyped images and characters – archaic, conservative, orthodox, decadent, feudal and so on. Such a portrayal of the Muslim community might have had some justification in the pre- and immediate post-independent period but definitely not in 70s, 80s, 90s and the new millennium. But unfortunately one still does not think of a subject dealing with a Muslim family or society at large without the cliched images and characters though the times have changed and the community is part of the Indian mainstream society.
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While Hindi cinema has not come out of those trappings of cliched portrayal of the Muslim community, television has portrayed the community in a relatively better light though it has not totally done away with those cliched images and characters in terms of look, treatment, costumes and language. The fault lies with the makers as well as the channels as they do not think of the community as part of the mainstream Indian society and therefore do not treat its socio-economic problems from a larger perspective. While till the end of the 70s, there used to be a Muslim social film every two or three years, there have not been many serials dealing seriously with Muslim families or society at large besides its issues and problems. The names that come immediately to mind are Adhikar, Heena, Jannat, Nargis, Shaheen, Rehnuma, Tu Naseeb Hai Kisi Aur Ka, Kaise Kahoon and Daaman. And except Heena, Daaman and to a certain extent Adhikar, the rest of the shows adhered to the boundaries and trappings of the cliched images created by Hindi cinema - orthodox, non-progressive, non-contemporary and off mainstream.
“There is no denying that the Muslim community is still facing the problem of illiteracy, poverty and less education. But if one looks at it from a larger perspective, it is a problem that ails the Indian society at large and not the Muslim community alone. If there is socio-economic backwardness, it is a problem that is faced by the large section of the Indian society and not just Muslims. But it is the Muslim community which is majorly targeted for the socio-economic backwardness and illiteracy, ignoring the fact that these very issues and problems besiege other communities as well, no matter the religion,” regrets Javed Sayyed, the editor-turned-director who is directing Heena for the past three and half years. In Javed’s opinion Muslims are always targeted for all the problems that ail the Indian society at large because the community is not considered a part of the Indian mainstream society and therefore their culture, language, problems and issues are perceived distinctively different from the rest of the Indian society.
Agrees well-known costume designer-cum-director Salim Arif who is currently directing a Muslim social titled Daaman for Sahara TV, “The tradition of treating the issues and problems of the Muslim community differently is so strong and well-etched in minds that we have not been able to come out of the cliched images created by the Hindi cinema which has done a lot of disservice to the community. When it comes to dealing with Muslim subjects, nobody takes a note of the fact that post-independence the Muslims have made considerable progress in the fields of education and every other walk of life and made their presence felt in diverse fields, be it science, medicine, technology, IT, banking, business, sports and so on. Whether it is deliberate or otherwise, it’s really sad that the Muslims are treated differently and not a part of the Indian mainstream society.”
“Though I am not an expert and do not have the facts and figures with me, the reality is that not all Muslims sport a beard, they may be religious but all of them are not conservative and orthodox, all Muslims don’t speak chaste Urdu, the level of education has increased vastly among Muslims, including girls and women, in the past few decades and moreover, a vast section of the Muslim community is progressive and forward-thinking,” elaborates Arif adding, “and yet the perception about the community has not changed. It’s nothing but a Talibanised perception and thinking which fails to take into account the marked progress made by the community on the socio-economic ladder.”
This blindness, which doesn’t see the facts, and social reality, which ails the thought-process of makers who make serials on Muslim subjects. “And that’s precisely the reason why most of the Muslim socials do not score with viewers,” feels Sayyed. “They are simply not rooted in present day life but portray a culture and characters which are almost non-existent. Why Heena has connected with viewers is because it’s a contemporary story of a modern educated girl who unfortunately lands in a loveless marriage and goes through the trauma of talaq (divorce), a very misunderstood issue which has been put in proper perspective in the serial. What happens to Heena can happen to any girl of any religion. Divorce is a reality in any community and society. Muslims are not exceptions. That’s why the serial has been so popular as viewers have identified with the plight of Heena as well as the storyline.” Agrees veteran writer-director Ajay Kartik who is all set to make a Muslim social called Naher Wali Haveli for a regional channel, “Certain emotions are universal. The plight and suffering of a woman, whether Muslim or Hindu, will always evoke sympathy for the character.”
If Heena is contemporary, so is Salim Arif’s Daaman which deals with the socio-economic problems of a contemporary urban Muslim family which cannot be differentiated from any other family except in terms of religion. “There are no gararas and shararas, paan, nawab or sherwani and other cliched things associated with Muslim subjects in Daaman. It is a plain and simple family drama of conflict and relationships in a family which happens to be Muslim with an everyday feel. The story is rooted in present times and that’s why it can easily be identified with,” says Arif clarifying further that he is dealing with the subject from a larger perspective and not looking through tinted glasses and narrow viewpoint.
Both Salim Arif and Javed Sayyed have a valid point. Majority of viewers do not identify with the cliched images and characters of Muslims in Muslim socials because the reality is different today. If a young girl is shown being married to an older and already married nawab, it simply doesn’t connect with viewers. The costumes the characters wear in Muslim socials have simply gone out of fashion decades ago. Most Muslims speak in mixed or regional lingo. The chaste Lucknowi Urdu or the Udru with Hyderabadi touch is not spoken by majority of Muslims. “And yet when it comes to making a serial on a Muslim subject the channels insist on a distinct Muslim look,” complains Kartik. “It is deliberate to derive home the point that the serial is dealing with a particular community and culture. And that’s where the problem begins because it doesn’t give the maker a creative room to create a story and a set of characters with which the mass audiences can identify.”
Arif says Adhikar is an apt example. A story of a young and educated girl who is married to an already married and much older nawab, Aur Shama Jalti Rahe had a bleak start. When it didn’t rise on the popularity ladder, it was given a makeover and even the title was changed to Adhikar. Once the serial’s look, story and title were changed and the protagonist was shown in progressive light, fighting for her rights against all odds after her husband’s death, the serial caught the viewers’ fancy. “There is a lesson to be learnt from Adhikar but unfortunately when you discuss a Muslim subject with channels they continue to insist on a distinct Muslim look as if it is sacred,” complains Arif.
“The best way out,” feels Arif, “is to set the story against a Muslim background and let it evolve without the cliches. But it will happen only when the channels change their perception of the Muslim socials.” But, as Kartik observes, “let alone changing the perception, the channels in the first place do not give encouraging response to serials dealing with Muslim subjects. “Give them a proposal and they will not respond for months,” he says, adding, “because they feel it will not deliver TRPs. Heena is probably an exception to them. But the success of Heena has amply proved the point that create an identifiable and contemporary protagonist and supporting characters and let them evolve in a setting which may be distinct but not farfetched and alien to viewers. The important point is to have a wider appeal and the TRPs will automatically follow.”
However, the fact remains that Muslims have been portrayed in a better light on television though within the limitations of the cliched images that have been created by the Hindi cinema. Now what is needed is to come out of those limitations and create shows which are contemporary and rooted in present-day life which address the issues and problems of the community instead of delving in the extinct nawabi days. As Kartik says, “Why can’t we have a serial about a progressive Muslim family where the mother is a teacher, the father a government servant, the elder son a banker, the middle son a computer engineer and the daughter a media person? It’s a subject which will have wider appeal.” Any answer please?
A. L. Chougule