Hostage to perceptions

An action movie revolving around the fight against jihadis, Vishwaroopam carries you on sheer adrenalin to the peaks of anger and fear at the growing terrorism on this beautiful planet. Watching bombs explode and scar a mountainside, seeing man kill man mercilessly, you are left wondering where are we headed. The ending of the movie is abrupt, leaving one unsatisfied. There is a large difference between earlier movies made on the same theme and the present one. While Qurbani and others also dealt on US bred muslim fundamentalism targeted largely against the USA, the present movie goes beyond to detail the mindset of the jihadi. It does not simply say a story of the main characters, but builds a strong backdrop of the terrorism. A boy who wants to be a doctor is instead fed on a menu of guns and bullets and the bad American. A teenager who has a childs heart is sent strapped with a bomb to blast a truckload of soldiers and himself. The merciless jihadis who see nothing beyond their duty to kill, send a shiver down your spine. In a combination of superb action, beautiful, stark backdrops and factual representation Vishwaroopam gives the common man a peek into the horrific world of terrorists out there. A taste of everyday life in the bleak dusty terrains of Afghanistan where guns and bombs are sold alongside vegetables. Holding his own is Rahul Bose as Omar, the chief of the jihaadis. With his evil designs of unimaginable proportions, he portrays a man steadfast in his fundamentalist belief. From Afghanistan to the US, he builds his group and plans a nuclear holocaust for the western enemy. Countering his terror is Kashmiri, the Indian muslim and RAW specialist, a live agent who penetrates the group. Be prepared for some gory blood curdling scenes, but not to worry the camera does not dwell but for a moment or two. The effects, the action, the story are all neatly packed to leave you with not a moment of boredom. That needed a Kamal Hassan, no less. He has written and directed the film. An actor, who by his own admission, is an atheist and holds no candle for any religion is facing the ire of a small section of a community. A big budget movie running into a hundred crore and more, it has cost the actor dear. Having staked all his earnings and property, he now faces an uncertain future. Understandably, Kamal has declared that he would go look for a secular place to live in, even if it means leaving the country. It all brings us to the question: despite all the laws and regulations and bodies in place, why do we allow our freedom of expression to be held hostage by perceived notions of injury to religious sentiments? Is any religion above that of humanity? Are we so insecure about our religions that we believe we need to run to the defence at the first sign of criticism? Not that the film here lampoons any religion. It merely presents an existing face of terrorism, which we so often read about in the daily news that we now brush it aside. When shown visually and with some amount of graphic details, we are shaken out of our complacence. For that, we need to encourage films like Vishwaroopam, not ban them. Ends//jk