‘Khuda Kay Liye' (In The Name of God) deals with the rift between radical and liberal Islam, an issue that confronts India's 140 million Muslims as well while they fight charges that the community provides recruits for militant groups.

Director Shoaib Mansoor hopes the Urdu film will engage audiences in Hindu-majority India when it opens in theaters on March 28.

"It is the first Pakistani film (in India) after several decades so people should have a natural interest in it," the Lahore-based filmmaker told Reuters in an email interview.

"India has a very big Muslim population which should naturally be interested. And the non-Muslims (would want) to know what real Islam is." ‘Khuda Kay Liye' weaves together three stories - of a pop singer who comes under the influence of Islamic extremists, a Briton of Pakistani origin who is forcibly married to her cousin and a man illegally detained in the U.S. after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The film also features Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah in a cameo as a Muslim scholar clarifying the tenets of Islam during a court case.

Pakistan's film industry has been starved of a natural audience in India due to political differences and the dominance of Bollywood.

But the success of ‘Khuda Kay Liye' since its release in Pakistan in July last year may be a sign Pakistani cinema is finally emerging from the doldrums.

The film that opened to a standing ovation at the International Film Festival of India last year has premieres planned in New Delhi and Mumbai.

"After many years, 'Khuda Kay Liye' saw packed theaters in Pakistan," said filmmaker Mehreen Jabbar, whose film ‘Ramchand Pakistani' was screened at the Berlin Film Festival last month.

"It got people talking about the revival of cinema (in Pakistan) and opened doors to other filmmakers to start thinking again about the possibility of making quality feature films."

Before we leave, the formality! Release dates can change even at the eleventh hour, as we have seen countless times.

Singer Anwar felicitated in Jeddah
The Indian Cultural Society of Jeddah felicitated playback singer Anwar on March 20 which was celebrated as Indian Republic Day Celebration in Jeddah. The Consul-General of India was the chief guest and Anwar was the guest of honour.

Anwar, who began in the ‘70s, was also one of the earliest cover version singers of Mohammed Rafi songs. He got his major break with Janta Hawaldar in which Rajesh Roshan’s Humse kaa bhool hui was a huge hit. He later sang hits in Qurbani, Hum Paanch, Naseeb, Vidhaata, Dulha Bikta Hai, Arpan, Sohni Mahiwal and Hum Hain Lajawab besides other films like Suhaag, Muqabla, Kaatilon Ke Kaatil, Baghawat and many other films.

Khuda Kay Liya Audio Release

1st Pakistani Film to be Released in India "KHUDA KAY LIYA" Music Launched at Poison.

Any which way you look at it, Khuda Kay Liye is a thought-provoking work on the state of the Muslim identity today, in particular post the 9/11 devastation.

Indeed the topic is, "All Muslims are not terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims." Even as Hollywood draws caricatures of bearded, guntoting maniacs, here's a successful attempt to redress the balance. Pakistan's director, Shoaib Mansoor seeks to say - stop looking at the Muslim with suspicion. And worse, prejudice.

Moreover, Mansoor has had the guts to state that the faith has its own enemies. These are the clerics who insist that music and painting are ‘haram', have issues with modes of dressing (jeans?..not done) and formulate unilateral fundamental codes. In the same breath, it is emphasised that there are exceptional scholars and mullas who have a deeper understanding of the religion, rooted in tradition with offshoots stretching to the modern day . A ten-minute address, in a courtroom, by Naseeruddin Shah as a man of God, is pure brilliance.

As the plot unfolds, you do feel cluttered with far too many characters, too many time jumps and several awkwardly shot scenes, many of them leaving elderly mums and grandmas gaping saucer-eyed at the camera.

These are quibbles though. Because the inter-cutting stories of two brothers. From well-heeled families, the brothers are Sufi pop singers whose lives travel into diverse directions. One (Fuwad Khan) is indoctrinated into fundamentalism. The other (Shan) is sadistically detained in an American hell hole, accused of terrorism.

The fundamentalist brother assents to a marriage to his cousin (Iman Ali), even if she has to be kept a virtual prisoner. If there is any panacea offered to such personal tragedies - some much worse - it is merely this. Feel the pain. It could happen to anyone, caste, creed and nationality no bar.

Apart from the pithy dialogue, several scenes are impressive. Like a group of music students coming together in a song. Or a woman closing the door on her father who can't see her with a British boy, though he has lived for years with a white woman.

Throughout the music is extraordinary Technically, the photography . is sufficiently atmospheric. The editing could have been less generous to the director though.

Of the cast, Shan and Fuwad Khan are both first-rate. Iman Ali is believable. Rasheed Naaz as the bigoted mulla strikes just the right note of menace.

Bottomline: it has flaws. But what doesn't? After many moons, here's a film that makes a strong, progressive statement. So Khuda kay liye just see it.

Khuda Kay Liye Cast: Shan, Fuwad Khan, Iman Ali Direction: Shoaib Mansoor Rating: ??? 1/2 ?????: Outstanding | ????: Very good | ???: Good | ??: Average | ?: Poor

April 04, 2008

Umar sari toh kati ishqe butta mein momin. Aakhri waqt mein kya khaq Musalman hogaye? The loose translation of this Urdu couplet by legendary poet Momin Khan�would be: All your life you lived in non-Muslim ways. In your old age, how can you become a Muslim?

Khuda Ke Liye, the first Pakistani film to be released in India after 43 years, can be described in these lines