Time has come to reclaim our identity and religion from fundamentalists: Hansal Mehta

New Delhi. Bollywood filmmaker Hansal Mehta says that no religion calls for violence, so “the time has come to reclaim our identity and religion from the fundamentalists”. Mehta also said that he knows of only one way to confront or negotiate bigotry, which is to tell a story. His new film ‘Faraz’, releasing early next month, is based on the 2016 terror attack on the ‘Hole Artisan’ bakery in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka. 29 people were killed in this attack, including 20-year-old Faraz Hussain. Faraz did not leave the place leaving his two friends. Although he had a chance to get out of there. “The time has come to reclaim our identity and religion from the fundamentalists,” said Mehta, director of “Shahid” and Aligarh. He said, “Faraz means a person who has self-respect. He is not the ideal hero of Hindi cinema. In fact, he starts talking about 40 minutes into the film.” At one point in the film, the protagonist says, “I want my Islam back from people like you.”

Mehta believes that this line fits in every religion. The director said, “You replace it with any religion.” Asked whether the film is in danger of falling into a good Muslim versus bad Muslim debate? He said, “This debate has been started by those who want to spread misinformation against Islam. They have created this bad image of religion and those who can argue against it are not talking. it’s dangerous.” He said, “If it’s uncomfortable conversations, we don’t have these uncomfortable conversations. That’s why we are in this position. Popular discourse has been co-opted by the very forces you seek to combat. You can’t fight them with your silence, you can’t give up.

According to the director, Faraaz’s story revolves around a terror attack and talks about a particular religion but it is about bigotry in general. He said that as a moderate voice, it is important to join the conversation. He said, “Replace it with some other religion. My point is that violence should not happen in the name of religion. If your identity is linked to your religion, how can it be linked to violence? Mehta said, “Which religion preaches violence? Which religion tells you to be a bad person, be it Hindu, Christian or Muslim. That’s my fight. And I will keep fighting it through cinema.” ‘Faraz’ will release in India on February 3. Zahaan Kapoor, grandson of Shashi Kapoor and son of Kunal Kapoor, is making his film debut through this film. On some people saying that Mehta should not have told the story of Bangladesh, he said, “My argument is that no more geography can be a hindrance in telling the story. This is a global story. This is not a local story. Joe says, how can you tell our story? My answer is, the way the stories of 26/11 (Mumbai terror attack) and the Holocaust are.

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