Wednesday, August 11, 2021
A Highly Misunderstood Imtiaz Ali Film: When Harry met Sejal
Maleeha Durani
4th August marks the anniversary of a highly misunderstood Imtiaz Ali film. Up until well into the second half of When Harry met Sejal I was convinced that the whole escapade of backtracking across Europe to find an engagement ring had been preplanned by Sejal all along. Unlike many critics who wondered what her deal was, I was completely in sync with Sejal’s actions and words. I got her deal because I had lived the backstory I had unconsciously given her. Accent inconsistencies aside ( I am not an Indian so don’t have authority on how bad her Gujrati-Ahmedabadi twang was) Sejal has somehow ended up closer to being a real person-closer than much loved (or understood) heroines of the last decade-notably Rani (Queen), Geet or Tara (Tamasha).
4th August marks the anniversary of a highly misunderstood Imtiaz Ali film. Up until well into the second half of When Harry met Sejal I was convinced that the whole escapade of backtracking across Europe to find an engagement ring had been preplanned by Sejal all along. Unlike many critics who wondered what her deal was, I was completely in sync with Sejal’s actions and words. I got her deal because I had lived the backstory I had unconsciously given her. Accent inconsistencies aside ( I am not an Indian so don’t have authority on how bad her Gujrati-Ahmedabadi twang was) Sejal has somehow ended up closer to being a real person-closer than much loved (or understood) heroines of the last decade-notably Rani (Queen), Geet or Tara (Tamasha).
At the end of my first year at university in the UK, I hopped along on a tight-budgeted trip to Italy alongside some friends (or rather fellow Pakistanis who were bound to befriend each other in a foreign land). I wasn’t as excited to see the Colosseum or the Leaning Tower of Pisa (that giddiness had long left) as I was to live a story I had created long before we hit the Venician Tarmac. I had a crush on a friend and wanted this trip to be a final culmination of the year-long pinning leading to hopefully more romantic next two years on campus. Much more than that, I saw this trip as an opportunity to shed an image of a self-serious self-absorbed girl and let others know of my adventurous self. One image to replace another. It was what growing up in Bollywood does to people; a ‘trip abroad’ has to bear a burden of a character arc of a film-only in my case, I was the creator as well as an actor.
This was way before Imtiaz Ali revolutionized the idea and travel became more about finding oneself or breaking free. I was also in a way trying to break free but a week-long trip isn’t a long time to shed one’s perceived self and go wild with a brand new personality. That is why When Harry met Sejal worked for me much more than the first half of Tamasha did. In my limited experience, the more you try to shed your dominant personality in lieu of discovering or acting in a new one (like Ved does) the more you are actually clinging to your old self-it just gives you a semblance of sanity and familiarity as you trot around in foreign places with a garb of a new self. It gives you something to fall back on when you fail to live up to the movie in your head.
I instinctively saw Sejal as that 19-year-old me who had curiously observed a smolderingly charming yet well-mannered tour guide and found him to be a perfect candidate to validate herself with. I could imagine her stealthily packing those uncharacteristically short dresses, away from the prying eyes of her insomniac sister, as she plans her own Simran from DDLJ-like trip before a suffocating but secures married life swallows her again. The ring is just an excuse to get rid of the two families that have surrounded her for life. It looks like Sejal has taken cues from the 90s Simran and was adamant to be chased by SRK while drunk across the cobwebbed streets and squares of Europe. Again, this is what Bollywood does to us. The need to create our movies kills the seeds of what is a more organic arc of self-discovery or confidence building-something that Rani from Queen achieves.
In the first few scenes, as Sejal keeps on changing the venues where she might have dropped her ring, my backstory worked brilliantly; she is buying time until the hot tour guide gets in on her freaky plan too. As we know that doesn’t happen. In her haste to see herself as a sexy girl at the club and be seen like this by the ultimate authority on the subject (we need an audience for our films after all)Sejal finds out that she can kick a guy in the nuts. But the discovery is too sudden and soon things are going out of control; the film has gone off script and there is a possibility that she may end up raped or murdered by the goons of Europe. I was with her as she cried unabashedly as reality punctures into her scenic mental film and threatened to spoil all the fun and build up to what in her mind would be her ultimate adventure.
This is why so many critics found Sejal too confusing as a cinematic entity. How can she be consumed if she isn’t well defined? They would much rather extol the simpleton Rani or a clear-headed Taara than root for the messiness of this shell of a personality that swings between an insecure girl on the last-ditch attempt to discover or let herself be to an exceptional level headed lawyer who can give womanly care to a lost man. That’s precisely why Sejal strikes me as the truest manifestation of a crumpled parchment of female mind whose lines will never fade away no matter how hard she tries to smoothen them. As we see, Sejal is naive but gradually reveals her mischievous and ‘legally sane’ self throughout the film-to us as well as to herself and the tour guide, leaving those who wanted an on-the-nose character arc disappointed and annoyed by her. In my backstory, she is too.
My attempts at being up for any Italian adventure were proving successful. As we arrived past our check-in time at the cheap student hostel at Venice, the rowdy Italian man refused to let us in. It was only the determination to see this as part of the movie in my head that saw me argue our group’s way into another motel-free for the night. If it wasn’t for a desperate need to bring my film to reality, my true self would have cried right there in the dark alleys of Venice. So in that sense, Bollywood is not all bad. While it’s true that When Harry met Sejal could have done away with other Bollywood tropes like songs, a comical villain sequence, and a wedding, the film does a decent job at keeping exposition tolerable. Sometimes I believe that the film would not have disappointed the critics if it was made by someone other than Imtiaz. Insert Karan Johar and the movie would have been lauded as his characteristically Bollywoodish glamour parade with little depth but too much eye candy to be labeled as a misfire. Is it fair to berate a director by suffocating him into his legacy? Are critics too busy analyzing the rollercoaster from the ground up that they forget to take a ride? Perhaps.
As for Harry, I saw him as Kabir from Yeh Jawani hai Deewani thirty years after he leaves India to chase white girls around the world. In this version, he never came back to Naina. Mid-life crises have rattled him, his career has gone nowhere, and thought of returning home as a failure-home that he had left like a lion-shames him. Yet, home is home, and memories of those cornfields are haunting him. Harry’s vulnerable moments are few and far in between. His arc is shallow and hence the nothingness of Imtiaz’s hero’s woes tastes sourest in this film. But then, I consider it more of Sejal’s film than Harry’s. His half-baked crises would have never made us care for him if it wasn’t for SRK’s charmingly sad smile and that velvety Punjabi twang( ok someone shut me up) that made me envy Anushka Sharma every time she hugs him.
The scene where my backstory for Sejal collapses is when she discovered the ring in her bag. In my head, I knew that she knew it was there all along. It is only now she is realizing that her film is about to end and the ring is emblematic of the reality outside the dark cinema hall of her mind. Many critics have argued that Harry and Sejal were painstakingly self-aware like they knew they were in an Imtiaz Ali film. Well, I think this is true but this is precisely why they are more real than other heroes and heroines Imtiaz has blessed us with over the years. Being inside a movie in your head and living it out in real circumstances will always end up in a hodgepodge of partially curated and partially made believe reality. This pseudo-reality is not for those looking for clear cinematic resolutions. At the end of my Italy trip, I only remember moments where I truly was in a film, acting and discovering. There was no arc at the end of it, no one fell in love with my real or reel self and I was left confused and mildly disappointed for not achieving the full potential of my film-something many people felt at the end of When Harry met Sejal.
https://en.humsub.com.pk/2973/a-highly-misunderstood-imtiaz-ali-film-when-harry-met-sejal/
Pakistan: Drop ludicrous blasphemy charges against eight-year-old boy
Responding to reports that an eight-year-old Hindu boy in Bhong village in Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab has been charged with blasphemy – which can carry a mandatory death penalty – after he was alleged to have urinated in the library of a madrasa (religious school) where religious texts were kept, prompting a mob attack on a local Hindu temple, Rimmel Mohydin, Amnesty International’s South Asia Campaigner, said:
“Pakistan’s blasphemy laws have long been abused to target minority groups, but this case marks a shocking and extreme departure. As well as ensuring that these ludicrous charges are dropped, Pakistan’s authorities must immediately provide adequate protection for the boy, his family, and the wider Hindu community. Those responsible for the ensuing mob violence must also be held accountable.
“In the week that marks National Minorities Day in Pakistan, we urge the authorities to urgently repeal this pernicious legislation. Pakistan’s minorities are under sustained attack – little can demonstrate the persecution they face better than an eight-year-old boy being subject to a charge that can carry a mandatory death sentence.”
This case marks a shocking and extreme departure
According to reports, the boy is currently in protective custody after being released on bail last week, while his family have gone into hiding. Following his release, a local Hindu temple was attacked by a mob, causing members of the Hindu community to flee their homes. Twenty people have so far been arrested in connection with the attacks, and the National Assembly unanimously passed a resolution condemning the attack on the temple. This must lead to meaningful accountability and action.
Background
Section 295C of Pakistan’s Penal Code (see page 18 of linked document) carries a mandatory death sentence for blasphemy, though it is not clear under which specific clause the boy has been charged.
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are overbroad, vague and coercive, enable abuse and violate Pakistan’s international legal obligations to respect and protect human rights, including freedom of religion or belief and of opinion and expression. See here for further information.
Hindus constitute Pakistan’s largest non-Muslim minority, estimated at between two and four per cent of the population. In December 2020, another Hindu temple was set alight in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, following authorities halting the construction of a Hindu temple and community centre in the federal capital earlier that year.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/08/pakistan-drop-ludicrous-blasphemy-charges-against-eight-year-old-boy/
Eight-year-old becomes youngest person charged with blasphemy in Pakistan
Haroon Janjua
Hindu boy faces possible death penalty after being accused of intentionally urinating in a madrassa library.
An eight-year-old Hindu boy is being held in protective police custody in east Pakistan after becoming the youngest person ever to be charged with blasphemy in the country.
The boy’s family is in hiding and many of the Hindu community in the conservative district of Rahim Yar Khan, in Punjab, have fled their homes after a Muslim crowd attacked a Hindu temple after the boy’s release on bail last week. Troops were deployed to the area to quell any further unrest.
On Saturday, 20 people were arrested in connection with the temple attack.
The boy is accused of intentionally urinating on a carpet in the library of a madrassa, where religious books were kept, last month. Blasphemy charges can carry the death penalty.
The Guardian knows the name of the boy and family members, but has chosen to protect their identities for their safety.
Speaking from an undisclosed location, a member of the boy’s family told the Guardian: “He [the boy] is not even aware of such blasphemy issues and he has been falsely indulged in these matters. He still doesn’t understand what his crime was and why he was kept in jail for a week.
“We have left our shops and work, the entire community is scared and we fear backlash. We don’t want to return to this area. We don’t see any concrete and meaningful action will be taken against the culprits or to safeguard the minorities living here.”
Blasphemy charges filed against a child have shocked legal experts, who say the move is unprecedented. No one this young has ever been charged with blasphemy before in Pakistan.
Blasphemy laws have been disproportionately used in the past against religious minorities in Pakistan. Although no blasphemy executions have been carried out in the country since the death penalty was introduced for the crime in 1986, suspects are often attacked and sometimes killed by mobs.
Ramesh Kumar, a lawmaker and head of the Pakistan Hindu Council, said: “The attack on the temple and blasphemy allegations against the eight-year-old minor boy has really shocked me. More than a hundred homes of the Hindu community have been emptied due to fear of attack.”
Kapil Dev, a human rights activist, said: “I demand charges against the boy are immediately dropped, and urge the government to provide security for the family and those forced to flee.”
He added: “Attacks on Hindu temples have increased in the last few years showing an escalating level of extremism and fanaticism. The recent attacks seem to be a new wave of persecution of Hindus.”
Footage circulating on social media appears to show an angry mob attacking and vandalising the temple with iron bars and sticks last week.
Ahmad Nawaz, a spokesperson for the Rahim Yar Khan district police, said: “Police are hunting the attackers and police teams are conducting raids to arrest the culprits but there has been no arrest made yet.”
Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, condemned the mob attack on Twitter and said he has ordered the provincial police chief to take action against anyone involved, including negligent police officers. He promised the government would restore the temple.
In New Delhi, India’s external affairs ministry summoned a Pakistani diplomat to protest the attack and demand the safety of Hindu families living in Muslim-majority Pakistan.
In December last year, a large violent mob of conservative Muslims demolished a century old Hindu temple in the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedoms, published last year, Pakistan reported the highest number of incidents of mob activity, mob violence, and/or threats of mob violence as a result of alleged blasphemous acts.
Four countries account for nearly 80% of all reported incidents of mob activity, mob violence, and/or threats of mob violence as a result of alleged blasphemous acts in countries with criminal blasphemy laws between 2014 and 2018.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/aug/09/eight-year-old-becomes-youngest-person-charged-with-blasphemy-in-pakistan
“It’s the hallmark of PPP to protect the rights of minorities” – says Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on the occasion of National Minorities Day
Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that minorities have become more insecure during this ineligible government of the selected Prime Minister. People have reached the height of despondence during the PTI-led federal government because this ineligible federal government failed to showcase any goodness, welfare, and security of the people from minorities. On the occasion of National Minorities Day, the Chairman PPP said in his message that the Pakistani society could not afford to see daily attacks on places of worship belonging to the minorities. Unfortunately, the sitting PM Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi has a very soft corner in his heart for the banned terrorist outfits and has failed to check the misuse of certain laws that regulate religious beliefs and thoughts. The PM has played a role of sheer spectator. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that PPP pioneered the promotion of the religious harmony and brotherhood in the country. He reminded that the former President Asif Ali Zardari had in light of the speech of founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the Legislative Assembly he delivered on August 11, 1947, declared August 11 as the National Day of Minorities. The sole purpose of declaring August 11 was to make sure that our brothers and sisters belonging to Minorities should be regarded for their equal contribution in nation building. He said that Quaid-e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s August 11, 1947 speech was the spirit of the 1973 constitution, which guaranteed equal rights to minorities. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the unanimously passed 1973 constitution by the country’s first elected Prime Minister Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was a precious gift to the nation on which the nation will always remain proud. The Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had also pioneered a separate ministry for the solution, welfare and development of minorities.
He added, “It’s the Hallmark of the PPP to Protect every right of minorities.”
It is an unchangeable part of the PPP’s manifesto, he assured.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari assured the minorities that the PPP would continue its struggle at all levels and forums to protect their rights and empower them.He emphasised that the National Minority Day is an opportunity to renew our commitment today that we as a nation shall play our dedicated role for the inter-faith peace, tranquility and harmony.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/25336/