Bollywood's Answer to Vande Mataram Controversy

Bollywood was not always as purposeless as it seems today. It was besides being the greatest source of entertainment, a great positive contributor to the society. There were incidents which however small they may appear hold a great significant value in the cultural evolution of India.

One such incident occurred in the film Baiju Bawra. Baiju Bawra is a film about an ordinary man having vengeance against the mighty Tansen, who was one of the navratnas of Akbar. The music of the film is simply divine. It is only appropriate that collection of such divinely inspired renditions contained a song "Mann tadpat hari darshan ko aaj", which is a bhakti song, devoted to both Hari and Guru. The words of the song contained a longing for darshan of lord.

"....
murali manohar aas na todo
dukh bhanjan more saath na chhodo
mohe darasan bhikshaa de do aaj de do aaj...."

This supreme devotional song which calls for a Hindu God was written by Shakeel Badayuni, sung by Mohd Rafi and the music director of this song was none other than Naushad. All three of them were Muslims. It is a song that defines Indian Culture which is independent of any faith you decide to follow. The culture cuts across all religions and has permeated into the consciousness of people. This is in sharp contrast to the stereotype Muslim image propagated by the Muslim clergy when they asked Muslims not to sing Vande Mataram. A person is as much a product of his village, town and country as of religion. He thus, is bound to get influenced by his socio-cultural environment.

Mother India was also one such film. It was appreciated not only by the Indians but also won many accolades outside India, which included a narrow miss by a solitary vote at the Oscars too. The film was a strong portrayal of Indian women, who faces many a crises in her life in raising her sons but is unperturbed to shoot him to protect the honour of her village. The movie is a tribute to the women of India. India has been seen in an anthropomorphic mother-form by the sages and ordinary Indians. Mother India conveys this message through Nargis which has undoubtedly given her lifetime performance in this film. Some of the distinguished people associated with this movie were - Nargis (actress), Mehboob Khan (director), Md Rafi & Shamshad Beghum (singers), Naushad (Music Director) and Shakeel Badayuni (Lyricist). Such a galaxy of immensely talented Muslims got together to project the Mother on a silver screen. And who can ever forget "Holi aayee re kanhai..." which is the best holi-cultural song in all of history of Indian cinema.

Today, when we are fed that such descriptions are against their religious feelings, it becomes hard for us to digest. Bollywood has done its share to break the stereotype. People in Bollywood have gone beyond all politics of identity and proclaimed that Indian culture belongs to all Indians. Such incidents can be found even today, although they may not be as inspiring. In A R Rehman & Javed Akhtar's "Radha kaise na jale" from Lagaan and their "Pal pal hai bhaari..." from Swades or even in the much debated "Vande Mataram" by Rehman. Such incidents should set example for this unique country. Hindus should also understand that majority of the Muslims do not believe in the exclusivist claims that their clergy propagates. Whenever such thoughts disturb them, they should remember that the song "Mann tadpat hari darshan ko aaj..." was composed by Muslims only!!