Can we leave the arts alone?

Hindustan Times

9 hours ago

The nature of politics which spares nothing neither pauses to ponder deeply for drawing conclusions Despite Diljit and his team having clarified that the movie was shot much before the Pahalgam incident, there are reports that his Indian passport may get cancelled and he may be replaced in multi-starrer, Border 3, to be led by Sunny Deol. (HT File Photo)
The other day as I came across Diljit Dosanjh being criticised by netizens (and later also by several media houses) for having worked with Pakistani actress Hania Amir in his latest film, Saradarji 3 – I was suddenly reminded of Coke Studio's Piya Piya Calling song released last year.
I listened to it for the first time in Oslo, Norway just some months ago –thanks to my cousin, Bikramdeep Pannu, also my host, who proudly introduced me as I was enjoying the ride in his car in downtown Oslo.
'The song I am going to play now is a rare creation. It's no usual romantic number as it brought together many Norwegian artists with roots in different parts of the world and therefore you will notice many languages rolling out, from Urdu and Persian to Gujarati and Hindi besides Norwegian. To create the song, all artists had flown to Karachi, Pakistan which brought a beautiful result,' he said so enthusiastically. 'When the song was released, Norwegian media lauded it. It was also screened in the City Hall of Oslo where the Alfred Nobel Peace Prize is also given every December. The local administration wanted to show that art of any kind is the best way to keep people connected, whatever culture they may be from.'
As the song played, I felt so global. The very same day, I also watched the documentary on its making and noticed the joy of the team, especially the multi-cultural connect they felt and the clear intention of touching the hearts of their audience, irrespective of their country or religion.
And, I believe the same is the joy when actors from different countries collaborate for work. Saradarji 3 is no exception but as we all know its release got sadly shelved in India due to the political heat created for a Pakistani actress playing one of the leading roles in it. Despite Diljit and his team having clarified that the movie was shot much before the Pahalgam incident, there are reports that his Indian passport may get cancelled and he may be replaced in multi-starrer, Border 3, to be led by Sunny Deol. And, so much more, which must have shattered Diljit personally and his film's team which eagerly awaited its release. It's of course, not the first instance, when an actor or a movie has been targeted, whenever India –Pakistan relations soured and such episodes will pop up also in the future. Thanks to the nature of politics that spares nothing neither pauses to ponder deeply for drawing conclusions.
Art - be it cinema, music or literature, on the other hand unites people and not divides. It builds bridges. Art awakens people and not blinds them. Its intention is far above the intention of politics because it doesn't see any borders but love and unity. Or simply entertainment. Thankfully, some places of the world organise festivals with an aim to unite people hailing from different communities. Take, Alberta's 'Heritage Festival' organised every August in Edmonton, where different world communities settled in Alberta come together to present their food, music and dances. I attended it in 2017 and remember that stages and stalls of India and Pakistan were neighbours of each other. I loved noticing the harmony between the members of the 'parted brothers' as many call them. The entire experience felt like a world tour with unity as the chief theme.
Coming back to Diljit Dosanjh, author Chetan Bhagat recently expressed quite thoughtfully on the issue. 'It's unfair to go against him as he is an artist who is just doing his work. The movie was made before any tension between India and Pakistan and Diljit may not also be involved in casting at all. Not allowing someone's movie release is not fair. He and his team have also apologised for taking the Pakistani actress. And, let's not forget that it's not Diljit's movie alone as more than 300 people must have worked for it, from song writers to costume designers,' he said, adding:'Most importantly, we should ensure safety for our country but for that we don't have to hate anyone. Filling ourselves with hatred will take us nowhere.'
Hamza Mahzar, my cousin's friend in Oslo, who migrated from Lahore, sent me this message on Instagram soon after the public's rage against him. 'The concept of patriotism is also misunderstood in the minds of people in the subcontinent. True patriotism is not following the opinion of politicians and political gurus but thinking what is best for us. And the best thing is peace, prosperity and harmony,' he wrote.
Lastly, just one reminder: can we leave arts alone? Even the shadow of politics' 'P' disturbs it.
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(The writer is an Amritsar-based freelance contributor)