by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
By Nivedita,
New Delhi : Talented Bollywood actress Taapsee Pannu, who turned 31 on Wednesday, says her forthcoming film “Mulk” presents “true patriotism and nationalism” and those who are having problems with it need to have an open mind.
“True patriotism and nationalism have been presented in this film, and if anyone has a problem with it, then their idea is probably diluted and they are not open-minded (enough) to see the point from the other side as well. Whoever has a problem with it… the problem lies within their minds,” Taapsee told IANS in an e-mail interview.
“I feel it’s better we have an open mindset to see what exactly we are trying to say. In ‘Mulk’, we have not criticised any community, and neither have we said any community is good or bad. We have just shown the true picture and left it to the audience to make the choice,” she added.
Directed by Anubhav Sinha, the film tells the story of a Muslim family trying to reclaim its lost honour. Releasing on Friday, the film also stars Rishi Kapoor, Prateik Babbar, Rajat Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana and Neena Gupta.
Asked how the film could contribute to changing people’s mindsets, Taapsee said her intention was not to preach.
“There has been a lot of prejudice around beliefs about communities and religion, (and also) caste, for that matter. In this film, we deal with those prejudices and how they are wrong and how this conditioning has been done to our minds over all these years and to the benefit of certain people.
“Over the years, we have been conditioned that certain communities need to be looked upon in a certain typical way. So I think we need to question the logic behind it. ‘Mulk’ is going to question that logic — and where did it start and why did it start and the need to change it immediately,” said the actress who has been roped in as the brand ambassador of NoMarks and will be seen in brand’s latest TVC campaign which focuses on the #CheherePeSirfShaanNoNishaan philosophy.
She said that, with “Mulk”, they are not providing any solutions, but only hoping for discussions to begin.
“We are hoping that, after this film, people will discuss this issue amongst themselves, talk about these questions, ask each other these questions and eventually try to find a solution. It’s only you and me who can make a difference — and no third person can help us out,” she said.
Keeping in mind the criticism that some filmmakers are facing, the big question is about creative freedom in cinema nowadays.
Taapsee said: “Cinema is a form of art and like every other art form, cinema also needs freedom of expression.”
“It does come with a sense of responsibility… but when we try to do that, it should get support from the media and the public because we are trying to raise social issues that are prevailing in our society right now and that needs certain consideration and help.
“That’s why cinema needs to be given a certain sense of freedom, so the director and writer can portray what they actually feel. And then it is up to you if you really want to watch it. It’s a democratic country and people can do what they want to do.”
After her powerful performance in “Pink” and “Naam Shabana”, “Mulk” promises to add more feathers to her filmography.
“With every movie, I am trying in my own little way to do whatever I can to change the way female characters have been presented and how an actress that comes from a family outside the industry is making an impact. All this is slowly getting noticed and my ultimate goal is to get that faith and trust from my audience.”
(Nivedita can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews

Stellan Skarsgard
By Sugandha Rawal,
New Delhi : Stellan Skarsgard doesn’t want to enter the political world thanks to US President Donald Trump. The Swedish actor, who has been part of films like “Good Will Hunting”, “Thor”, “Avengers” and “Mamma Mia!”, says politicians unite people for all the wrong reasons.
He feels there is a wave of religious nationalism around the world, and that it will lead to more bloodshed.
Skarsgard has always been vocal about everything, including politics. He has said on several occasions that his perspective about the world changed after reading the Bible and the Quran after the 9/11 tragedy.
“For decades since the Second World War, the West had become a developed democracy… developed an idea that everybody is equal, values of humanism and tolerance. Now, in the last 10 years, there has been a backlash… And there is religious nationalism all over the world,” Skarsgard told IANS over the phone from Scotland.
“I believe everybody should have the right to have their own religion. But that doesn’t mean that they should forget everybody else’s right to have their own religion… The idea of nationalism is excluding, not including.”
Skarsgard pointed out that “nationalism and religion are always used by strong politicians to unite people for the wrong reasons”.
Skarsgard looked back at the time when work brought him to India, and he saw a world embracing diversity in its true sense.
“When I was working in Mumbai, it was in the 1980s… What I loved about the city and India was that it was not very violent. You could walk in the middle of the night and didn’t have to fear of getting attacked or robbed or anything.
“There were a multitude of different approaches of religion and approaches of life and they were all tolerated. And I must say that the current religious nationalism is encouraging the opposite. They are encouraging fight and there has been a lot of bloodshed and more will come.”
As a child, Skarsgard wanted to become a diplomat and travel the world with the message of harmony and peace. But instead found his way into showbiz and went on to do iconic roles like Jan Nyman in “Breaking the Waves”, Professor Gerald Lambeau in “Good Will Hunting”, Bootstrap Bill Turner in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, Bill Anderson in “Mamma Mia!”, Dr. Erik Selvig in the “Thor” and “The Avengers” franchise.
The actor turned 67 last month. Indian channel Sony Pix had a special screening session and aired some of his iconic films as part of the birthday celebrations.
Does he think he is spreading the message of peace as an actor?
“No, I don’t… I wanted to become a diplomat as a child and I thought it would be a great idea… I don’t believe actors have the power to change reality.”
For a lot of fans, Skarsgard, who has dabbled in all the mediums — be it films or small screen or theatre — will be an inspiring politician. But he wants to stay away from politics.
“No, because in this, if I know more about the world than Trump, then I don’t know enough.”
His opinions have created trouble for him in the past, but that doesn’t deter him from calling a spade a spade.
Recalling an incident, he said: “I always say what I have on my mind. And it is not always appreciated. I did an American horror film and on the premiere at the red carpet somebody asked me ‘What scares you?’, and it was at the time of George W. Bush. I said the reign of this country scares me and that had repercussions… But you still have to express (yourself).”
On the work front, he will soon be seen in “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”, “Music, War and Love”, “Out Stealing Horses”, “Chernobyl” and “The Painted Bird”.
(Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics

MJ Akbar
Panaji : Only nationalism and the nation-state can ideologically combat terrorism, Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar said on Friday.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the India Ideas Conclave, which got underway here on Friday, he also contended that faith-based terrorism challenges the concept of a nation-state and presents an existential challenge.
“And that is why I have always argued, that if you think that there is no intellectual answer to terrorism, that there is no ideological answer to terrorism, then you are wrong. The real ideological answer to terrorism is nationalism. And this is true everywhere. It is only the forces and power of nationalism, which will recognise the danger and push and drive and repel these elements away,” Akbar said.
Holding terrorism “is just not a law and order problem” or “a problem of somebody introducing violence”, he said that the two things that make terrorism or faith-based terrorism into an existential challenge included that firstly, it “challenges the whole concept of the nation-state. It doesn’t believe in the nation state”.
“What they believe in, is faith-based space, not in the nation-state. And this faith-based state then becomes redeveloped or re-imagined itself into shibboleths and into short-hand terms like Caliphate and so and so forth,” he added.
Akbar also said that terrorism strikes at the roots of pluralism, which is fundamental to Indian philosophy.
“The most important element, not only of modernity, but of any philosophy going back to the beginning of humanity and that is the co-existence of all human beings as equals. The living together, plural societies, in which we all live together as one, irrespective of what our personal differences might have been.
“Terrorists do not believe in a fundamental aspect of our Indian philosophy ‘Sarva Dharma Samabhav’… What they believe is ‘faith supremacy’. The supremacy of one faith at the cost of another,” he said.
“The moment you inject fear into a society, you create invisible walls, you create distance… you create imagined horrors. And therefore the 21st century is going to be a struggle and to end this challenge of those who sell fear and those who challenge the nation-state,” he added.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews

Congress leader K.V. Thomas
By Nirendra Dev,
New Delhi, (IANS) : The New Education Policy (NEP) draft prepared by the government has created a fear of invoking “a new brand of nationalism” linked to one religion, senior Congress leader K.V. Thomas has said.
In an interview to IANS, Thomas criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for portraying mythological narratives as examples of ancient India’s medical feats.
“The country is no longer talking about development as was promised. But the public discourse is about cow protection, need for secularism and invoking a new brand of nationalism which is linked to one religion,” Thomas said.
Thomas sounded critical of the new education policy, saying that the “shift” seems to be in the direction of promoting only one kind of values.
“There is a fear among academic communities that there would be victimisation of those who do not believe in one brand of politics,” Thomas said, adding that the “space for dissent is disappearing”.
“There is an increasing saffronisation of education and society. There are atrocities against the Dalits,” he said, adding that the people definitely miss visionaries like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan and Zakir Husain.
“Many Indian scientists felt ashamed when Prime Minister Modi referred to mythological character Karna’s birth and elephant God Ganesha’s head as examples of India’s achievements in science. They were at best metaphors. I do not mind reference to metaphors from mythology. But the Prime Minister could have used other examples,” Thomas said.
In October 2014, referring to Karna’s birth Prime Minister Modi had claimed that the character from Mahabharata was not conceived in his mother’s womb which proved that genetics was part of Indian scientific traditions in the distant past.
Asked what has been the Congress’s role in framing a roadmap for the education system over the last six decades, Thomas said: “As Congressmen we should take responsibility for failure to create an education system that could help Indians elect a scientifically inclined Prime Minister”.
Thomas, who is Chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, criticised the government’s move to merge Railway Budget with the Union Budget, saying “the government is determined to destroy all democratic institutions and past practices of governance”.
“They got rid of the Planning Commission without taking Parliament into confidence. Today Niti Aayog is just an extension of the finance ministry. Similarly, they are trying to weaken the railways. It’s just a way to centralise power. I am not for it,” Thomas said.
Asked to comment on the Public Accounts Committee, Thomas said the panel is now at the final stage of preparing its report on non-performing assets (NPAs) of public sector banks.
“I cannot divulge details. But the unanimous feeling in the PAC is government and the public sector banks should evolve stringent measures on NPAs. We do not mind giving loans and financial support to corporate houses for major projects, but there should be transparency and strong mechanism of monitoring the grants released. Today that element is lacking,” Thomas said.
“Often when the projects are delayed or fail to fructify, the funds go haywire,” he said.
On the charge of a few BJP members that the PAC sub-committee on defence is being headed by Congressman Shantaram Naik only to slow down the probe in the AugustaWestland chopper scam, Thomas said: “I have checked the records of last 10 years. Sub-committee chairmanship is exclusive prerogative of the Chairman of the PAC. So it is not fair on BJP’s part to question that.”
According to Thomas, a sub-committee only helps in “expediting” probe into a particular case. “The report of the sub-committee does not go to Parliament or the Speaker directly. The full PAC deliberates it again before forwarding it. So the complaint or apprehension that a sub-committee will be prejudiced is premature and unjustified”.
(Nirendra Dev can be contacted at nirendra.n@ians.in)