Let’s celebrates Kaifi’s spirit & India’s pluralism
‘Honest to the core and heart-warming’ nutshells ‘Mee Raqsam’ (I Dance) brilliantly directed by the ace cinematographer Baba Azmi, son of the illustrious Kaifi Azmi and Shaukat Kaifi. Presented by Shabana Azmi, the film weaves magic around the father-daughter bonding so competently portrayed by Danish Husain as Salim and Aditi Subedi as Mariam.
It is a heart-warming tale, soaked in India’s ganga jamuni Tehzeeb, where the widowed father plays a nurturer, quite different from the stereo-type notions of the trifling Indian masculinity. Naseeruddin
Shah truly shines as Hashim Seth, the community leader. Shraddha Kaul, Farrukh Jaffar and Rakesh Chaturvedi too have credible performances.
Safdar and Husain Mir narrate the story of a young Muslim girl who wants to learn Bharatanatyam, a classical dance-form originally associated with Hindu temples. With her father’s unflinching support and the nritya guru Uma’s patronage, the dance becomes the love of the daughter’s life.
Despite bharatanatyam being an integral part of India’s composite culture, it raises strong objections from the community as well as the extended family.
The dance form becomes a tool for attempting to overcome the narrow-minded but powerful societal forces. The courageous but understated heroism of a traditional Muslim tailor, with meager earnings, is laudable who places his daughter’s passion over and above the dull adherence to the dictates of religious leaders and community.
Aesthetically shot in Kaifi’s village Mijwan in Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh district, the film must reach every corner of India, international audien
ces, and the festival circuit. The spirited stand taken by the father-daughter duo and the tactical support of the village’s younger generation reinforce our faith in our time tested spirit of pluralism that the country has always stood for.
Jayant Krishna
(Writer is the group CEO, UKIBC & INTACH UP Convenor)