By Arundhuti Banerjee
Mumbai, July 20 (IANS) Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, whose forthcoming film "Mulk" -- about the plight of a Muslim family accused of treason -- has had online trolls slamming him for being "anti-Hindu", says the idea of inclusive India is very much secure and the people who are trying to ruin the country's communal harmony are really small in number.
"The concept of original India is still breathing in various parts of the country and while shooting the film, my faith in that has strengthened. Wherever I shot the film, the way local people have participated made me believe that the very essence of India, which is inclusive, is existing nicely," Sinha told IANS in an interview here.
What does he mean by original India?
"Inclusiveness," he said, and explained: "The problem is that the narrow-minded people, who are a tiny part of the vast population, speak much louder than the majority. The majority, the inclusive people, are like a deep ocean that stays calm, quiet and flows. The liberal-minded secular people choose to flow silently.
"So, basically, people who are trolling with narrow thoughts, are a minuscule, negligible minority."
Sinha had earlier this week penned a long open letter in response to the trolls, outlining how they are merely "under-educated, highly energetic people with no productivity".
The story of "Mulk" essentially revolves around stereotyping of a minority community and how they are in a constant struggle to prove their patriotism due to their religious practices.
Asked about what sparked the thought behind the film, Sinha, who has earlier made movies like "Tum Bin" and "RA.One", said: "To put it on record, 'Mulk' is not trying to deal with Islamophobia or talking about the present government. The story is about us, we the people in the society.
"The film is bringing some of the uncomfortable questions to the table and the intention is to make the audience find the answer from life because they are subjective. We are not specifically answering anything in the film. We are raising the questions."
The movie features iconic and talented actors like Rishi Kapoor, Rajat Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana, Manoj Pahwa and Neena Gupta. Young actress Taapsee Pannu plays a lawyer in the movie.
On his experience of working with them, Sinha said: "In this film, the main element was the story and the question it raised. The fact is that all our actors involved in the film subscribed to the idea. They were only interested in the narrative. So we made the film together, really."
The film, releasing on August 3, also features two youngsters -- Vartika Singh and Ashrut Jain. Sinha says he was initially worried if they will manage to perform well.
There are scenes Vartika has with Neenaji and I thought she would feel intimidated. But her performance level was pretty high. So was Ashrut's. Today's kids are a little irreverent also, but I must say, along with all these big actors, these two kids performed really well," he said.
"Mulk", despite its sensitive subject, managed to get a U/A certificate.
Asked if he was sceptical about the clearance, Sinha said: "No, why should I be? My film is not made with a bad intention. Honestly, the censor board is a tough place because every decision is taken by at least five people coming from different walks of life. So finding a common ground in an argument might look tough at times, but at times they are reasonable."
(Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at arundhuti.b@ians.in)
