'Road to Sangam', a movie to inspire Reformists

porus · #1

'Road to Sangam' deals with how one man's conscience rooted in the ideals of Islam breaks the back of religious tyranny in a Muslim community.

There is a bigoted Maulana, who will falsely ingest religion into every aspect of life to the extent that fear takes hold in the community. There is an engineer who sees the injustice and whose conscience awakens to take on the Maulana. This leads to imposition of 'baraat' on him. And there are plenty of fence sitters, including a close associate of the Maulana.

Please see the movie. This is one of the truly great movies. Superb dialog.

Al Zulfiqar · #2

porus wrote:'Road to Sangam' deals with how one man's conscience rooted in the ideals of Islam breaks the back of religious tyranny in a Muslim community.

There is a bigoted Maulana, who will falsely ingest religion into every aspect of life to the extent that fear takes hold in the community. There is an engineer who sees the injustice and whose conscience awakens to take on the Maulana. This leads to imposition of 'baraat' on him. And there are plenty of fence sitters, including a close associate of the Maulana.

Please see the movie. This is one of the truly great movies. Superb dialog.

is this an indian or pakistani movie? where did u see it? is it available in the video shops?

porus · #3

It is an Indian movie. I saw it at a friend's place. It was on his computer. I cannot say how it got there.

Paresh Rawal is the Engineer and Om Puri is the community leader. I don't know who played Maulana. But all acted superlatively.

Google it for more info.

Al Zulfiqar · #4

one of the reviews i found on the net:

Cast: Paresh Rawal, Om Puri, Pavan Malhotra, Javed Sheikh
Director: Amit Rai

Road to Sangam is a docu-drama that tries to merge reality with fiction. The movie has attempted to applaud a simple act of patriotism made by a mechanic in a small town. A lot of events are scripted with an effort to not let go off a realistic feel.

Husmatullah (Paresh Rawal), is a mechanic in Allahabad who is a genius when it comes to handling car parts. He has been assigned the task of fixing an old ford engine by the local museum authorities. Time is critical. That's all he knows. Later, due to riots, all Muslims are under the radar. Family men are getting picked up by the police for interrogation. This obviously irates the Islamic elders so they decide to protest and declare a strike of few days. Of course, strike means shutting down shops and not allowing normal routine for the public. Husmatullah happily agrees at this point of time.

A few days after, a reporter meets up with Husmatullah to interview him. He is the one to enlighten him about the fact that the engine given to him by the museum authorities is no ordinary one. But one of great historic importance. It was used to carry the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi. It is being repaired to do the same unfinished work as someone left a part of Gandhiji's ashes forgotten in a bank vault. It is now the wish of Gandhiji's surviving successor Tushar Gandhi that the last of the great man's ashes be immersed in the Sangam of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati.

This piece of information comes as shocking and moving for Husmatullah. He feels if he doesn't complete the work of the engines he is seriously disrespecting a great soul, someone who'd sacrificed his life for the country. He presents a petition (asking permission to resume work on the engine inspite of the strike) to the elders at the mosque but they fail to understand his point of view and reject his petition. Husmatullah too fails to understand why religion has to interfere with work. With such a terrible turmoil within him and the communal riots outside, this man puts into practice Gandhiji's timeless principles to do what his heart says is right.

Road to Sangam can be aptly compared to the khadi cloth that Gandhiji actively promoted. Its simply made. The message that it wants to put through is clear enough. Some gory images have been shown. But perhaps it is to make the viewers realize that there have been too many fights with cause unknown and consequence unbeneficial. And that, the time has come to open up our eyes to think any issue through before standing for it or against it. The movie raises a question as to where should one draw a line between religion and country, between personal and societal. When the whole world thinks in one direction and you think the other way, are you okay? Is it right to follow your heart's voice even when the closest to you don't seem to speak the same language?

However, if this message has to reach the public then a fair job hasn't been done. It needs more than what's in the film, for any layman to sit through the movie and then grasp its message. The thought of the movie is novel but its presentation isn't mass endearing. Also, another disappointing fact about this film is the lack of strong female characters. Or is it just a true and bitter reflection of our small towns where women still find it hard to make their space in the society?

The film doesn't cross the line except where a rickshaw driver retorts to a question asking him how he'd respond if someone forced him not to work for a day. He says- Is this a Pakistan or a Taliban, that anyone can force? It beats me how we can ever achieve peace with Pakistan if we continue to have such dialogues in our films.

The music is rustic and at times spiritual. Some songs have a levitating effect. Editing is smooth.

All the actors have done a stupendous job. Although Paresh Rawal is the protagonist, it's impossible to say the other characters are less impacting.

Paresh Rawal as Husmatullah is very very convincing. He takes you through his ups and downs without a trouble. You can actually feel what he is going through. Javed Sheikh as Dr. Ansari is a class-act. He is one of the lesser-known faces so it's a sweet surprise to get to see so much of an actor as good as him.

Om Puri as Mohammed Ali Kasuri is well-defined. Pavan Malhotra as Maulana Qureshi is a challenge accomplished. The actor has played a part several years older than him and has managed to pull it off.

Debutant director and scriptwriter Amit Rai has made a movie that not many would dare to make. A delicate topic has been handled pretty well. But we need docu-dramas that are mass appealing as the vital message goes to waste if not reached out to the audience.

This film is for those who are on a sincere quest of true meaning of patriotism as well as those who have a penchant for serious meaningful cinema.

Rating: ***

porus · #5

I personally would rate this movie 9 out of 10.

No silly romance or giggling teenage girls. A good qawwali and an Iqbal perennial, 'Lab pe aati hai dua ban-ke tamanna meri' and several bhajans, including the Gandhi's favorite, 'Vaishnav jan to' are suitably inserted to heighten positive emotions.

To be sure there are a couple of references to Taliban and Jinnah. The former is completely suitable. The rickshaw driver says he has to feed his family and cannot join the strike; but the dig against Taliban and Pakistan's dictatorship is completely warranted. Less acceptable is Paresh Rawal's criticism against JInnah, which will not go well in Pakistan but, I think that it is accurate.

Unfortunately, it is a thinking person's movie and may not appeal to masses. I urge you guys to see it.

Humsafar · #6

Pours, I'm a movie buff but somehow missed this one. Will definitely watch it. Thanks for the recommendation.

SBM · #7

The movie is available on YOUTUBE in parts.

SBM · #8

jamanpasand · #9

What a crap movie. Total Hindu Propaganda. Must have financed by Bal Thakerey and Narinder Moody.

Human · #10

jamanpasand wrote:What a crap movie. Total Hindu Propaganda. Must have financed by Bal Thakerey and Narinder Moody.

I guess we only have riots in India because of one eyed extremists like you.

jamanpasand · #11

What do you think of your brothers Bal Thakerey and Narinder Moody ? I am sorry to see you slave in your own country.

Human · #12

jamanpasand wrote:What do you think of your brothers Bal Thakerey and Narinder Moody ? I am sorry to see you slave in your own country.

I don't think they are my brothers. But a few of my hindu friends who saved me and gave me shelter during the 2002 riots, I do consider them my brothers as they didn't care about religion for humanity's sake. The likes of you cannot understand this simple thing as your brain is full of filth for all the other religions. I guess you might consider Osama Bin Laden as your brother. Same extremist ship.

jamanpasand · #13

Yours not caring about religion is not relevant. But your brothers Hindus do care for their religion
and consider India as a Hinduland.

Human · #14

jamanpasand wrote:Yours not caring about religion is not relevant. But your brothers Hindus do care for their religion
and consider India as a Hinduland.

Everyone does care about their religion, but it doesn't mean being inhumane. Your views are those like terrorists' views, very extremist. It can only do bad. I can also imagine you come from an extremist country like Pakistan. Tell me this, if riots happened in Pakistan and a Hindu was chased by a mob with swords, would you save him and give him shelter?

I'm sure you would not. You would do his sacrifice yourself and take pride in the honour killing, wouldn't you? That's all you extremists are really about. You guys are a disease, a plague that gives islam or any religion a bad name. Shame on you.

Right · #15

jamanpasand wrote:Yours not caring about religion is not relevant. But your brothers Hindus do care for their religion
and consider India as a Hinduland.

Jaman Pasand

you are looking only from one side. When you are talking about India about Hinduland, then what about the Hindus which are leaving in Pakistan & Afghanistan. they are treated very badly over there. They dont have any rights, compare that with muslims leaving in India, they are leaving more happily , and they have get opportunities in almost every field. Also what about Kashmiri Pandits who were forced to leave their home and leave as refugees.

Problem with our whole Muslim Community is that we are always cribbing. We always find fault in each and every system. See the conditions of muslims states like Pakistan & Bangladesh , both are free countries, but because of level of corruption and non willingness to work they are so behind.

Stop cribbing and dont cry over Gujarat riots , muslim terrorist has also killed so many innocent people in India by doing bomb blasts and terrorist attack.

jamanpasand · #16

Well, good for you guys being a third class citizen in your own country. If you are happy in that, be happy. But why blame Muslim for all the hindus atrocities. Was Osama there for Babri Masjid massacre? Were Pakistani Muslims there in Gujrat riots? Who was there in Golden temple? These are just few examples. The root cause of the problem is India not Pakistan. Go back and look at UN resolution on Kashmir. You are just brain washed by the hindu lobby.

porus · #17

jamanpasand hasn't given specifics about why he thinks that the movie is a 'Hindu propaganda'. But I think that, as a presumptive Pakistani, he is incensed that some Muslims regard Gandhi highly, which is an anathema for Pakistanis.

There is clearly a valid criticism that Pakistanis level against Gandhi. That is that he gave the Independence movement a distinct Hindu flavor. Prior to Gandhi, independence movement was secular and the 'naraa' of ' Inqilaab Zindabad' was taken up by both Muslims and Hindus. Gandhi's influence to Hindu-ize the political struggle did not find favor with the more secular Nehru and Jinnah. It most certainly accelerated the demand for Pakistan.

Gandhi, I think, saw his error and tried to compensate by increasingly taking Muslim sides as Independence approached, thereby alienating a significant number of Hindus.

The movie tackles the imputation of terrorism to Islam initially, but soon moves on to personal struggle within the Muslim community. It has handled a difficult theme very responsibly.

Humsafar · #18

There is clearly a valid criticism that Pakistanis level against Gandhi. That is that he gave the Independence movement a distinct Hindu flavor.

Porus, I don't think this is true. Gandhi was a devout Hindu but his hinduism was expansive, all inclusive. Right from the beginning Gandhi advocated hindu-muslim unity. His ardent support for national unity and his bitter campaign against the caste system earned him many enemies. People like Gowalkar and Sarvarkar were responsible for Hinduising the freedom struggle and in response Muslim League created the two-nation bandwagon. Of course, Nehru's intransigence could be partly flamed for the partition - but it is not straightforward as that there's much warp and weft in the tangled web of India's independence struggle. (I've yet to read Jaswant Singh's new book.)

Pakistanis' antipathy towards Gandhi and Indians' antipathy towards Jinnah are two sides of the same coin. Ignorant masses fed on jingoism can't think and say anything better.

ghulam muhammed · #19

I was told that years back a highly controversial film on Gandhi was made by some englishman which was banned by the Indian govt and hence it never got released anywhere in the world. The film was titled 'Nine hours to Ram' and it seems that gandhi was shown in a very bad light and his murderer Nathuram godse was infact glorified in the film. I have also heard that if at all anyone manages to get hold of the film's copy and is caught then he would be arrested as it is a criminal offence to watch this film. Does anyone know anything about it ?

ghulam muhammed · #20

Humsafar wrote:People like Gowalkar and Sarvarkar were responsible for Hinduising the freedom struggle

You forgot to mention one more very important character.... Sardar Vallabh Patel of Gujarat (Narendra Modi's icon).

Human · #21

jamanpasand wrote:Well, good for you guys being a third class citizen in your own country. If you are happy in that, be happy. But why blame Muslim for all the hindus atrocities. Was Osama there for Babri Masjid massacre? Were Pakistani Muslims there in Gujrat riots? Who was there in Golden temple? These are just few examples. The root cause of the problem is India not Pakistan. Go back and look at UN resolution on Kashmir. You are just brain washed by the hindu lobby.

Just for your reference as Right mentioned, we are not third class citizens in our own country. We get all the same rights that Hindus get. In India there's no discrimination like in Islamic countries. Agreed that there are some goons in the form of hindu extremists and muslim extremists who provoke the illiterate and poor masses to take on aggression against each other. I am proud to be in India and more than proud not to be in Pakistan. I respect Gandhiji for what he's done and I support Indian team in cricket. Secretly I feel proud and happier when the likes of Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan represent our Indian side. Our previous president was a Muslim for your reference. Ever imagined a hindu president for pakistan? Oh, I forgot...you guys prefer dictatorship over democracy.

Blaming of muslim persons in India could be wrong sometimes but not always as there are proofs that most of the blasts of terrorist nature are done by people from islamic background. And it is no lie that they are trained for this (what idiots like you would call jihaad) from Pakistan. And there are some idiot muslims in India who support them for these ugly plots against humanity which involves killing innocent humans. As in the film, you'd have seen many muslims still support Pakistani cricket team. Why? And I know this for a fact that muslims in india are much better of then hindus or sikhs in Pakistan. Look into the mirror first before you speak. (Recent example: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/0 ... index.html)

Osama though directly not involved in the incidents you mentioned had done his part indirectly. His extremist views and wrong interpretation of quran for warfare gives birth to people like you. People like you who are foolish extremists, who are ready to kill innocent humans for religious propaganda. Why do you forget the 26/11 Mumbai bombings and the recent Pune bombings? Now tell me the problem is not Pakistan. If you search news websites for Pakistan's involvement in terrorism, you'll find out that you guys house and train the likes of Taliban and some high profile terrorists.

And its better you don't comment on the root cause of problem in India, you better look at the root cause in Pakistan and see where your country's at.

I am also of the opinion that you did not like the movie because the cycle rickshaw driver says "ye hindustan hai, pakistan ya talibaan nahi". I know truth is bitter because you blind people don't have freedom.

Also the other thing of relevance from the movie is this dialogue that 'Smart' often mentions in English: "jo aadmi soya hua hai, tum use jaga sakte ho. par jo sone ka dhong kar raha hai, use nahi jaga sakte." Since you are pretending to sleep, myself or 1000 other people cannot wake you up. What a pity!

jamanpasand · #22

Thanks Porus. I like your neutral assessment. By the way, I am not a Pakistani and neither a big fan of Pakistanis. The movie started of well but ended as if India has resolved all its religious issues for all time to come. That is why I called it an Indian propaganda. The hindus of India is a long way away from learning any tolerance towards Indian muslims and the gap is getting wider as the time progresses. I think, there will be more Bal Thakerey and Narinder Moody in future. Had the majority taken care of the minority fairly in the last 62 years the position would have been totally different.

Human · #23

ghulam muhammed wrote:
Humsafar wrote:People like Gowalkar and Sarvarkar were responsible for Hinduising the freedom struggle
You forgot to mention one more very important character.... Sardar Vallabh Patel of Gujarat (Narendra Modi's icon).

Yes, exactly right. Sardar Vallabh Patel was the main culprit, the main hindu extremist in a push towards making India a hindu only nation. Gandhiji knew this and that was why he did not give him power and brought Nehru to power instead.

canadian · #24

Bro. Ghulam Muhammad:

I saw "Nine Hours to Rama" in a theatre in Africa long ago when it was released. An Indian actor (his last name was Cashyap) played Gandhiji and Godse was played by a German actor, Horst Bucholtz. The film was an ordinary one and I do not remember it being boycotted or banned any where except in a few Indian cities. I do not recall it depicting Gandhiji in a bad light.

ghulam muhammed · #25

Bro canadian,

You are right, the film did have Kashyap in the lead role. I was told there was lot of hulla gulla over the film and that I may be wrong in assuming that it was banned. However I tried at a lot of libraries in India but couldnt get the CD's anywhere.

jamanpasand · #26

This gandhi movie you can find on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... type=&aq=f

Right · #27

jamanpasand wrote:Well, good for you guys being a third class citizen in your own country. If you are happy in that, be happy. But why blame Muslim for all the hindus atrocities. Was Osama there for Babri Masjid massacre? Were Pakistani Muslims there in Gujrat riots? Who was there in Golden temple? These are just few examples. The root cause of the problem is India not Pakistan. Go back and look at UN resolution on Kashmir. You are just brain washed by the hindu lobby.

Mr Jaman pasand, we are not third class citizen in our country, but it is our thinking which is making us third class citizen. I have seen muslim families in India , who tell their children, that Pakistan is their real country and not India, and they always celebrate when in cricket match Pakistan would win. This is totally unfair. In every field muslims have given opportunities, but their third grade living style has stopped them from coming up.

First of all they will not do family palnning. Will have many children and leave them like that. You will small child also giving galis of Ma * & Bhen*. See the example of Dawood.

questions · #28

I suggest not getting into Pakistan and India debate. Its like abde and orthos debate. Moreover, the bad press attributed to religions comes from a few extremists from either Muslims or Hindus ( and Jews and Christians in other countries). It has nothing to do with the country or religion overall.

For the record I am a proud Pakistani who can appreciate all the good and bad in both the countries of the sub continent.

accountability · #29

Porus, Yours was the only rational and educated response. Hamsafar normally balanced did take side. Jinnah was psuedo muslim, did not practice islam till his last, Gandhi was a devout hindu always practiced hindutva. In my opinion Gandhi did not want to liberate India as a whole, rather he wanted an akhand bharat. His south african period does not show his commitment to liberty or emanicipation. He never did raise his voice in favour of south african blacks and against aparthied.

Muslims fell prey to this so called division, Jinnah was self centered and a very proud being. He did not like rather detest normal uneducated muslim masses. For the sake of political and personal expediency he used religion as a tool along with his so called colleagues, who were all beneficiary of colonial system.
Jinnah or no Jinnah, partition was inevitable, Gandhi was very committed to create a Hinduland, he would under any circumtances not let a secular liberation movemnet succeed. He planted valab bhai patel in congress.
He knew united India will not become a hinduland. He had to carve out a majority hindu country. For this he cleverly used Jinnah to demand ( he created such conditions) a separate muslim state.
I can prove by statastics that united india would not be a hindu land. Pakistan 170 million, Bangladesh 170 million, Indian muslim 300 million so the difference would be negligible or even in long future ( in a centruy or so) hindus could have been outnumbered.

We should give him the credit of being visionary for hindus of india, he gave them a larger hinduland than they ever in history had.

Humsafar · #30

accountability, Thank you for opening my eyes. I never knew that Gandhi wanted to create a Hindu India. Looks like I've been completely brainwashed by the Indian propaganda. That wily baniya was not after such a saint as he's made out to be. Damn, you got me there! Could you provide details about what your are saying? Are there any historical records, references like Gandhi's speeches, articles, books or any other source to prove Gandhi's wanted a Hinud India? I'll be much obliged. One can't bust enough myths, it seems.

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'Road to Sangam', a movie to inspire Reformists

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Re: 'Road to Sangam', a movie to inspire Reformists

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Re: 'Road to Sangam', a movie to inspire Reformists

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Re: 'Road to Sangam', a movie to inspire Reformists

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Re: 'Road to Sangam', a movie to inspire Reformists

Re: 'Road to Sangam', a movie to inspire Reformists

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