JHHIUH

BUGYGU

The movie was- Had Anhad , made by Shabnam Virmani under a kabir Project. It begins with
a question - "Where I will find Ram?" And the first landscape is that of Ayodhya - Ram janm
bhumi... but does she find Ram there? Some shopkeepers are interviewed by her and it is
very realistic  to see that what people actually think about Babri Masjid Case. It is a war
between Ego and Belief. A war on God's name - to find God or save God- but does God
reside in temple or masjid? God would be pleased by such wars? Such questions take her
from Ayodhya to Madhya Pradesh to Rajasthan and finally Pakistan. Through Kabir she tries
to find all these answers . She meets different people in her journey who are either local
singers (folk singers) of Kabir or related to Kabir in one or the other way. Finally  she goes to
Pakistan where she feels most closest to Kabir and his philosophy.

 
Who is Kabir by the way ? - An incarnation of Vishnu ? A fakir or saint? A poet of Bhakti
movement? A revolutionary man?  Why not go back and see him first as a man... but
something definitely makes him different from an ordinary man and that's his knowledge of
Self .
 
Had-Had Karke Sab Gaye,
Per Behad Gayo Na Koi.

 
Kabir had crossed the limits between Soul n Bramha. There is one fine example in movie to
describe Kabir's position that one who is in ship says- "Shore is coming" , One who is on the
shore says - "Land is coming" but for one who is above both , no one is coming and no one is
going - Kabir was like this. 

When one knows himself , his own soul , from this knowledge one can embark on the
journey of "search of God". And why kabir is relevant today? There are various reasons like
his dohas and songs contain the eternal knowledge about  "soul" , "god", "life", "love" but
the most prominent voice of his dohas and songs are - "Humanitarian" which today in the
world threatened by terrorism , existentialism , depression and loss of faith on God, we
need to understand badly. He teaches us to see everyone as human and worship one God
whom he called "Ram" - his Ram is not Dashrath's son Ram , an incarnation of Vishnu but his
Ram lives in everyone's heart and if we love everyone , we are worshiping God. 

 
Sakal Hans Mein Ram Viraje,
Ram Bina Koi Dham Nahi.

Ram resides in every soul,

There is no abode without Ram.
REFLECTION ON THE MOVIE:
In this movie the director sets out on a journey to discover Ram. In modern times the
nameand use of the Ram has been done in many forms like as a God, a concept, a political
tool, acultural hero, a religious deity, to name a few. Amidst all this furore, somewhere
thecommon man has lost his Ram; that common man whose sufferings, dreams and hopes
arenot bounded by any religion. So the director moving through different narratives
reachesKabir only to find that Ram is Kabir and Kabir is Ram.Kabir was a 15th century mystic
poet of north India who defied the boundaries betweenHindu and Muslim. He had a Muslim
name and upbringing, but his poetry repeatedlyinvokes the widely revered Hindu name for
God
 –
 
Ram. Who is Kabir’s
Ram?This film journeys through song and poem into the politics of religion, and finds a
myriadanswers on both sides of the hostile border between India and Pakistan. In this
journey thedirector scales different stories, narrations, and comes across many faces of
Kabir. Storiesand people trying to bound that free spirit in the name of religion, sect, caste,
evenexplaining his existence as human or divine. On this process she sets out on a journey
to findKabir- the Kabir inside her, the Kabir sitting inside every heart waiting to be
reckoned. Thismovie also takes a closer look at the divides created by regionalism and
nationalism.The spontaneity of this film is heart warming to behold. Nothing seemed pre-
planned;Shabnam (the director) simply set out on an instinct and with no pre-determined
script inher mind. It was as if she kept following interesting leads. Sometimes, they yielded
nothing,but sometimes beautiful moments would just happen and she was there, ready
with hercamera to respond to them.The movie continues with a host of questions that
stimulate the soul from the verybeginning. In this busy life, we have ceased to quench the
inner thirst. This movie oriented
me towards what I‘ll call seeking life. Somewhere in between the everyday mayhem we lose
ourselves more, we keep looking up to materialistic things in search of peace and
satisfaction. But we get none because there isn’t any pea
ce and happiness outside of us.
Is the mind bigger or what it believes in? Is Ram bigger,Or the knower of Ram? 
For me, the movie has been a deeply transforming experience. Each moment of the
journeybrought me closer to the fissures in my own mind; the dualistic way of perceiving
myself and the world. The experiences in the movie made me realise that this film is not
creationthat the director had chosen or made; rather, this is a gift that audience has
received from aspace that we could not claim to completely comprehend. Over the years,
the meaning of Kabir and his teachings have undergone a change for the common man. I
think knowingKabir more deeply is a process of knowing yourself more deeply. And so,
in that sense, Kabircontinues to speak to anyone on a day-to-day, basis (provided one seeks)
because knowing
oneself and one’s
location in the world is an
endless quest, isn’t it?