Special screening of Mee Raqsam at 26th KIFF

Whew! What a family steeped in almost every line of creative expression within the Indian scenario. Baba Azmi has also produced the film while Shabana Azmi has presented the film.

“Many years ago, my father told me to make a film based in Mijwan in UP for sentimental reasons as he was nostalgic about his roots. But I could fulfill the wish of my father after he is no more to watch my work,” said Azmi, happy about the wonderful response the film is getting though it is streamed at ZEE5, an OTT channel. 

In November 2020, Baba Azmi bagged the Best Debut Director at Indian Film Festival of Ireland in Dublin for Mee Raqsam.

The story is simple and straightforward. Maryam (Aditi Subedi), a school student, is passionate about learning Bharat Natyam, a desire planted in her by her mother who had the rare talent of picking up tough classical steps of Bharat Natyam directly from television programmes.

Dance is used as the subject around which a fake controversy is highlighted and can create havoc in the life of a young girl who tries to break the stereotype by venturing into pastures her faith does not support.

It is about feudal mindsets among both Hindus and Muslims who refuse to accept or welcome change that already exists but they cannot see it or feel it. It is about how determination and the will to overcome every struggle – by the father as well as the daughter who fight together and win in the end. It also sheds light on the so-called “educated” mindset of Hindu and Muslim leaders who do not feel the urge to open their minds to more progressive ways of thinking.

While researching this story, this writer chanced upon the real-life story of a Muslim girl, Mansiya, from Kerala's Malappuram district who excelled time and again in classical dance forms, but often saw her classmates, teachers, and the community members turn their heads the other way.

"Never in our lives have any of our teachers at school or any others from the community praised us for our achievements. I remember how teachers at school would congratulate a student who came third in the dance competition, but walk away without even glancing at me, who secured the first place," Mansiya said in an interview to The News Minute.

"Religion is no barrier to learning any dance form and what our parents taught us was that all religions are the same. We were not sent to madrassa for any religious studies, but to get a perspective of what Quran says. At home, we had already read Hindu and Christian religious texts. At the madrassa, my sister and I would at times contradict the ustad and question their reading of the Quran.

"This only worsened their attitude towards us. After some years, we quit going to the madrassa," Mansiya sums up, who topped the Madras University in Bharatanatyam some years ago and wishes to pursue her doctoral studies in this subject.

(Report by Shoma A. Chatterji)