I am just thinking aloud on this issue so please bear with me...why couldnt I just stand outside this film and watch it and write on it...maybe because it is not a film which can be viewed passively...the issues it deals with are staring right in your face but the aspects that it raises are something that we do not readily ponder upon...how can terrorism function so well in any society? Can it just be the case of certain people being responsible or is it a much bigger picture? This movie shows how common people are in a way a part of this terror scheme. (It should be kept in mind that the film is taking an example of Islamic terrorism but the content is directed at every form of terror) Aamir shows how it is the common people who fall prey to this message of hatred and believe themselves to be actually 'providing a service' to the cause which they have been wrongly educated in...
The guy on the phone, and the seemingly boss of the whole scheme (although one can be fairly certain that he too is a pawn of the larger scheme), tries to teach Aamir, the hero, the same hatred through making him come into contact with the pathetic conditions in which his 'fellowmen' live but his tries fail. Aamir raises an important point that one should try their level best to succeed through hard work because no one can tie you down forcefully.
However, a question that can be raised here is how far is this view held by Aamir true and to what extent is it just a rosy picture? My one answer would be it is akin to a glass filled half with water - depends on which way we want to see it. Is one justified in perpetrating terror because of the conditions in which he exists, the fault for which may lie with anyone? Is terror the answer?
I will continue later but I would love your views so far...
-Rae
