Baby pre-empts the terror threats on Republic Day, banned in Pakistan

27 Jan 2015

With terror threats being issued ahead of President Obama's Republic Day visit to New Delhi, the sequence of events described in this week's big counter-terrorism film Baby seem ominously prophetic.

In the film an apprehended but defiant terrorist warns, " Iss saal bahot saare diwaliyan hone wali hain (this year there will be lots of fireworks)." Says the film's co-producer Vikram Malhotra (of the Couching Tiger production house), "It's a chilling reminder of how close terror attacks are to our lives. No city, no culture or community is immune from terrorism. Our film is only reflecting a truth that we all know and must recognize." Baby is the first film on counter-terrorism that points a direct finger at Pakistan as the hub of terrorism. The film was bound to raise some dust in our neighbouring country, more so since the terror-mastermind a rabid radical India hater named Mullah Maulana Mohammad is played by Pakistani actor Rasheed Naz.

The scary resemblances, physical and spiritual, to the real-life hate-mongerer Zaki ul Rehman Lakhvi are obvious.

The director Neeraj Pandey doesn't mince words in the film or while talking about it.

Says Pandey, "I chose the Pakistani actor Rasheed Naaz to play the main terrorist because I wanted someone with an oratorical skill to sway audiences into hatred and violence." There's a point in the narrative where Naaz spews, "India's biggest problem is Pakistan. India blames Pakistan for everything that goes wrong." Pandey says he had no intentions of portraying Pakistan and Pakistanis as villains. "In fact we've cast a Pakistani actor Mikaal Zulfiqar in a very positive and pro-India role. There are two villains in the film ,an Indian played by K K Menon and a Pakistani played by Rasheed Naaz." All the effort to counter-balance the terror-link notwithstanding it is doubtful that Pakistan will take kindly to Baby showing the country as a breeding ground for terrorism.

Expectantly, the film has been banned in Pakistan.

Insists director Neeraj Pandey, " Baby is not anti-Pakistan. It is anti-terrorism."