Cinema with a difference

Bollywood, it seems, is looking to raise awareness about ‘honour killings’, as the Indian government comes under pressure from its own judiciary and human rights groups to tackle the problem.

“Aakrosh” (Anger), starring Ajay Devgn, Akshay Khanna and Bipasha Basu, is being billed as the first Hindi-language film to address the issue, which the administration in New Delhi has described as “a national shame”.

The United Nations has said there are about 5,000 “honour killings” around the world each year. One recent report said some 1,000 women a year are victims in India, mostly in northern states like Harayana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

Deaths often involve young people who have married outside their caste, village or religion or have broken strict conventions on kinship in rural areas.The killings are carried out by relatives to protect the family’s reputation and pride.

“Aakrosh”, a thriller due out on October 1, is directed by the film-maker Priyadarshan.

News of “honour killings” appears regularly in the Indian media. In July, Indian police arrested five members of the same family in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly murdering a 20-year-old woman after she secretly married her lower-caste boyfriend.http://news.oneindia.in/cj/dipin-d/2010/horror-killings-to-guard-honour-shaking-india.html

A month earlier, the Supreme Court ordered the government and several states to outline what steps they have taken to prevent “honour killings” after a spate of murders, including that of a pregnant journalist on a national daily.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7115736.ece

Global rights monitor Human Rights Watch has even urged the government to crack down on powerful village councils — or “khap panchayats” — that order killings, and the local politicians and police who often turn a blind eye.

The film is the latest Bollywood production to tackle contemporary issues. The last few weeks have seen the release of “Hello Darling” about sexual harassment in the workplace, “Peepli Live”, on the growing divide between urban and rural India and “Red Alert: The War Within” on India’s Maoist rebels.

From time to time Indian film-makers have been tackling socially relevant and current topics. I agree that Films can’t change the society. But at least they can be used as a tool to bring about an awakening.

So cheers to our filmmakers for coming up with such rational ideas and concepts and don't forget - there is no honor in honor killing...!!!