Hamare Baarah Movie Review: Annu Kapoor and Parth Samthaan’s Film Is a Loud, Outdated Propaganda That Comes With Disclaimer of ‘Good Intentions’ (LatestLY Exclusive)

Hamare Baarah Movie Review: The basic formula of a propaganda film is to claim good intentions while harbouring malicious motivations. Since a particular political party took over this country, Bollywood has been churning out propaganda films targeting either a community or a state. A couple of these films have succeeded at the box office, but most have failed. Despite this, the trend continues with little to no revolt from India's biggest cinema industry. Now we have Hamare Baarah, which purports to raise awareness about the upliftment of Muslim women, but it is clear that the real intention is to demonise an entire community. Hamare Baarah: Bombay HC Allows Release of Annu Kapoor-Starrer After Makers Agree to Drop Objectionable Content.

How, you ask? In one scene, Manzoor Ali Khan (Annu Kapoor)'s son Shoaib (Rahul Bagga) tells his father that he is a true Muslim but also a vile person. The implication here is that a true Muslim cannot be a good human being. Near the end, a repentant character claims Islam taught him a lot except how to be a good person. Hamare Baarah repeatedly asserts that it is not just about one religion, but then blames everything on Islam. A scene involving an evil maulana, played by Abhimanyu Singh, with boldly lined kohl eyes and a fake beard, underscores this aspect, ending with a pregnant Muslim woman shouting that her child won't follow this 'Islam'. Even the need to introduce the contentious Population Control Bill is linked to one community.

Hamare Baarah Movie Review - The Storyline

Hamare Baarah, previously titled Hum Do Hamare Baarah, centres on Manzoor Ali Khan, a qawwali singer from Lucknow, also known as Nawab Khan, an obstinate and narrow-minded Muslim man in his 60s, and his large family of 11 children and his wife Rukhsar (Ankita Dwivedi). Rukhsar, much younger than Nawab, is his second wife after his first wife passed away following complications in childbirth. Nawab Khan, in the name of religion, has not sent his children to proper schools and keeps producing kids he cannot afford, claiming it's Allah's blessings and an opportunity to brag about his virility.

Watch the Trailer of Hamare Baarah:

When his wife gets pregnant with his 12th child, Nawab's daughter Afriya (Aditi Bhatpahri) learns that giving birth would mean certain death for her stepmother. Her stubborn father refuses to abort the foetus to save his wife, and Rukhsar obliges in blind servitude. Afriya then takes it upon herself to save her stepmother's life by filing a case against her father.

Hamare Baarah Movie Review - Propaganda With 'Good Intentions' is Still Propaganda

In this review of the propaganda film, I would like to reiterate the points I made to a fellow critic after the screening. My peer insisted that Hamare Baarah depicts 'real stuff' and shouldn't be disregarded as a 'biased' film. In response, I told him I do not deny that people like Manzoor exist in society who have scant regard for family planning and hold obstinate views about their religion. In fact, if Hamare Baarah had been a contained story about a daughter fighting a legal battle against her father, it could have led to a good debate on pro and anti-abortion choices. However, as I explained in the second paragraph, the film uses this plotline to encourage bigotry against a community.

I also informed my learned friend that the second half of Hamare Baarah keeps discussing the Population Control Bill but conveniently ignores the drawbacks and the 'control' aspect of that bill if it was passed into law. Moreover, as I mentioned before, linking the need for this bill to only one community, blaming them for India crossing China in population, is misleading when data shows otherwise. The film talks about the need for education but fails to expand on how educating women has actually helped in family planning and population control more effectively than any bill. Again, this is backed by data, not personal opinion.

Hamare Baarah Movie Review - A Film on Minorities Without a Minority Voice

When my friend asked why supposedly anti-Hindu films like PK and OMG get praised, and Hamare Baarah gets the scrutiny, I reminded him that those films did not hold an entire religion or community accountable, unlike Hamare Baarah. Instead, they criticised the malpractices of godmen and the blind beliefs they perpetuated. Additionally, those films were made by Hindu directors. I challenged him to name one Muslim involved in the cast and crew of Hamare Baarah apart from the person who wrote the dialogues and one of the music composers (it is a tragedy that this film has a beautiful song wasted in it).

With the director (also the screenwriter), producers, executive producers, and cast predominantly from the majoritarian community, this film represents an outsider's perspective with no nuance about the community it portrays. Furthermore, two main cast members are known to rabidly support anti-Muslim propaganda while maintaining close ties with the ruling party. On a separate note - why is a popular TV actor like Parth Samthaan participating in such films that don't even give him scope to perform? Is there truly a dearth of good opportunities on the small screen or elsewhere?

Hamare Baarah Movie Review - Outdated Filmmaking

Finally, I told my dost that even if he is someone who believes 'facts are not facts', he cannot deny that Hamare Baarah is a film that looks and feels outdated. The laziness in the writing and direction is evident right from the opening credits, where there is inconsistent use of title case while listing cast and crew. In one scene, a news channel shows a graphic that reads 'Daughter Filled a Case Against...'. Whether this was a sly dig at the quality of our news channels or simply the makers' disregard for good grammar, I am unsure. Nearly every character in this film behaves as if they are straight out of a daily soap opera, either weeping copiously or shouting their lungs out. It is a travesty to see actors like Ashwini Kalsekar (who is admittedly the film's one good aspect) trying to salvage the production.

The courtroom sequences, which should have uplifted the film, are mostly used to perpetuate more dogmatism about the community, with Manzoor's lawyer Memon (Manoj Joshi) pushing irritating arguments—imagine Ashutosh Rana in Mulk, but even viler—just so that other lawyer can deliver the mildest of defences. There are times I wondered why Afriya's lawyer, played by Kalsekar, doesn't raise the obvious questions against Manzoor - like how his first wife died or why one of his daughters tried to attempt suicide. The Kerala Story Movie Review: Adah Sharma's Film is a Badly-Accented Propaganda With Very Ulterior Motives.

Or where did one of his sons conveniently disappear? Or for the matter, when Joshi's character demonises doctors, why didn't she remind him that he sent his own daughter to study medicine? Come on, these were some slam-dunk opportunities that the film ignored because it was just too blind in its hatred. And despite all the shouting and screaming, the film chooses a melodramatic ending to further victimise women.

I didn't hear any further arguments from my friend. He rushed away, saying he had an event to attend. True Story.

Hamare Baarah Movie Review - Final Thoughts

Hamare Baarah is a deeply troubling film that fails to rise above its prejudices and propagandist agenda. Rather than fostering understanding or sparking meaningful debate on family planning and pro-abortion choices, Hamare Baarah perpetuates harmful stereotypes and divisive rhetoric as it deliberately intends. The film's lack of nuance, coupled with its outdated execution and over-the-top performances, only serves to underscore its biased messaging.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 21, 2024 12:45 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).