Movie on education and respect for other’s beliefs

Bhopal: He toured war-torn Iraq at the peak of sectarian conflict and when large swathes of the country were taken over by ISIS. He has witnessed lives of people going for a toss and the wave of intolerance. Moved by the experience, writer and director Zaigham Imam’s latest film ‘Alif’ puts forth a message — ‘Ladna nahi, padhna zaroori hai’.

“In the war-torn zone, people were not willing to identify each other, if they did not belong to a particular religion or creed. There was no tolerance or respect for another person’s belief,” he said.

He first visited Iraq in September 2014, nearly coinciding with the rise of Islamic State in the region. He was on pilgrimage to visit the holy shrines of Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Imam Hussain. He travelled to Karbala, Najaf, Baghdad and Samarra — all in Iraq. He has since visited that country thrice.

Imam’s new film is about a Muslim father who wants his son to be a doctor. For this, his son who is studying in an orthodox seminary education is admitted to a regular school.

“My film is not about education alone. It is about integration of our children into society and they developing respect for each other’s beliefs,” said Imam, speaking on the sidelines of his interaction with students of Makanlal Chaturvedi University, on Monday.

He promotes his movie as an unbelievable true story of a Muslim boy. “It narrates the conflicts of being a Muslim. I aspire for a secular education for all,” he said. The film had a world premiere at Indian International Film Festival of Queensland, Australia last November.

It also includes IPS officer Simala Prasad in a key role. The officer from the 2011 batch and who belongs to the Madhya Pradesh cadre is at present serving as SP in Dindori district.