Kerala   

When symbols kill

‘Landya,’ a short-film directed by Harshad, raises a serious question about the implications of sporting symbols that can be misunderstood as an indication of religious identity.

Landya is a Marathi word used derogatorily for a circumcised individual. The 14-minute film is the tragic story of a young man, Vishal, who undergoes circumcision for medical reasons. He was never seriously bothered about the religious implications of being circumcised till he bumps into a conversation at a local teashop.

There he comes to learn that many people were killed during the Mumbai riots in 1993 after they were identified as Muslims by their being circumcised. That information begins to haunt him and changes his life completely.

The director shows how a symbol communicates in different ways; how it tells the world about the inclinations of an individual and reveals how a person is different from others.

Is the director suggesting that one should not sport any religious identities on his body? “No, on the contrary one should be able to wear it naturally and be able to live without any fear or threat to his life,” says Harshad, the graphic designer-turned-filmmaker who hails from Kozhikode.

But the hero of the movie behaves more like a coward? “There lies the crux of my film. It hints at the importance of being politically conscious of one’s identity,” says Harshad.

‘Landya’ was screened at Calicut Press Club hall on 16 the April.

This is Harshad’s second short film. His first one titled ‘Peace Process’ being an allegoric take on the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which won him the Swaralaya Award 2007, Vibgyor Film Festival Special Jury Award and the official selection to the International Video Film Festival at Thiruvananthapuram.

Jabir Mushthari

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