What happens when an average Indian WhatsApp uncle’s endless diatribe against Muslims, colossal disdain for “leftist” scholars, obsessive hate towards the Mughals, mixed with conspiracy theories masquerading as “history”, airs on the big screen?
You get yourself 165 minutes of an infuriatingly boring watch, titled The Taj Story.
The protagonist, Vishnu Das (Paresh Rawal), is a guide working at the Taj Mahal who is fighting for guide association election. His adversary in this election is, of course, a heavily bearded, kohl-eyed, salwar-kurta-clad Muslim, who threatens Das to back off or face dire consequences.
This caricature of the “evil” Indian Muslim follows us throughout the movie.
The Muslim adversary then circulates a video featuring Das’ drunken rant against the Taj Mahal not being patronised by Shah Jahan, and how he needs to find the “truth” of it being a Hindu monument. Das’ quest for Taj Mahal’s “truth” brings him to the court, where also his opponent is a Muslim, Anwar Rashid (Zakir Hussain), representing the State.
Rashid is portrayed as a corrupt lawyer in cahoots with the guide association’s Muslim candidate and they both hatch cunning plans while frying some kebabs. If you think the movie has ticked all the communal stereotypes used in Bollywood to represent Indian Muslims, there is more. Skull cap-toting Muslims threaten Das’ daughter and daughter-in-law multiple times, and then beat his son. They also emphatically proclaim that “Taj pe humari jamaat ka haqq hai, kafiron ka nahin” (The Taj Mahal belongs to our (Muslim) community and not to the infidels).
This story was originally published in thequint.com. Read the full story here.
