Par issue kya hai? : Bollywood News

Terrorism? A strict no-no

No wonder, even Karan Johar would agree that terming Kurbaan as a film that picked the issue of terrorism wasnt the best thing to do from the very day that it came into inception. In fact the damage was done to a large extent when the film was first rumoured to be titled Jihaad. With a country that was still afresh with memories of 26/11, a film titled Jihaad would have been the last in the wish list and no wonder, the makers stopped calling Kurbaan by that name after a while. Quick fix action was taken by now and the film was being proclaimed as a love story with a background of terrorism but that didnt help much. Neither did the bare back of Kareena nor her passionate moments of love making with Saif Ali Khan enticed audience enough to check out Kurbaan which couldnt even fetch a good opening.

In this aspect the makers of New York played a smart game because despite its theme being centred on the (known) issue of prisoners being lodged in US jails just on the basis of suspicion, they played it like a film that had friendship as a key element. The promos were very balanced as they projected both side of affairs - friendship and imprisonment - but there was no our film is issue based hammering done.

While these are the biggies where stakes are obviously higher, even smaller films have had their share of confusions and complexities when at the heart of it all, there is an issue to be explored. A lesser known film called Sikandar was about how teenagers get brain washed into picking up acts of militancy. However, what resulted at the box office was a total no-show. Same was the case with Lahore which spoke about improved ties between Indo-Pakistan by means of sports. A noble thought but a sad performance at the box office which could have been so much better had the film being sold as an out and out action entertainer with kick-boxing as its theme rather than Indo-Pak issue.

Par 'issue' kya hai?