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has added a new journalThe record breaking Pakistani film Khuda Ke Liye has become my favorite film overnight- Hollywood inclusive . Or more accurately I should say, that there hasn't been a film in the past that has moved and affected me in this way. Given the standing ovation the film is getting in theatres all over Pakistan from rich and poor alike, one can safely say that I am not the only one. For one thing it is a uniquely Pakistani story, which could have only come out of Pakistan. To sum it up, it is about us - the people of Pakistan warts and all- take it or leave it.
The genius of Shoaib Mansoor was never in doubt for those who have seen his videos or for that matter the famous Alpha Bravo Charlie- the TV Drama on Pakistan Army. What I was unprepared for was the depth in his thought and the way he has managed to capture the Pakistani dilemma on screen. When one compares KKL to say the Indian movie "Rang de Basanti" which supposedly seeks to address the problems of the modern Indian youth, one finds the latter lacking in substance. Perhaps the modern Indian youth has no problems (or maybe serious problems that Pakistani youth have to contend with) or perhaps a smokescreen has been created by a materialistic elite there- whatever the case, Pakistan and Pakistanis certainly cannot afford similar sweeping-under-rug to make feel good movies; ours is a complex and rich predicament which needs to be captured in all its nuances and appreciated in all its paradoxical colors. KKL did just that.
I went to the theatre expecting to see the same old liberal v. fundo arguments. There were those, but unlike how these arguments play out in "The Friday Times" and the "Nawai Waqt", this remarkable film is fully conscious of its Pakistani identity and the strong Islamic component that forms part thereof. At the risk of spoiling it for those who haven't seen it, this is the story of two brothers, Mansoor (played by Shaan) and Sarmad (played by theatre actor/musician Fawad of EP fame) both musicians, brought in a well to do Pakistani family. Mansoor and Sarmad are torn apart by the latter's increased involvement with a certain Maulana Taheri (based most probably on Maulana Sami ul Haq of JUI-S component of the MMA), who turns the soft spoken Sarmad into full fledge Jehadi. Things are complicated when the brothers' cousin Mary arrives from London to spend a few days with them, only to discover that she has been tricked by her father into coming to Pakistan to avoid her marrying her Non-Muslim boyfriend Dave. Meanwhile Mansoor leaves for Chicago to enrol at the "School of Music" there. In an epic that switches from London to Lahore to Waziristan to Nangahar Afghanistan to Chicago, these ordinary Pakistanis are increasingly faced with both internal and external conflict. And then there is September 11.
Shoaib Mansoor does not miss a beat, he does not leave any stones unturned. While all characters have more or less the same significance in this plot, it is Mansoor who is at the centre of it: Mansoor who is a proud Pakistani and secure in his Muslim identity, Mansoor who warns Sarmad against extremism, Mansoor who puts the best Muslim and Pakistani foot forward, Mansoor who is abducted by FBI in the middle of the night and beaten and tortured to a pulp, humiliated and abused for being a Pakistani and a Muslim. He is the contrast to Sher Shah and Maulana Taheri. But there are contrasts on the other side as well... Jenny who loves Mansoor for being Mansoor, his classmates who spontaneously join in when Mansoor performs his "music from Pakistan", his African American professor... all stand in contrast to the American torturers of Mansoor.
The dialogue reaches a fever pitch in a court room in Lahore, where Mary is engaged in a prolonged legal battle. Enter the Bollywood star Naseeruddin Shah. He plays the character of a long bearded progressive Islamic scholar (probably based on Maulana Ahmed Javed and Allama Javed Ahmed Ghamidi of Lahore). In what would be the localised version of "Inherit the wind" Courtroom drama, he engages Maulana Taheri and his coterie in an argument on Islamic law and Islamic dress code. "There is beard in religion, but no religion in beard," declares Shah, adding that "two men who did the greatest service to Islam in Pakistan, Mahomed Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal, did so without a beard and out of the so called Islamic dresscode, in western dress." It was on this line that the entire hall filled with applause. Islam - the universal faith- has no uniform. This lays the stage for the final scene- the most poignant scene of the movie, filmed in Lahore's beautiful Wazir Khan Mosque- the scene which once again made a Muslim out of me. I'll let you watch it yourself to understand what I am talking about.
As for the film itself, there seem to be a few techical glitches earlier on but they are easily forgotten. Iman Ali's performance as Mary or Maryam in the beginning is annoying and one finds her concocted British accent a little annoying at first. However it grows on you and one discovers the fullness of her effort- which is by far the best I have come across by a Pakistani actress. As for the music, those of you who have only heard "Bandaya", you are in for a surprise. The film is as a whole an incredible musical experience. What is more is that you discover how aptly Shoaib Mansoor has placed his music in the various scenes. Indeed, driving back from Lahore on the motorway, I could recount/recollect every scene just by listening to the soundtrack.
This is a movie no Pakistani can afford to miss.
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has added a new journalWE NEED UMMAH PEACE KEEPING FORCES IN OIL RICH COUNTRIES X2WEEKS TIME
By: DilSe
WE NEED UMMAH PEACE KEEPING FORCES IN OIL RICH COUNTRIES X2WEEKS TIME
URGENT ! URGENT! URGENT ! URGENT! URGENT ! URGENT! URGENT ! URGENT!
WE NEED UMMAH PEACE CORPS TO PROTECT THE UMMAH FROM GENOCIDE ON THE BASIS OF PRE-ASSUMPTIVE MEASURE _NAIL IT BEFORE THE KILLING BEGINS DO IT OR WITNESS ANOTHER MUSLIM GENOCIDE .... THERE IS TOO MUCH MASSECER OF INNOCENT MUSLIM LIVES BY OIL REFINERY SEEKING CAPATILIST.
NOT SO FAR FROM NOW WE WILL SEE A HUGE MASSECRE OF MUSLIMS IN PRE RUSSIA REGION ALL OIL RICH MUSLIM COUNTRIES WILL BE TRAGET AGAIN FOR OLD REASONS LIKE
1) DEMOCRACY X10 YRS
2) MUSLIM-MILITANT
3) NUCLEAR RICH MATERIAL /RELATED FAKE ISSUES
WARNING TO THOSE WHO DO MAKE A DIFFERNCE IN CIVILIZED WAY i.e BY MAKING OUR OWN PEACE KEEPING FORCE IN OIL RICH SENSITIVE COUNTRIES ONLY TO PREVENT LARGE SCALE MUSLIM GENOCIDES /MASSECRES
MAKE A MOVE TODAY _ IF YOU DONT THEY ARE ALREADY MOVING WHEELS IN THE SENATE ..........
"" LETS MAKE UMMAH'S OWN PEACE KEEPING FORCE IN OIL RICH SENSITIVE COUNTRIES IN NEXT 2 WEEKS "
LETS GET STARTED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SAVE UMMAH FROM NEXT GENOCIDE RAPE ,SODONOMY ! .......FORM OIL STEALERS
Greatest Oil Reserves by Country, 2006
Rank Country Proved reserves
(billion barrels)
1. Saudi Arabia 264.3
2. Canada 178.8
3. Iran 132.5
4. Iraq 115.0
5. Kuwait 101.5
6. United Arab Emirates 97.8
7. Venezuela 79.7
8. Russia 60.0
9. Libya 39.1
10. Nigeria 35.9
11. United States 21.4
12. China 18.3
13. Qatar 15.2
14. Mexico 12.9
15. Algeria 11.4
16. Brazil 11.2
17. Kazakhstan 9.0
18. Norway 7.7
19. Azerbaijan 7.0
20. India 5.8
Top 20 countries 90.2
Rest of world 68.1
World total 1,292.5
ALSO SEE ........
Oil reserves, production and consumption in 2001
Back to politics | Back to history | More statistics
Reserves
(millions of barrels as of January 1, 2002):
-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
Saudi Arabia: 261,750
Canada: 180,000 (2003 data)
Iraq: 112,500
United Arab Emirates: 97,800
Kuwait: 96,500
Iran: 89,700
Venezuela: 77,685
Russia: 48,573
Libya: 29,500
Mexico: 26,941
Nigeria: 24,000
China: 24,000
United States: 22,045
Qatar: 15,207
Norway: 9,947
Algeria: 9,200
Brazil: 8,465
Oman: 5,506
Kazakhstan: 5,417
Angola: 5,412
Indonesia: 5,000
-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
World: 1,032,132
(Note: discoveries of 2003 and 2004 have vastly increased the oil reserves of both Canada and Australia. They both seem to harbor more oil than Iraq and both may be able to compete with Saudi Arabia)
Production
(millions of barrels per day):
-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
Saudi Arabia: 8.528
United States: 8.091
Russia: 7.014
Iran: 3.775
Mexico: 3.560
Norway: 3.408
China: 3.297
Venezuela: 3.137
Canada: 2.749
United Arab Emirates: 2.550
United Kingdom: 2.540
Iraq: 2.377
Nigeria: 2.223
Kuwait: 1.838
Brazil: 1.589
Algeria: 1.486
Libya: 1.427
Indonesia: 1.384
Oman: .964
Argentina: 825
-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
World: 75.226
World Annual: 28,180 Consumption
(Millions of barrels per day):
-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
United States: 19.993
Japan: 5.423
China: 4.854
Germany: 2.814
Russia: 2.531
South Korea: 2.126
Brazil: 2.123
Canada: 2.048
France: 2.040
India: 2.011
Mexico: 1.932
Italy: 1.881
United Kingdom: 1.699
Spain: 1.465
SaudiArabia: 1.415
Iran: 1.109
Indonesia: 1.063
Netherlands: .881
Australia: .879
Taiwan: .846
-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
World: 75.988
World Annual: 28,460
POST IF YOU KNOW BETTER THANKS
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has added a new journalWe need an Anti-Racism Unit on Naseeb. I feel victimized :)
rozaiba
please describe the function and job description of this unit. i am thinking it should possess the power and agility of the Navy Seals who clandestinely take out the perpetrators. the criminals won't know what hit them.i would furthermore request that muslims who want to implement the shariah law also be included in the list of racist bigots. however, this may jeopardize the anti-racism unit - but i wanted to throw that idea out there.
long live Lovers of Modernity Party (LMP)!
QalandarLal
peacecare to share ... how can we help....
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has added a new journal"It is our impression that aside from seeking to return the abducted soldiers, Israel is pursuing wider goals," (July 16, 2006)
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has added a new journalIn response to Naseeb Vibes article Iran you are next!
Link= www5.naseeb.com pg=1
I was thinking Erraan could be saved in 7days!
===============================
How..................................This is my momentary thinking,
#1- Erraaan should go forward and announce that it plans to discontinue its -- Noucler plan until ChachaGWB is out off ChachaSam's office then continue...Price for being a
part of non supportive Ummah & less technology wise advanced military. Erran's Nucler plan has NO capacity for any military use anyway!. This same tchnology is promised to India by USA ,for what? for regional cooperation ;)
Why kill lives then.Wait for ChachaGWBU to get out of office .
?Military action against Iran will not end our program,? Larijani said at a conference on the energy program. ?If you take harsh measures, we will hide this program. If you use the language of force, you should not expect us to act transparently.?
NBC= www.msnbc.msn.com
#2- If this is unacceptable.
(a)Then It should have courage of a Lion to make Regional Economical Alliance with China And Saudi Arabia.
(b)Erran & Saudi Arabia should MAKE ECCNOMICAL DEVELOPMENT help from China exchanging #1 cheaper oil as well as#2 non miltary nuucleear energy resources.Trio!
(c)Erran in return give Cheen & Saudi Arabia ,Nuclear Non military/Eccnomic development use.
#3-People In Ummah boycott paying taxes & buying goods made in USA.
#4 Force Saudi Arabia to cut Oil supply to 1/2 or less 0% than originally supplied.
Saudi Diplomat was on TV saying they will increase iol supply by x2ice before ?? WHY?? Because Erran said it will Increase its cost......explains it .
Also supply China cheaper oil in exchange for helping Erran.
So Why the Anti Erran tactic here Duuuh! Talk about Muslim unity Bleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! :P
Increase Oil supply increase in development of the country.
Bad economy bad finances ,less likely to attack Erran.
Less incidents like AbuGhareebCamp ........Punch line.
United we stand divided we fall.
arabicnews.com= www.arabicnews.com