From secular to communal in under 3 minutes

NEW DELHI: At a time when India is discussing communal politics and its probable impact, a short film on the same subject has gone viral on social media. The three-minute movie shows how humankind can go from being secular to communal in moments.

As per a report on Times of India, the video that has got over 1.7 lakh views in less than two weeks, portrays the gullibility of the human mind and how our faiths hang by a thread. Titled ‘Bombay Mirror’, the film directed by Shlok Sharma, is a satire on the unpredictability of human nature.

The film is about a Hindu barber and a Muslim man, who has come to his salon for a quick shave before an important job interview. As the barber readies his blade, they witness a young man being brutally beaten by a mob wearing skull caps. The two men, who were earlier indulging in a friendly banter, can now be seen staring at each other with hatred and fear.

Sharma, who loves studying human behaviour, says, “It is actually a dig on fanaticism. Sometimes the way we behave under a particular circumstance, catches even us by surprise. And these behavioural patterns exist without any bars of social pressures, upbringing, economic status, educational backgrounds, genders – they exist because we exist.”

The film, shot in 2010, was never officially released. “I honestly have no idea why it never got released. There were five of us who had made films on various subjects, as part of one single campaign by UTV and Aircel,” says Shlok, who is humbled by the response the film has received.

“The others went ahead and uploaded theirs a while back. I am actually the last one to do so. Films are made for an audience,” he adds.

Shlok Sharma is currently working on his first feature film, Haraamkhor, starring Nawazzuddin Siddiqui. He has earlier been associated with films like Gangs of Wasseypur, Omkara, Dev D to name a few.