Harish Bhimani, the man known for his iconic line, Main samay hoon…, talks of starring in a film on the IS and playing a maulvi
Harish Bhimani in ISIS: Enemies of Humanity
For most of us who grew up in the '90s, hearing Harish Bhimani's deep, sonorous voice is like going back to childhood. However, the man best known for his iconic line, Main samay hoon… in BR Chopra's Mahabharata, is set to give the mic a break and venture into acting after a long hiatus. "Although I've done cameos in serials about 20 years ago, this is my first attempt at a full-fledged feature film," he says. Bhimani will be seen playing a maulvi in director Yuvraj Kumar's ISIS: Enemies of Humanity, a film that explores the working of jihadist group, Islamic State (IS), that burst on the international scene in 2014 with the objective of establishing the Caliphate, state governed in accordance to the Islamic law.
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Interestingly, a year-and-a half ago, when Bhimani was approached by director Kumar, it was to only script the dialogues. "They wanted somebody who is fluent in Urdu. Moreover, having worked for an Islamic news channels several moons ago, I had a fair idea about the religion as well," he says. Although he has been offered acting roles in the past, his success with voice-overs and anchoring made him give the former a pass. "The offer to act came as a surprise to me. Turns out, Yuvraj had watched a few of my interviews on Rajya Sabha channel, which was more of a casual, fun chat and less of an interview. When he realised I could be easy going in front of the camera, he decided to rope me in," he says.
Harish Bhimani
In the film, Bhimani plays the role of Maulvi Maruf in the film, a benign Sufi cleric. Pitted against him in a negative role is Pakistani actor Rashid Naz - of Khuda Ke Liye fame - who was also last seen in Akshay-Kumar thriller Baby. Naz's character has been modelled on the lines of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, co-founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba.
He admits he had to be cautious while scripting the dialogues so as to not hurt sentiments. "It's a completely non-religious stance on the IS. We have not used the word 'Allah' or even 'namaz' because we don't want people to quote us out of context. These days, with technology, it has become easy to snip a part of the video, circulate it in isolation and create unrest," he says. Far from his onscreen persona, Bhimani happens to be an agnostic in personal life. "I've always been a staunch agnostic, but when I was offered the film, I felt I could connect with the character because he believes in love and peace, and harmony with all creations (mankind, animals, and nature)," he says. The film follows a group of jihadists who are forced to take shelter in a cave that is occupied by Maulvi Maruf, his character. The exchange between the two forms the crux of the film. "It's a simple, straightforward message for the youth -look before you leap."
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