Of guns and roses

Time and again movies have turned to reallife for inspiration A case in point would be the celluloid depiction of terrorism A threat that looms large across the world Bollywood has dealt with this subject through many films in the recent past So even as Hasnain Hyderabadwalarsquos Ya Rab releases this Friday HitList takes a look at films that have similarly thrown light on this subjectKurbaan 2009Director Rensil DrsquoSilvaStoryline The handsome protagonist of this highonthrilllowoncontent crime drama wants to blow up a train but is torn between his violent ideology and his love for a former professor As the story moves forward the characters fall victim to clicheacutes In the end he pays a price for not making up his mind in timeFiza 2000Director Khalid MohamedStoryline In this film mdash his second one after the hugely successful Kaho NaaPyaar Hai mdash Hrithik Roshan played a terrorist His role is that of a Muslim youth who has strayed off course in the aftermath of the 1993 bomb blasts in Mumbai Though the film tanked at the boxoffice he along with Karisma Kapoor delivered a memorable performanceA Wednesday 2008Director Neeraj PandeyStoryline Undoubtedly one of the few most gripping terror dramas to ever come out of the Bollywood stable it shows an aam aadmi portrayed brilliantly by Naseeruddin Shah dealing with terrorism in his own way and all because he is fed up with the administrationrsquos apathy towards the recurring train blasts in MumbaiAamir 2008Director Raj Kumar GuptaStoryline One of the most impactful directorial debuts in recent memory Aamir sees an ordinary man Rajeev Khandelwal gradually getting drawn out of his mundane life as he is made to face an extraordinary situation The protagonist has nothing to do with terrorism or the impending bomb blast but hersquos forced to be the moral compass The wellstitched screenplay works wonders for this filmMission Kashmir 2000Director Vidhu Vinod ChopraStoryline Hrithik Roshan once again plays a terroristbyaccident in this beautifully shot thriller set in Kashmir Unaware of the manipulations by an Afghan terrorist Jackie Shroff Hrithik helps blow up a signal tower and commits other such highoctane crimes just to avenge the death of his family that has been murdered by his wouldbefoster father played by Sanjay DuttNew York 2009Director Kabir Khan Storyline This love triangle featured John Abraham Katrina Kaif and Neil Nitin Mukesh in lead roles and also saw Nawazuddin Siddiqui make a mark despite his relatively smaller role Centred around the mistreatment of Indian Muslims in the US post911 the film spoke about the adverse effects of the cruel lsquorendition policyrsquo adopted by the American governmentAgent Vinod 2012Director Sriram RaghavanStoryline Like DDay and Ek Tha Tiger this spy thriller also dealt with terrorism However it didnrsquot scratch beneath the surface and remained a superficial effort Instead the film ended up being a grand showcase for Saif Ali Khan and his gadgetsTere Bin Laden 2010Director Abhishek SharmaStoryline Nothing beats prejudice like humour This satire starring Ali Zafar and Pradhuman Singh sent the message across effectively The admirable part being that the movie did so without being preachy They simply dwelt on the changing dynamics of a world that has misunderstood a religionMy Name is Khan 2010Director Karan JoharStoryline This blockbuster had its share of controversies back home as the film threw light on rampant Islamophobia in the West The film had Shah Rukh Khan play a guy who is mistaken for a terrorist because of his faithFanaa 2006Director Kunal KohliStoryline Aamir Khan effortlessly essays an imposter in this love story between a terrorist and a blind girl played by Kajol Set against the backdrop of Kashmir the film may not necessarily evoke sympathy for the protagonist but his beliefs are explained in detailVishwaroop 2013Director Kamal HaasanStoryline Originally made in Tamil even before this film opened in theatres it ran into trouble in South India Rahul Bose plays the bearded villain against Kamal Hassanrsquos cleanshaven hero Although handled sensitively enough the story did raise questions related to IslamophobiaQuote UnquoteFilmmaker Mahesh Bhatt known for his outspoken stance on sensitive issues including Islamophobia and terrorism has come out strongly in support of films like Ya RabMahesh BhattldquoYa Rab has been approved by the Tribunal of India but it is sad that as filmmakers we have to run from pillar to post even after following the due process of law to release a film like this as there are too many preconceived notionsrdquo says Bhatt who is also representing the filmPakistani actor Manzar Sehbai of Bol and Zinda Bhaag fame and Ajaz Khan star in Ya Rab