{"id":3099,"date":"2016-06-20T12:30:52","date_gmt":"2016-06-20T07:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099"},"modified":"2016-06-20T12:30:52","modified_gmt":"2016-06-20T07:00:52","slug":"mulk-patriotism-muslim-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=3099","title":{"rendered":"How Do Muslims Prove Their Patriotism? Mulk Asks the Right Question"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I<\/span><\/p><\/div>

n Anubhav Sinha\u2019s pleasantly hard-hitting <\/span>Mulk<\/span><\/i>, Tapsee Pannu stands on the other side of the witness stand she was in <\/span>PINK<\/span><\/i><\/a>. In this courtroom drama, she\u2019s the diffident yet feisty Aarti Mohammed, the lawyer defending the honour of her family, put on trial because of their <\/span>religion<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>\n\nSet in Varanasi, the film\u2019s first hour revolves around a progressive and cosmopolitan neighbourhood where families of different religions cohabit peacefully \u2014 the kind of locality where you spot a mosque and a wall painted with a picture of Lord Shiva. <\/span>Inter-faith marriages<\/span><\/a> aren\u2019t frowned upon and Murad Ali Mohammed\u2019s (Rishi Kapoor), own daughter-in-law, Aarti, is Hindu. <\/span>\n\nEarly on in the film, the superannuated lawyer celebrates his 65th birthday and invites the whole neighbourhood. It\u2019s a celebration where, on one hand, <\/span>staunch vegetarians<\/span><\/a> slyly sample the Mutton Korma on offer and on the other, a woman refuses to eat food at the home of the Muslim family. Quite like our secular country, faultlines in this neighbourhood soon become pronounced, proving that harmony was always a temporary facade.<\/span>\n\nThe othering of this Muslim family begins when Murad\u2019s nephew, Shahid (Prateik Babbar) is identified as one of the terrorists behind a bomb blast and gets killed in a police encounter. The family, unaware of his sudden turn as a jihadist conspirator, refuses to claim his body. But it\u2019s this tragedy that births their seemingly never-ending nightmare. Shahid\u2019s father, Bilal (an excellent Manoj Pahwa) is accused of abetting his son and promptly jailed. <\/span>\n\n

It\u2019s a quietly powerful stand for the film to take, for it doesn\u2019t stray far from what is unfolding in the country at the moment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nHis brother, Murad, comes out of retirement to defend him. But, even he doesn\u2019t escape the wrath of the public prosecutor Santos Anand (Ashutosh Rana) who\u2019s convinced that the entire family should be convicted, and is soon accused of the crime. Murad is also asked \u2014 in no uncertain terms \u2014 to prove his <\/span>patriotism<\/span><\/a>, and by extension, his citizenship to India, the country they\u2019ve been living in since 1927. In steps the good daughter-in-law.<\/span>\n\nThe second hour of the film dives deep into the theatrics of a courtroom drama. The very neighbours who\u2019ve lived next to Murad his whole life stand divided and his ancestral house is subjected to the misplaced anger of a stone-throwing mob, who also scribble the words \u201cPakistani\u201d and \u201cTerrorists\u201d on their walls. The courtroom echoes this discord: Anand displays his <\/span>bigotry<\/span><\/a> openly in his arguments, making the worst assumptions about <\/span>Muslims<\/span><\/a> as he goes along. He routinely reminds the judge that the bomb blasts killed several \u201cHindu\u201dstanis and indulges in abject hate-mongering. Not unlike some of our leaders today. He keeps reiterating that Muslims are illiterate, have large families, and end up as extremists. The underlying sentiment to all his accusations is the same: Muslims can\u2019t ever be loyal to India. Even when Aarti objects to his prejudiced stand about Muslims, citing it as irrelevant, he is quick to remind her that it is the only relevant thing in the case. <\/span>\n\nIt\u2019s a quietly powerful stand for the film to take, for it doesn\u2019t stray far from what is unfolding in the country at the moment. Just like in the film, an <\/span>entire community<\/span><\/a> has been othered and demonised. They\u2019re repeatedly asked to prove their loyalty to the country \u2014 a test that is automatically beyond their reach in a country that\u2019s already decided that their religion excludes patriotism. At one point in the film, Murad even goes as far as asking Aarti, \u201cPyaar saabit kaise kiya jaata hai?\u201d (How do I prove my love for India?). It feels less like a question and more like the collective voice of a community about to resign to their fate: of being <\/span>lynched<\/span><\/a> for allegedly smuggling cows. Of being potentially branded as <\/span>\u201cBangladeshis\u201d<\/span><\/a>. Of being attacked for sporting beards and being forced to shave it off. And of being <\/span>raped<\/span><\/a> and murdered, as punishment for their perceived foreignness. <\/span>\n\nFor just like Anand, even our country has come to believe that terrorism is committed by a religion and not by individuals irrespective of their faith. And as <\/span>Mulk<\/span><\/i> shows, it\u2019s not even an us vs them debate anymore: In the film, Danish Javed, an Anti-Terrorism Squad cop turns out to be equally Islamophobic.<\/span>\n\nMulk<\/span><\/i> raises pertinent, timely questions and goads us to look into the mirror and acknowledge our collective descent into everyday bigotry. <\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anubhav Sinha\u2019s pleasantly hard-hitting Mulk doesn\u2019t stray far from what is unfolding in the country at the moment. Just like in the film, an entire community has been othered and demonised. Muslims are repeatedly asked to prove their loyalty \u2014 a test that is automatically beyond their reach in a country that\u2019s already decided that their religion excludes patriotism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":3100,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3114],"tags":[141,19,536,6067,538,489],"class_list":["post-3099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bollywood","tag-bollywood","tag-india","tag-islam","tag-mulk","tag-muslims","tag-patriotism"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Do Muslims Prove Their Patriotism? Mulk Asks the Right Question<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Anubhav Sinha\u2019s pleasantly hard-hitting Mulk doesn\u2019t stray far from what is unfolding in the country at the moment. Just like in the film, an entire community has been othered and demonised. Muslims are repeatedly asked to prove their loyalty \u2014 a test that is automatically beyond their reach in a country that\u2019s already decided that their religion excludes patriotism.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Do Muslims Prove Their Patriotism? Mulk Asks the Right Question\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Anubhav Sinha\u2019s pleasantly hard-hitting Mulk doesn\u2019t stray far from what is unfolding in the country at the moment. Just like in the film, an entire community has been othered and demonised. Muslims are repeatedly asked to prove their loyalty \u2014 a test that is automatically beyond their reach in a country that\u2019s already decided that their religion excludes patriotism.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-06-20T07:00:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1533362657.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1520\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"850\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Poulomi Das\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"How Do Muslims Prove Their Patriotism? Mulk Asks the Right Question\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Anubhav Sinha\u2019s pleasantly hard-hitting Mulk doesn\u2019t stray far from what is unfolding in the country at the moment. Just like in the film, an entire community has been othered and demonised. Muslims are repeatedly asked to prove their loyalty \u2014 a test that is automatically beyond their reach in a country that\u2019s already decided that their religion excludes patriotism.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Poulomi Das\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3099#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3099\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Poulomi Das\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679\"},\"headline\":\"How Do Muslims Prove Their Patriotism? Mulk Asks the Right Question\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-20T07:00:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3099\"},\"wordCount\":768,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3099#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1533362657.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"bollywood\",\"India\",\"Islam\",\"Mulk\",\"Muslims\",\"patriotism\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Bollywood\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3099\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3099\",\"name\":\"How Do Muslims Prove Their Patriotism? Mulk Asks the Right Question\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3099#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3099#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1533362657.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-20T07:00:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679\"},\"description\":\"Anubhav Sinha\u2019s pleasantly hard-hitting Mulk doesn\u2019t stray far from what is unfolding in the country at the moment. Just like in the film, an entire community has been othered and demonised. Muslims are repeatedly asked to prove their loyalty \u2014 a test that is automatically beyond their reach in a country that\u2019s already decided that their religion excludes patriotism.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3099#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3099\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3099#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1533362657.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1533362657.jpg\",\"width\":1520,\"height\":850},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=3099#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Do Muslims Prove Their Patriotism? Mulk Asks the Right Question\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arr\u00e9\",\"description\":\"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679\",\"name\":\"Poulomi Das\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Poulomi Das\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?author=103\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Do Muslims Prove Their Patriotism? Mulk Asks the Right Question","description":"Anubhav Sinha\u2019s pleasantly hard-hitting Mulk doesn\u2019t stray far from what is unfolding in the country at the moment. Just like in the film, an entire community has been othered and demonised. Muslims are repeatedly asked to prove their loyalty \u2014 a test that is automatically beyond their reach in a country that\u2019s already decided that their religion excludes patriotism.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Do Muslims Prove Their Patriotism? Mulk Asks the Right Question","og_description":"Anubhav Sinha\u2019s pleasantly hard-hitting Mulk doesn\u2019t stray far from what is unfolding in the country at the moment. Just like in the film, an entire community has been othered and demonised. Muslims are repeatedly asked to prove their loyalty \u2014 a test that is automatically beyond their reach in a country that\u2019s already decided that their religion excludes patriotism.","og_url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099","og_site_name":"Arr\u00e9","article_published_time":"2016-06-20T07:00:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1520,"height":850,"url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1533362657.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Poulomi Das","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"How Do Muslims Prove Their Patriotism? Mulk Asks the Right Question","twitter_description":"Anubhav Sinha\u2019s pleasantly hard-hitting Mulk doesn\u2019t stray far from what is unfolding in the country at the moment. Just like in the film, an entire community has been othered and demonised. Muslims are repeatedly asked to prove their loyalty \u2014 a test that is automatically beyond their reach in a country that\u2019s already decided that their religion excludes patriotism.","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Poulomi Das","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099"},"author":{"name":"Poulomi Das","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679"},"headline":"How Do Muslims Prove Their Patriotism? Mulk Asks the Right Question","datePublished":"2016-06-20T07:00:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099"},"wordCount":768,"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1533362657.jpg","keywords":["bollywood","India","Islam","Mulk","Muslims","patriotism"],"articleSection":["Bollywood"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099","name":"How Do Muslims Prove Their Patriotism? Mulk Asks the Right Question","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1533362657.jpg","datePublished":"2016-06-20T07:00:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679"},"description":"Anubhav Sinha\u2019s pleasantly hard-hitting Mulk doesn\u2019t stray far from what is unfolding in the country at the moment. Just like in the film, an entire community has been othered and demonised. Muslims are repeatedly asked to prove their loyalty \u2014 a test that is automatically beyond their reach in a country that\u2019s already decided that their religion excludes patriotism.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1533362657.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1533362657.jpg","width":1520,"height":850},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3099#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Do Muslims Prove Their Patriotism? Mulk Asks the Right Question"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/","name":"Arr\u00e9","description":"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679","name":"Poulomi Das","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Poulomi Das"},"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?author=103"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1533362657.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}