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Leila (new Netflix show)


Gollum

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Based on book by MJ Akbar's son.

 

One of the goodreads review which covers the plot:

 

Quote

Leila is set in the near-future in a huge cosmopolitan Indian city. A Hindutva neoliberal dystopia. The city is broken up into sectors where various upper castes from all religions live in isolation, cut off from those too poor/ disenfranchised to construct walls themselves. There they live in complete apathy and comfort, blissfully unbothered about what they are doing to The Outside. Striving for more and more "purity". (view spoiler)


If this doesn't sound all that outlandish or unfamiliar, that's because it is more or less what has India been since quite a long while ago. The walls are just not as literal in real life. ('As' being the operative word here.) Though that's rapidly changing right now. It's impressive when speculative fiction takes the absurdities of real life to their logical extreme, but not if the real life is already too absurd to cause the fiction seem not so extreme. 'Leila' feels a bit unimaginative. Most of the events encountered in the plot, while well-crafted, have happened or came close to have happened in Hindu India.


'Leila' is the story of Shalini, an upper caste woman who is banished to the Outside for having lost her way by marrying outside her caste- a Muslim, and living "secularly". Her husband is murdered and her daughter Leila is taken away from her. 'Leila' follows her resolute search for her daughter. 


The author does a great job of writing a female character in first person (as much as I am to be relied in making that judgement.) The plot is devoid of any distractions; flows smoothly. But, the prose felt turgid in places. Word choices felt unjustified. 
Other than that though: solid book. Very few speculative fiction books set in India- that's what made me read this book in the first place.

Cast: Huma Qureshi (JNU tukde tukde gang sympathizer, Asifa/Kathua etc), actor cum activist Siddharth (loony left, Lemurian), Seema Biswas (ex-commie, still left)

Director: Deepa Mehta of Fire/Earth/Water fame...wants to reform Hindus, a couple of Kashmiri peacefuls as producers

 

While there is a possibility of me looking too much into it, certainly gives some odd vibes. Netflix is giving platform to quite a few shows with a certain agenda. 

Edited by Gollum
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26 minutes ago, Yoda-esque said:

Huma Butcher Querishi ..'nuff said

Peaceful doing peaceful things. In logon ko kafiron se sakht nafrat hai, lekin kafiron ka :money:chahiye. Aur toh aur when the urban Naxals were being arrested in Maharashtra she did her rona dhona....

IMG-20180413-WA0003.jpgTh

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52 minutes ago, coffee_rules said:

To seculars like @sandeep , exactly how we feel..

"secular"?  Did you mean to type "not a muslim hater"?  Or are those 2 defined as the same in this particular cult?  

 

Edit: Just to add, I'm secure enough with my faith, and its innate strength, not to be overly worked up over a work of dystopian fiction.  

 

Not everybody who doesn't automatically agree with your opinion on something, is a "commie" or a "leftist".  But having such automatic bucketing and filtering does tend to make people narrow-minded.  

Edited by sandeep
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2 hours ago, sandeep said:

"secular"?  Did you mean to type "not a muslim hater"?  Or are those 2 defined as the same in this particular cult?  

 

Edit: Just to add, I'm secure enough with my faith, and its innate strength, not to be overly worked up over a work of dystopian fiction.  

 

Not everybody who doesn't automatically agree with your opinion on something, is a "commie" or a "leftist".  But having such automatic bucketing and filtering does tend to make people narrow-minded.  

 

Did I call you commie or leftist? I said "secular" which has become a cuss word now. You posted a meme showing the 3 monkeys, I don't know in what context , but I assumed you were commenting on how we are being narrow-minded by bura mat kaho/suno/dekho and closing down our minds. 

 

Don't you see the hypocrisy of the so-called liberal junta here? If it a movie about ISIS mindset or even againnst Hijab/Burqa or about a holocaust denial, they are given terms like Islamophobia or Anti-semitism. Such expression is even outside of FoE and the warrlors of FoE are silent on such issues. But Hinduphobic movies like these are hailed as great expressions about popular religion and artistic excellence under FoE pretext. Agreed it will not hurt our religion, but with out an outrage, it will encourage them to go further the next time.

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5 minutes ago, coffee_rules said:

Don't you see the hypocrisy of the so-called liberal junta here? If it a movie about ISIS mindset or even againnst Hijab/Burqa or about a holocaust denial, they are given terms like Islamophobia or Anti-semitism. Such expression is even outside of FoE and the warrlors of FoE are silent on such issues. But Hinduphobic movies like these are hailed as great expressions about popular religion and artistic excellence under FoE pretext. Agreed it will not hurt our religion, but with out an outrage, it will encourage them to go further the next time

Looking at issues through an "us vs them" filter - is the textbook definition of being narrow-minded.  

 

Dystopian hypothetical fiction is usually around a scenario about mainstream culture.  To be honest, a show about ISIS style oppressive culture would be boring, because the whole damn world knows it already.  It wouldn't be "fresh".  Entertainment requires that 'newness', and a bit of shock value.  That's what sells.  Captures the audience.  Its fiction.  This type of alterate history is supposed to be subversive.  Compare it to books or tv series about a world where Nazis won WW2, or the American civil war had a different outcome etc.  

 

Now if somebody turned around and said that this is what Hinduism is, or what India "is", then it would be fair to criticize them as biased, having agendas etc.  

 

Frankly speaking I really find the whole chowkidar-based internet bullying tactics used by the vociferous "defenders of the faith" online to be highly distasteful.  And actually counter-productive, really hurtful to our society and faith.  Just like I am disgusted by Trump and his self-serving pandering to bigotry in the US.   When the national conversation "normalizes" soft bigotry, and hateful behavior and speech in the name of being "nationalist", its a slippery slope that can lead to terrible outcomes a few years down the line, if left unchecked.  

 

Let's not succumb to the tribal reflexive mindset of perceiving everything even mildly critical or offensive as agenda driven.  Let's be bit more objective and smarter than that. 

 

 

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12 minutes ago, coffee_rules said:

Agreed it will not hurt our religion, but with out an outrage, it will encourage them to go further the next time.

Have you considered the possiblity that an "outrage" will provide them with publicity - and it is said, there's no such thing as bad publicity?  

 

Its possible that the show simply isn't good - not all new productions can be sacred games, or TVF pitchers.   Maybe this show will be crap and die off - unless a media shitstorm of "outrage" makes more people curious about it.  

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Imagine a scenario if a film-maker tries to make a show set in a "dystopian" future where the peaceful minority is making life hell for the majority thanks to demographic changes. The maker would not only be accused of hate-mongering and what not by all and sundry but the show itself would probably not be allowed to be made. But the likes of Ghoul and Leila are fair game because shhh desh mein secularism hai :fear1:.

Edited by Jimmy Cliff
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49 minutes ago, sandeep said:

Looking at issues through an "us vs them" filter - is the textbook definition of being narrow-minded.  

 

Dystopian hypothetical fiction is usually around a scenario about mainstream culture.  To be honest, a show about ISIS style oppressive culture would be boring, because the whole damn world knows it already.  It wouldn't be "fresh".  Entertainment requires that 'newness', and a bit of shock value.  That's what sells.  Captures the audience.  Its fiction.  This type of alterate history is supposed to be subversive.  Compare it to books or tv series about a world where Nazis won WW2, or the American civil war had a different outcome etc.  

 

Now if somebody turned around and said that this is what Hinduism is, or what India "is", then it would be fair to criticize them as biased, having agendas etc.  

 

Frankly speaking I really find the whole chowkidar-based internet bullying tactics used by the vociferous "defenders of the faith" online to be highly distasteful.  And actually counter-productive, really hurtful to our society and faith.  Just like I am disgusted by Trump and his self-serving pandering to bigotry in the US.   When the national conversation "normalizes" soft bigotry, and hateful behavior and speech in the name of being "nationalist", its a slippery slope that can lead to terrible outcomes a few years down the line, if left unchecked.  

 

Let's not succumb to the tribal reflexive mindset of perceiving everything even mildly critical or offensive as agenda driven.  Let's be bit more objective and smarter than that. 

 

 

All we did was to show a mirror to such content and decided to give it a pass. I don't think movies like Ghoul/Leile will cause major outrage, but liberal audience will wah-wah such art like how they did for Sexy Durga, and proclaim that such fiction will become reality if fascists like Modi are in power. Sacred Games celebrating "Hindu Terror"  is one such outrageous movie hailed by viewers as a masterpiece. But a Lajja/Satanic verses will be an example of Islamophobia. 

 

Without an outrage, Amazon will be insensitive to sell such bath rugs and toilet covers, We can't turn a blind eye and say, so what it doesn't affect my religion. We need chowkidaari in a world where soft-targets are easily targetted.

 

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18 hours ago, Jimmy Cliff said:

Imagine a scenario if a film-maker tries to make a show set in a "dystopian" future where the peaceful minority is making life hell for the majority thanks to demographic changes. The maker would not only be accused of hate-mongering and what not by all and sundry but the show itself would probably not be allowed to be made. But the likes of Ghoul and Leila are fair game because shhh desh mein secularism hai :fear1:.

Vishwaroopam was about a Muslim RAW officer taking on AQ jihadis. Result:Muslim mass protests and public property destroyed. 

 

Zulfiqar a Bengali film about crime in Kolkata, many Muslim criminals (accurate if you ask Kolkattans) but also some good guys from that community. Result: mass protests, theatres burnt down, Didi first banned the movie and later herself ordered cuts to preserve secularism. 

 

But they can do anything and everything to malign Hindus, be it PK or Netflix shows. If we raise this issue (no violence, no threats, nothing) dhimmis lose their mind. Notice how rattled they are over this thread, anything that exposes the hypocrisy of LeLi/Muslims and they want us to move on. 

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