By IANS
Lahore : Pakistani film "Khuda Kay Liye", starring Indian thespian Naseeruddin Shah and US actors, has drawn huge crowds and won popular acclaim for displaying "a soft, lenient image" of Islam that could fight Western notions that have influenced the treatment of Muslims in the post 9/11 era.
Saad Cheema, a Pakistani cine fan on a visit from the US, said the Americans had "a very rigid view of Islam" and were apprehensive of Muslims, and therefore, discriminated against them.
The mullahs portrayed the rigid image of Islam, Cheema said, adding that the film, which released in Pakistan Friday, had altered this image. He said if "Khuda Ke Liye" was played in the US, "it could make a world of a difference to the way people perceived Islam and Muslims", Daily Times quoted him as saying.
Running at the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), which was recently converted into a cinema hall, the film is competing for popular acclaim with Hollywood blockbuster "Die hard 4". Both films are sold out, but it is "Khuda Kay Liye" that is earning acclaim.
Written and directed by Pakistani filmmaker Shoaib Mansoor, the movie is about two brothers who are pop musicians in Lahore, one of whom gets radicalised under the influence of extremists, while the other goes to the US and gets unlawfully detained after 9/11.
Maryam, another viewer, said she had watched a really creative and interesting Pakistani movie after a long time. She said the movie's release could not have been timed better as society was in much need of moderate religious ideas.
Maryam said extremism in religion was causing all the mayhem witnessed in Pakistan and across the world in the recent past. She hoped that viewers of the movie would gain something positive out of it and not try to spark yet another conflict just because it preached moderation over extremism.
Zainab, also visiting from the US, said "Khuda Ke Liye" not only highlighted issues raised by religious conflicts, but also showed how these conflicts could be resolved.
Nadeem, who works in the cinema hall, said the crowds that turned up to watch the movie clearly indicated that people wanted liberation from conservatism and religious extremism.
Viewers have applauded its moving away from the formula-ridden cinema generally dished out by "Lollywood", a pejorative to rhyme with Hollywood for films made in the city studios. They said "Khuda Kay Liye" could relate to contemporary times.
Omar, another cine-goer, said the film had a brilliant script, unlike the usual dramatised dialogues in Pakistani films. He specially liked the build up to the climax that was perfectly timed.