As a person who has read The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns written by Khaled Hosseini and who has watched The Kerala Story directed by Sudipto Sen, I never thought that these two books will blend with an Indian cinema. I will tell you how and why.
I read The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns nearly a year ago which portrayed the current situation of Afghanistan. The writer wrote how Afghanistan was earlier i.e. 50 years ago and how it has turned into now. No one would believe how scenic Afghanistan was with tall forbidding mountains and dry deserts. The mountain peaks are treacherous and covered with snow most of the year. The great food culture and festivities which all the people used to celebrate together but now the tables have turned. Soon the culture-filled Afghanistan became beauty in disguise because of Taliban. Later in the book Khaled quoted Afghanistan as 'Afghanistan is like a beautiful mansion littered with garbage and someone has to take out the garbage.'
The books mainly describe how life was before the Taliban take over and after that life became a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear.
The kite runner talks about men who got boycotted from Afghanistan because of their standard and community. The struggles they went through to survive in terrific environment and how a 13-year-old boy was bullied and left to death. Whereas, A Thousand Splendid Suns has portrayed a true story of a little girl who was forced to marry a man of his father's age. Victim of a abusive husband and a failed marriage, she tries to get out of that place but god had other plans for her.
I have given you an overview of both the books, but how are they related to an Indian cinema The Kerala story?
As I was watching the movie few places were mentioned like Herat, Kolba and Jalalabad, my memory got freshen up and I started recalling the terrific incidents caused to women in Afghanistan which were mentioned in the book.
Do you remember the scene of the movie where a man's head was cut in front of the whole city and his wife's hands were cut of. When the protagonist asks a local friend she says they killed them because she was wearing lipstick. That's the scene where I lost all my senses. Not just because of the murder but because of:
Attention women:
You will stay inside your homes at all times. It is not proper for women to wander aimlessly about the streets. If you go outside, you must be accompanied by a mahram, a male relative.
If you are caught alone on the street, you will be beaten and sent home.
You will not, under any circumstance, show your face. You will cover with burqa when outside. If you do not, you will be severely beaten.
Cosmetics are forbidden.
Jewellery is forbidden.
You will not wear charming clothes.
You will not speak unless spoken to.
You will not make eye contact with men.
You will not laugh in public. If you do, you will be beaten.
You will not paint your nails. If you do, you will lose a finger.
Girls are forbidden from attending school. All schools for girls will be closed immediately.
Women are forbidden from working.
If you are found guilty of adultery, you will be stoned to death. Listen. Listen well. Obey.
These are the exact words from the book A Thousand Splendid Suns which were played from loudspeakers atop mosques and on the radio. This was also written in flyers, tossed into the streets. Just like The Kerala Story, some of them incidents are mentioned in the book in exact same way.
One more example is when the protagonist was giving birth, there were no well-equipped hospitals and the woman who was helping in the delivery was neither a doctor nor a nurse. Women in Afghanistan were only allowed to consult female doctors, on the other hand, girls were not allowed to go to school, because of which women were left with no choice but treating themselves with whatever knowledge they have. By reading it and watching it in theater you feel shattered then imagine how it would have been for the women who have faced it and right now also going through this all.
What's the motive of pointing out the incidents, phrasing the same words as written in book and bringing it to you all? Apart from an observation, it was more of a question to the humanity. If there is a terrific situation going on, then there would be reasons that caused it. So what were the reasons? Why does a country which was once called Gods residence has now become hell for people especially women? What was that one thing which triggered all of these conflicts? Why does the power and rage have exceeded humanity?
The above stated incident is just a little part of the story. Then imagine how many pages will it take to write it down. This article is not about targeting any community, it's about cruelty against women. All we can do is hope for the best and may the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan will be resolved soon. May the women get their rights back and everyone live peacefully.
If you want to know more about the cruelty in Afghanistan then I highly recommend The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns written by Khaled Hosseini. Reading these books might give answers to some of your questions.