All Is Halal In Love And Cinema

By Karuna John October 31, 2020 In Culture, Film, Film Review 0 Film, Film Review 0

Sometimes a quiet little movie releases without so much as a whisper and hangs around for people to discover it. The filmmakers, Cast and crew, seem to have quiet confidence in the art they have created. So they release it and step back. And the story unfolds. On an unlikely film set, in the house of the ‘lead couple’.

The Plot

Halal Love is, in fact, a film, within a movie, where the ‘lead couple’ is the lead couple. Only a husband and wife must be approved, by the conservative financiers, ‘party’ workers, and the target audience. They are all liberal in their outlook on life and society in general. Still, a love story playing out on screen has to be ‘halal’.

A conservative Muslim milieu will not have it any other way. Art must reflect life. So the lead actor, a theatre artist, manages to convince his wife to act opposite him, in the film that has the potential to jump-start his career too. The film shoot begins, after negotiating some sharp turns and bumps like the ones on the hill roads of a Kerala village it is set in. As the film’s story and the shoot begin to take baby steps, sensitive back actions of the people involved start peeping out, the real narrative subtly overtaking the reel film. Once the stories start to blend together, the viewer is enraptured, almost as a participant, one of the Cast.

Comedy-Drama, And Then Some

Halal Love Story is sheer art, the first Malayalam film that perhaps can ride the gentle waves of success in 2020 like Kumbalangi Nights did in 2019 and continues to do. But it is not really a fair comparison, unlike the bolder Kumbalangi Nights, Halal Love Story is very different, almost opposite in its pace, and essence.

Even though officially tagged as comedy-drama, the movie explores complex themes: what is permissible or kosher (halal) and what is not, without vilifying the non-kosher as ‘haram.

Director Zakariya Mohammed and co-writers Muhsin Parari and Ashif Kakkodi let the story evolve organically. At a time of jingoistic scripts, Halal Love is refreshingly non-preachy. There’s no moral of the day; the flaws are allowed to show, in moist eyes, stolen glances and smiles. It’s a cathartic watch — tears flow through, and voices are raised.

Nuanced Characters, Excellent Performances

Halal Love’s woman character is steel strong. She evolves, as does the man, both facing their flaws, while accepting that instant fixes aren’t possible.

The lead ‘woman’ played by Grace Anthony deserves all the awards for her brilliance. Halal Love’s other female characters are nuanced, even if they appear for seconds. I loved watching the woman washing her clothes. She does not care if hers is a benign shot, her life and schedule cannot be altered.

Universal Appeal

The film is relatable even to non-Malayalam speakers because the story is universal. The complexity of relationships is typical. Human relationships are genuinely secular, and love can be simultaneously haraam, or halal, depending on the conditioning of the observer.

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The movie is also a peep into how Muslim characters are deployed on cinema. Too bad the right-wing fundoos across religion will not find anything to outrage on here. There are no community stereotypes to feed the trolls. Producer Aashiq Abu keeps the thing ‘underproduced’ the sets are not prettified, the clothes are everyday wardrobes of the Muslim community of the region. A must watch for those who seem to think the global Covid-19 pandemic is also an excuse to indulge in the pastime of Islamophobia, or bashing women who dare to be equal citizens.

Halal Love Story is a film that leaves you cleansed. You identify with the emotional highs and lows and sigh with relief when things work out, and with resignation when they don’t. So, is it cinema halal? Is love halal? Well, that depends on what you secretly want the answer to be.