A section of filmmakers is busy correcting perceived faults in our history education. A few months back, we had His Story of Itihaas, which failed to find traction beyond certain pockets. This week, we have The Taj Story, another revisionist view of our past, which is gaining attention because it is woven around the claim that the Taj Mahal is a Hindu temple, and is headlined by Paresh Rawal.
The makers keep reminding that now questions have to be raised, ‘history main truti’ has to be corrected, suggesting the political atmosphere is ripe. It is a what-if kind of storytelling, a long-nurtured fantasy that some feel can now be realised or at least marketed to an audience that wants to see their dinner table communal dreams on the big screen.
The Taj Story (Hindi)
Director: Tushar Amrish Goel
Cast: Paresh Rawal, Zakir Hussain, Namit Das, Sneha Wagh
Duration: 165 minutes
Storyline: When Vishnu, a tourist guide, is suspended for demanding to check the DNA of the Taj Mahal in a purported video, he decides to unearth the past and files a public interest litigation
Directed by Tushar Amrish Goel, the film follows Vishnu (Rawal), an Agra guide who believes that the Taj is a Shiva temple. Suspended by the Muslim-dominated Guide Association, Vishnu decides to unearth the ‘truth’ and files a PIL. The scene shifts to a court where, ironically, the focus is on whether Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal from scratch or converted a mahal of Man Singh into a mausoleum for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.
Formatted to foment the majoritarian fear and project one community as the other that holds the brief for Mughal rulers, the film describes Taj Mahal as a symbol of atrocities and genocide and accuses leftist historians of intellectual terrorism.
Caricaturing them, it accuses historians of focusing on the Colonial rule while giving the Mughal rulers a clean chit, anointing them with titles like ‘the great’ and upholders of love and secular values, when reality was different. Not in the mood for settling for a middle ground, however, when it comes to rebutting their scholarship, the writing stammers and indulges in polemics.
Without naming them, it presents the claims of P.N. Oak and Marvin Miller as fresh evidence, even though their stories have been discussed and dissected many times over. The film stops short of demanding the excavation of the wonder, but instead advocates for carbon dating of the monument. It resonates with several other similar demands that continue to fill the news landscape. The way the slew of petitions pending in courts appears on a black screen towards the end, it seems the film is a publicity interest petition to keep the issue alive in society.
As for detail, while the focus is on 22 underground rooms locked by the Archaeological Survey of India, the production designer misses an ‘a’ in archaeology. Perhaps, it is befitting for a project built on half-truths and hearsay.
The narrative is designed as yet another chapter of The Kashmir Files-style cinema to keep the dog whistles going. Like the former rests on the competent soldiers of Anupam Kher, the current film is anchored by Paresh Rawal, who performs the task of obfuscation rather well. Having learnt that the coded messages of propaganda are visible from a distance, some effort has been made to include the other side of the narrative. The self-conscious characters emphasize that the claims are not sourced from WhatsApp.
Bringing his political and acting convictions together, Rawal imbues life to the proceedings and, together with Zakir Hussain, as the advocate of the Mughals, creates some dramatic moments and some comic relief in the court. There are passages where it seems Rawal and Hussain will sort it out amicably. However, when, for the most part, the makers identify men of one community by their skull caps, beards, a smear of kohl in their eyes, and a frown on their faces, the intent becomes crystal clear.
The Taj Story is currently is running in theatres