Jannat
ki Rail
The
Train to Heaven
A short experimental film by Yousuf Saeed
New
Delhi, India, 2006
Duration:
07 minutes +
Original
language: Urdu-Hindi
Subtitles:
English
Summary: Deriving from the images and sounds of the contemporary Muslim culture of India, this short film celebrates the spirit of popular faith and its expression. Using the allegory of a train journey, the song and the images from devotional posters weave a tapestry of the popular Indian Islam and its folklore.
Among
the most vibrant examples of popular visual art found in Indian towns
and villages are the religious posters and calendars depicting deities,
saints, and places of worship, sold at shops or roadside stalls near temples,
mosques, and dargahs, and adorned at walls inside homes, shops, or in
worship-corners. The modern printing press and the mass production industry
have transformed this art form into a full-fledged mass culture, characterized
by its own popular aesthetics, the depiction of the folklore, and the
marketing devices. Although a majority of Muslim posters available in
south Asia portray the shrines at Mecca and Medina, or the Quranic verses
in calligraphy, it is also common to find the portraits of local saints,
their tombs, miracles, and other folklore, represented as vividly as in
a Hindu mythological scene.
Also
sold with these images are cassettes of popular devotional songs that
have much in common with the posters. One such song, Jannat ki Rail
(The Train to Heaven) uses the allegory of a train journey - a very common
symbol in India's rural landscape - to express the popular devotion and
religious aspirations of Indian Muslims. The affects used in this short
digital film especially complement 
the
popular esthetics of the images and the music.
DVD copies
of this film are available.
Please contact us at ysaeed7 AT yahoo.com