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Dear Anwar Maqsood: the age of cultural aggression is over

Dear Anwar Maqsood: the age of cultural aggression is over

In his recent play Siachen, the writer continues a long tradition of crass ethnic humor
Updated 24 Nov, 2015

As a nation, we’re fortunate to have had our culture enriched by the works of legendary artists like Anwar Maqsood. But it is time we look forward to a new crop of artwork that doesn’t insist on shackling us to the past.

The master humorist’s latest play, Siachen, brings us more of the same; not necessarily an unflattering thing to say, as Maqsood’s classic witticism is precisely what his audience seeks. There is charm in the ‘old ways’, but for a lot of people, the past wasn’t quite as appealing.

Also read: 'Why are we fighting in Siachen and what for?' asks Anwar Maqsood in new play Siachen

Siachen is a play about the lives of Pakistani soldiers stationed at the ‘roof of the world’. The setting makes it convenient to sideline female characters, as the army chawki is strictly a place for men. When the character of a female journalist/filmmaker does appear on the set, a baffled soldier remarks, “Allah ki qudrat! Siachen mein aurat?”

This represents a recurring problem with Anwar Maqsood’s productions. The female characters are tragically one dimensional, serving either as mothers and sisters of male protagonists, or stereotypical ‘modern’ women who enamor the male characters on stage, or get enamored by them. In other words, under no circumstance must a woman appear upon the stage without her gender being absolutely essential to the act she’s about to perform.


This is not the first time ‘un-Pakistani’ ethnicities have been caricatured by Maqsood. In an old ‘Loose Talk’ sketch, Anwar Maqsood interviewed the renowned comedian Moin Akhtar, the latter appearing in blackface as a Bangladeshi cricketer; satirizing not just the cricketer, but the Bengali people in general and their outré cultural practices.


The subject matter comes with an expected nationalistic overtone. There are no political complexities, and no middle ground up on the Siachen glacier. It’s just ‘us’ and ‘them’. We fight to defend our mothers and sisters. They fight because they’re the enemy. We’re reminded, as always, of a political construct where the life of the selfless soldier who toils up there in an icy oblivion is secondary to the honor of the state.

The production is supplemented with crass ethnic humor. The enemy captain is fittingly a ‘Singh’, therefore an opportunity to amuse the audience with a hackneyed sardar joke. A ‘pathan’ joke explicitly or implicitly follows every appearance of a Pakhtun character.

More distressingly, a “Bihari” minstrel, of sorts, wanders onto the set, offering ample comic relief between the more somber moments of the play. With dark facial makeup and a thick Bihari accent, the ‘enemy’ character flounders about centre-stage as Pakistani soldiers decide his fate. You won’t notice the irony if you’re not familiar with Pakistan’s history with the Bihari people.

A scene from the play Siachen. — Photo by Khurram Amin
A scene from the play Siachen. — Photo by Khurram Amin

This is not the first time ‘un-Pakistani’ ethnicities have been donned as funny costumes in the artist’s works. In an old ‘Loose Talk’ sketch, Anwar Maqsood interviewed the renowned comedian Moin Akhtar, the latter appearing in blackface as a Bangladeshi cricketer; satirizing not just the cricketer, but the Bengali people in general and their outré cultural practices. Anyone acquainted with Mr. Maqsood’s work wonders if there’s something naturally comedic about dark-skinned people.


With his most recent production, Anwar Maqsood establishes his muse as a relic from a time when conquest – not coexistence – was the dominant theme.


In ‘Anwar Maqsood ka Dharna’, all politicians are caricatured through extension of their political policies; except the character depicting Bilawal Bhutto, who is satirized simply for his alleged ‘femininity’. A female character slyly admits that during a personal meeting with him, he seemed more ‘interested’ in her brother than her. And for those not sufficiently amused or offended by the subtle innuendo, the play directly tosses a transphobic slur at Bilawal’s character before the final bow.

With his most recent production, Anwar Maqsood establishes his muse as a relic from a time when conquest – not coexistence – was the dominant theme. The current environments are examined through the lens of an ethos where women, foreigners, and people of other races and ethnicities did not exist as independent beings, but were simply a part of our collective experience as Pakistani men.


Tradition has its charm, but it also marks the casual betrayal of many groups of people, including ourselves at times... A new wave of artists now struggles to unveil the common humanity of Pakistanis and Indians, Bengalis and Punjabis, Muslims and Sikhs, and men and women.


The culture war draws to a close. A new wave of artists now struggles to unveil the common humanity of Pakistanis and Indians, Bengalis and Punjabis, Muslims and Sikhs, and men and women. It aims at building bridges to compensate for the old generation of artists that preyed on this diversity for jokes, and systematically demonized all that wasn’t “us”.

Directors like Sarmad Khosat now move in to explore crucial dimensions of our lives, regardless of how strange and unfamiliar they may seem on screen. Shoaib Mansoor and Sharmeen Chinoy have won accolades highlighting social issues we hesitate to speak of, without marginalizing ‘others’. Undoubtedly, all new artists and writers stand on the shoulders of legends like Moin Akhtar and Anwar Maqsood, just as these two may have been inspired by the ones before them.

Tradition has its charm, but it also marks the casual betrayal of many groups of people, including ourselves at times. Ultimately, art itself demands ‘tabdeeli’; not to stay ‘hip’, but to avoid anchoring a society to one time period.


The views expressed by this writer and commenters below do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.

Comments

Hassan Nov 24, 2015 01:49pm
Anwar Mqaood should apologize for offending the delicate sensibilities of this blogger. How dare he depict not a single female soldier at the Siachen, far as it may be from the reality. The age of uber pc-ness is well and truly upon us.
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A. A. Nov 24, 2015 01:50pm
I was hoping to see a vote button in the end of the article that asks if I agree with author's views. I would have voted a huge NO. The author needs to relax and stop making a mountain out of each mole.
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Saz Nov 24, 2015 02:35pm
talk about over analysing a comic show
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Sajjad Nov 24, 2015 02:48pm
Anwar Maqsood is a great writer. There is no doubt that he has given us years of entertainments and laughter with Mature, but sometimes, dark humor. I might partially agree with the writer, however, there is something that Anwar Maqsood does in his script which is actually the true representation of his audience. Anwar Ma1qqsood's fans , including me in some cases, wants to see this.
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Shah Nov 24, 2015 03:05pm
I am impressed by your observation Faraz and I completely agree with your take on Anwar Maqsood's plays/dramas however we'd have to step back here and think what is the intended emotional reaction he wants out of us? Is it just for the comic value of each character that he portrays? or is he trying to show us a mirror? I think it is the second one, otherwise he would be no different than the million talk show/current affair hosts with throw slurs at Bilawal's femininity.
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maryam Nov 24, 2015 03:27pm
Thank you for writing your observations. Although it's a tough job in Pakistan to criticise those who are considered giants in the field of media, but itt was really needed. An average Pakistani mind can not reach the depth of the points you made and they ll bash you but trust me there are many who agree to you. My only concern is you have given him a lot of respect that he might not deserve due to his pretentious writing style and misogyny.
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Asif Nov 24, 2015 03:32pm
A writer will always show you how they see the world. Do you want him to change his views of the world or he should writing something which he don't agree with just to please you?
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Khan Nov 24, 2015 03:44pm
Anwar Maqsood has his own way with satire. The author recalls Moin Akhtar as a Bangladeshi cricket player on a losing spree in Pakistan. While Maqsood is trying hard to talk about BD teams defeats in Pakistan, the player keeps on reminding him how Bangladesh is making huge progresses in terms of economy, education and millennium development goals, trying to teach Pakistanis something. Maybe the author misses the lessons that Anwar Maqsood is putting through.
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Karachi Wala Nov 24, 2015 04:11pm
Thanks Faraz for bringing a new dimension to Anwar Maqsood's satire.
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Ziyan Nov 24, 2015 04:13pm
Dear Faraz Talat---Cultural aggression is not over, only its language is change from Urdu to Punjabi....Don't you see programs like Kabarnak
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Toseef Ahmed Nov 24, 2015 04:20pm
In these days, there is only one recipe to get recognition as an intellectual (read pseudo intellectual) in Pakistani society: Criticize religion, make exaggeration about the violation of minority (read Un- Pakistani as mentioned in the article) rights and finally be a champion feminist.
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Observer Nov 24, 2015 04:24pm
The author is making a mountain out of a molehill. Anwar Maqsood is a living legend. He makes people laugh. People of all ethnicities enjoy his work. Art is about what is, not what ought to be. Try and see BBC comedy skits about British Asians to see the merge between culture and humour for a change before you point fingers at your own countrymen.
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Syed Nov 24, 2015 04:30pm
You need to have a good sense of humor in order to understand and enjoy the humor my dear, maybe that's why you didn't get it. I personally went with my 6 other friends and we really enjoyed the maturity and punch lines. And then you talk about Freedom of Speech. Please teach some media ethics to our beloved neighbors whose talk shows are filled with the filth of blaming Pakistan all the time and movies that they produce to brainwash their nation every year like Border, Phantom, Ek tha Tiger, Agent Vinodh, Welcome to Karachi, Mai Hindustani and the list goes on. Do watch English shows which are full of international sarcasm and more filth against the countries. #Stereotyping Useless it is to debate with bloggers like you.
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Saad Nov 24, 2015 04:35pm
Lot of thought has gone into this article. I somewhat agree with the writer that we have to be progressive and make the level playing field for every faction in the society. However we should not criticize a comic show on the basis of morality, a comic show is not a lecture in class, the whole idea of the show is to make people laugh without including provocative topics. All I can say is take it easy to the writer. Don't point finger at a legend who has given us so many interesting shows, no doubt at times certain topics may seem a bit irrelevant but that does not mean that we deny all the good memories a person has provided us with
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Najam Nov 24, 2015 04:40pm
Well written. Yeah, comic writers play with stereotypes. Should they be held accountable ? There is room for other writers so I am going to let anewer Maqsood off the hook.
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umar Nov 24, 2015 04:47pm
Yes i watched the play And it was awesome. It depicts values of our Nation. How we respect and love and protect our women and how our mothers sisters, wives and daughters sacrifices there sons brothers husbands for our beloved country.
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Naved Nov 24, 2015 04:49pm
Why to criticize Anwer Maqsood alone. You need to see the programs like Khabarnak, Hum sub ummeed sey hain and other comedy shows also to understand and control the social and political aggression.
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Rashid Nov 24, 2015 07:44pm
I agree with the author and admire his keen observation. We become so insensitive as a nation that we don't even realize when we marginalize minorities. Anwar Maqsood is a great name, but it doesn't mean he can not evolve.
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Naxalite Nov 24, 2015 09:17pm
Maqsood can't make everyone happy either.
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Murtaza Ali Nov 24, 2015 09:26pm
You don't like something , ignore it and move on . Simple !!
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KK Nov 24, 2015 10:54pm
@maryam As much as i agree with a lot of what the author has said - i disagree with your comment that suggests that the average Pakistani mind cannot agree with the depth of the authors opinion. Just because some or most disagree with the authors (or your opinion), does not mean that they cant grasp the depths of mine or yours or the authors opinion, it just means that they have a different opinion.
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Jibran Mirza Nov 25, 2015 01:09am
The same Anwar Maqsood penned the mighty Sitara aur Mehrunnisa, a brilliant portrayal of two very complex female led story lines.
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Huzaifa Nov 25, 2015 03:25am
This review is spot on. The play displayed disgusting levels of Hyper Nationalism and Otherization. And it tried too hard to evoke emotion from the audience. Mr Maqsood must learn that critiquing the armed forces alone does not make one a great writer or artist.
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Iqbal Nov 25, 2015 06:33am
Anwar Maqsood and Moin Akhtar represent a generation of Urdu/Punjabi speakers that laughed at, mostly Pushtuns, Gujratis, Punjabis, Bengalis, Beharis... characters that didn't speak Urdu in the "right" way were largely portrayed as one dimensional characters without much humanity. The view and humour they represented has to be looked at and examined critically for us Pakistanis to move forward and become more generous and sophisticated in our outlook. Yes, indeed, now is the time to be more inclusive and see other ethnicities and religions as fellow human being. Nothing wrong with laughing at different accents and people but we need to go beyond that and transcend ourselves to a higher level. Love n Peace
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Omrna Nov 25, 2015 06:48am
AM is the best asset for Pakistan.
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True Karachiwala Nov 25, 2015 04:23pm
Anwar has been simply writing what is around here for centuries. Evolution of Pakistani nation does not depend on Anwar's satire. If we accept religion as the one & only reason for the creation of Pakistan, then may I ask a question: Why next door neighbors (i.e. Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, & KPK) having same religion could not turn into a single nation despite having proximity for centuries ??? This question is quite relevant here. Because ethnic groups constituting Pakistan prefer to keep their individual identity intact, hence this situation offers ample opportunities to write about & talk about.
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bujigua Nov 25, 2015 06:12pm
I remember the 50/50 parody of nazia hasans disco deewane penned my him. It was called 'kaaloo deewaney' . The old man's had some issues for a while.
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HBK Nov 25, 2015 08:43pm
@maryam isn't questioning the the intellectual depth of an average Pakistani an insulting streotyping generalization itself?
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Ali Gohar Nov 26, 2015 07:04am
The writer is actually not off the mark as regards his observations about the prevalent style of satire which at time looks not only officious but outright insidious, and Anwar Maqsood is certainly a culprit of sorts. However the new crop of artists and writers have come a long way and seems less prone to prey on the ethnic and cultural differences, manifesting their creative maturity.
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