Okay I was offended.

There, I said it.

It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders just saying that out loud because the whole world seems to think otherwise. And it makes me feel like some hardcore fundamentalist to get all offended over a movie. But that’s the whole truth.

I am a Muslim, a very proud Muslim in fact. I practice my religion. But I keep it to myself. I believe in it wholeheartedly but I do not thrust it in other people’s faces. I pray five times a day (okay atleast once a day) but I don’t go around exhibiting it. I fast all thirty days of the Ramzan of which others wouldn’t have the slightest inkling.

I believe in beliefs. My beliefs are personal. So are yours.

I was born and brought up in Chennai, in a conservative society overpopulated by the Hindus with a sprinkle of an assortment of Jains , Muslims and Christians. But I never felt ever for even a second that I was a minority living in a sea of majority. Hindus would land up at our houses for delicious biryani on festivals. We would attend the Sunday mass just to hear the Father praise the Lord. I would accompany my friend to the temple and watch her do 108 rounds. That was my land. All were one.

But the last 15 days has been a whirlwind.

It has literally pulled the earth from under one man, a superstar in his own right, a man who always went against the system and stood by his bold beliefs yet might not have expected such a huge uproar on his dream movie project.

It has baffled an entire state, garnered support from unexpected territories, led to politicians seizing the golden opportunity to turn every catastrophe into a vote-bank and of course brought up communal feelings.

So I decided to watch the movie, to find out what all the uproar was over.

It was perfect. There was action, romance, mystery, edge-of-the-seat moments and some splendid display of acting skills. And then there was also killing, bloodshed, missing body parts and torsos strewn apart.

Maybe I’m too old-school.

Maybe I shouldn’t have been offended when a verse from my daily prayer was read out before a man was publicly hanged in an Islamic country. Maybe I shouldn’t have been offended when a phrase I mutter a zillion times is echoed out loud in a videotaped beheading of an American soldier. Maybe I shouldn’t have been offended that all terrorists were depicted as Muslims.

Maybe I shouldn’t.

But since when did we stop calling a spade a spade.

How else would you portray terrorism if not this.

In the name of God, planes were plunged into buildings, hotels were held hostage, railway stations became firing arenas, bomb blasts became a common thing and the long list of suicide bombers was bottom-less.

So because of one small fraction of the society, a whole community had to suffer. From rejected visas to embarrassing underwear checks at airport immigration, banning of the burqa to being refused houses it was the common man who suffered. Oh and yes, terrorists were henceforth stereotyped to one religion even though we have proof otherwise. Even when a Norway madman shot 69 unsuspecting people on an island claiming his hope to ouster Muslims from the country , the stereotype didn’t change.

So let’s not blame the movie maker. For he is just telling us a story, his side of the story. Whether fact or fiction it doesn’t really matter because a movie is after all just a goddamn movie. And if you need to blame someone then blame the fundamentalists with the wrong notions in their heads. Blame the men who trained young boys that they could reach heavenly bliss by becoming suicide bombers. Blame the ruthless minds that planned attacks to eradicate an entire country with a single button. Blame the people who are too unstable to live life that they shoot down kindergarten kids in schools across a country that gives its citizens the freedom to carry arms. Blame the people who waged wars on other countries under false pretexts.

Religion is just an excuse.