Koimoi Recommends Little Terrorist: Ashvin Kumar’s Short Film Blooms With Hope & Humanity
Let’s go back in 2004 when we saw Little Terrorist, a short film that was an eye-opener for many, who didn’t realise humanity does exist on both sides of the fence.
Koimoi Recommends Little Terrorist: While the world seeks peace, cinema has been a flag bearer of endorsing it in the best form for years. The borders between India and Pakistan have time and again made to the films, but with the perspective of adults, either army men, or the civilians and baddies living around. Today on Koimoi Recommends, let’s go back in 2004 when we saw Little Terrorist, a short film that was an eye-opener for many, who didn’t realise humanity does exist on both sides of the fence that divides us, and the hate that has created the rift.
Director: Ashvin Kumar
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Available On: YouTube
Language: Hindi
Little Terrorist, written and directed by Ashvin Kumar is a story about a Pakistani boy Jamal who unknowingly crosses the border while fetching his ball. The boy comes under the army radar, and his life is at risk. An Indian man comes to his rescue, and the hope that peace and humanity still exist is restored.
The film begins with a little boy crawling through the mines to get his ball. These kids are still far away to understand the physical and psychological divide the countries are facing. They play near the borders, save themselves from the army men from either side. Their childhood is spent amid bombs, guns and fear, how contradictory to the place it should actually be spent in.
The Little Terrorist to my happiness is not chest-thumping saga about an Indian family saving a Pakistani child, but is about humans helping humans in difficult times. Ashvin Kumar paints this world with hope and not that he takes it away from realism. There are people who still believe that even a child that has crossed the border is a monster.
Not that Bhola and Rani who help Jamal are completely accepting of him. While they are helping him, they still are sceptical about him touching their utensils, and other belongings. In a scene when Jamal accidentally touches Bhola’s earthen plate, they break it, a reminder that though they are helpful, but the mindset hasn’t completely changed.
Little Terrorist is also good at its visual appeal. The camera captures the countryside in its raw appearance. When you can feel the heat just by looking at the screen, the work is top-notch.
Julfuqar Ali, Sushil Sharma, and Megnaa Mehtta give the performance that will stay with you for quite some time. Watch Little Terrorist and you must. There is no violence as such to define the border, there is no sense of enmity just for the sake of it. There is discrimination, but an underlined message that this change will take time too. I recommend this short film completely. If you still aren’t convinced, the film was nominated for the Oscars. Bonus: Watch the making video of the film, it’s a treat.
