Mostofa Sarwar Farooki: This century may be remembered for clash of religions

Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Pic/AFP

Mostofa Sarwar Farooki's No Land's Man has been 11 years in the making. But the acclaimed Bangladeshi filmmaker believes that the Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer, which examines identity crisis, is an urgent theme in today's divisive world. "We have tried to portray the two sides of identity. For instance, when I recently went to a café, the lady at the counter warmly addressed me as Farooki bhai. However, when I was walking in Manhattan, a guy walking by gave me a cold look, as if almost telling me, ‘Are you one of those terrorists?' We have created a strange world where we love someone or hate them just because of who they are, and not because of what they have done. The 21st century will probably be remembered as a clash of religions and ideas, which is sad," says the director.

Mostofa Sarwar Farooki

The drama, nominated for the Kim Jiseok Award at the Busan International Film Festival, tells the story of a South Asian man who struggles to find a place he can call home. Farooki says that Siddiqui's instinctive reaction to the story reaffirmed his choice of the leading man. "He had tears in his eyes while listening to the story. That assured me he is the man to pull this off. After hearing the narration, he said we must make this film in the best possible way."

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