Rahat Kazmi's next Rabbi a satire on Islam's take on music

Director Rahat Kazmi, known for films like Mantostaan and Side A Side B, is waiting to bring his new project Rabbi to the audience next month.

Set in Kashmir, Rabbi is a satire on whether Islam allows music or not.

Talking about it, Kazmi said in a statement: "Rabbi is a satirical narration that tugs at your heartstrings, dealing with the clash of ideologies of the liberal, educated, modern Muslims and their conservative counterparts. The film focuses on love towards God instead of fear."

The director though is aware of the attention that the film might garner, "I know I will raise more than a few eyebrows, but filmmaking is all about making your voice heard, just the way I did in Mantostaan with my cinematic representation of Saadat Hasan Manto's controversial stories weaved into a tale of the searing pain of partition and the burning hearts that were torn apart by the line drawn across India, slicing it into India and Pakistan," he said.

Mantostaan was an adaptation of four of Manto's well-known stories on the theme of Partition — Khol Do (Open it), Thanda Gosht (Cold Meat), Last Salute and Assignment.

Rabbi tells the story of the rise and fall of a young musician, essayed by newcomer Furqan Merchant. He will be seen with Bidita Bag, who last featured in Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer Babumoshai Bandookbaaz.

Kazmi's comes from a family of sufis. The film reflects his own experiences and the stand that he chooses to take in life.

Apart from Merchant and Bag in the lead roles, the film stars Raghuvir Yadav, Dolly Ahluwalia, Brijendra Kala, Virendra Saxena, Shoib Nikash Shah, Manini Mishra and Pooja Gupta.

Rabbi is produced by Kazmi, Zeba Sajid and Sanjay Amar, and co-produced by Tariq Khan in association with Mediamark International Corp. Canada.