PANAJI: A megahit Pakistani film that has earned the ire of some fundamentalist groups in that country for being critical of hardline Islamic elements, will be the
first-ever entry from the neighbouring nation in the competition section of the 38th IFFI starting here on November 23.
Starring popular Pakistani actor Shaan, and with India's Naseeruddin Shah in the pivotal special appearance as a maulavi who drives sense into the protagonist's mind, "Khuda Ke Liye" (In the Name of God) will compete with 15 other films for the top honours in the Asian-African-Latin American Competition, sources within festival organisers said here.
The Indian representation in the competition will be "Ratri Mazha (Night Rain)" (Malayalam) directed by Lenin Rajendran and "Ekti Nadir Galpa (Tale of a River)" directed by noted production designer Samir Chanda.
Directed by Shoaib Mansoor, the Urdu-language "Khuda Ke Liye", with its theme that looks into the problems Muslims in general and Pakistanis in particular are facing post 9/11 and the tension between fundamentalists and liberal Muslims, takes a look into these core issues through the story of a young music prodigy who joins a television talent hunt show.
The film is about two brothers who are pop musicians in Lahore, one of whom gets radicalised under the influence of extremists, while the other goes to America and gets unlawfully detained after 9/11.
