Abhishek Sharma’s Tere Bin Laden
Who would have thought that Osama Bin Laden could make you smile? The face that gives one nightmares becomes central to ‘Tere Bin Laden’ a good natured comedy which is almost a fable about America’s war on terror.
‘Tere Bin Laden’ is a pleasure to watch, without a false move from start to finish – and accomplishes this without big stars, big budgets and big pretensions. Makes you think of all the big star Bollywood mega-movies in recent months which in spite of their star power and big budgets left you dissatisfied.
Osama Tales
Produced by Walkwater Media and IBC Motion Pictures, ‘Tere Bin laden’ is written and directed by first timer Abhishek Sharma. It is the story of Ali Hassan, an ambitious young Pakistani reporter in Karachi whose passion is to get to America – the land of Coke, Fast Cars and Beautiful Blondes – but who keeps getting denied a visa. When he meets Noora, a chicken farmer with an uncanny resemblance to Osama Bin Laden, he comes up with the outrageous idea of a fake Osama video and makes that his ticket to America. He enlists an endearing bunch of losers and dreamers to pull this off and you find yourself rooting for them.
The tale with assorted crooks and small time hoods, fumbling, bubbling Pakistani officers, and a blustering American Secret Service agent, keeps you thoroughly engaged. This tongue-in-cheek story tells you that America has often barked up the wrong tree and George Bush is the butt of much humor, even ending up in the lyrics. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music is infectious with songs like ‘Ullu Da Patha’ and ‘I love Amreeka.’
Popular Pakistani pop star Ali Zafar plays Ali, with his baby face and innocent looks, is highly appealing and captures you for the ride. Pradhuman Singh is excellent as the imitation Osama with his frightful face, generous heart and his undying love for his cock Sikander and his many hens. It is an uncanny resemblance and makes it all believable.
‘Tere Bin Laden’ is doing extremely well at the box-office which shows there is demand for well-made movies with good stories. The movie has ruffled some feathers – it has been banned in Pakistan. The filmmakers are certainly wearing that as a badge of honor – on the website, where usually film festival honors are listed, the sole entry there is ‘Officially Banned in Pakistan.’
‘Tere Bin Laden’ is a mad, mad tale and Abhishek Sharma pulls it off without diverting from the story line, without tons of songs, fight scenes, melodrama or disco items. Shows it can be done, and done well. Bravo!
Abhishek Sharma on ‘Tere Bin Laden’
Q: How did the story idea for ‘Tere Bin Laden’ come about?
A: I got this idea due to a headache (quite literally!). It was around 5
years back when I returned home from my office with a throbbing pain
in my head. I wrapped around a towel over my head to reduce the pain,
much like a turban, and my wife jokingly commented that I looked like
Bin Laden! That remark triggered the idea of a fake Bin Laden tape.
Q: How did you find the actor to play Osama bin Laden?
A: Pradhuman Singh did his theater workshop with me around nine years
back and had created quite an impression on me as an actor. Around
2007 when we were looking for an actor to play the Osama look-alike, I
suddenly got a hunch that he might fit into this character. I searched
for him, found him in Kolkata doing a corporate job and called him to
Mumbai for a look test. Rest, as they say, is history.
Q: What do you think the real Osama would say if he saw ‘Tere Bin Laden’?
A: I think even he will be amused to see the way we have used Bin Laden
tapes to show the madness in the post 9/11 world.
Q: Did you in your wildest dreams expect ‘Tere Bin Laden’ to be such a success? And what does it say about the audiences that they have welcomed this offbeat movie in such a big way?
A: I was always hopeful and confident about the film but I was not
expecting the kind of numbers we have made at the box office despite
severe competition from bigger films. We have entered into fourth week
(theatrical run) in India and that’s a big honor for any film. It
shows that our audience is very welcoming and they support good films
even if it is a small budget indie without big stars. I feel extremely
grateful.
The Making of Tere Bin Laden
