Father, Son and Holy War

Director: Anand Patwardhan
INDIA / 1994 / Color / 16mm / 120 min
URL: www.patwardhan.com

Father, Son and Holy War, made over a seven-year period, explores the possibility that a key to the psychology of violence against “the other” lies in male insecurity, itself an inevitable product of the very construction of the notion of “manhood.” Male dominance is a part of the religious baggage we carry and in the Indian context today, both Hindus and Muslims are locked in a battle to prove themselves to be “real men.” The result is carnage.