Thirty years ago, Saeed Akhtar Mirza made his final feature film, Naseem, about an aging Urdu poet, played by Kaifi Azmi, and set in the days preceding the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The film opened with a title card which said, “That one act of demolition wrote the epitaph of an age that has passed, perhaps never to return!”

“The Babri Masjid epitomized the final collapse, you know, of an idea of India, of a sovereign, secular, democratic republic, equal for all, equality and justice. You saw it collapse in front of your eyes,” he said.

In a conversation with The Wire's founding editor Sidharth Bhatia, on the podcast The Wire Talks, Mirza said: “I was in despair but I was also angry when I made the film.”

He has not made any feature film since, though he still makes documentaries and has written two books. Mirza also spoke about how the “Hindu-Muslim binary was stupid” and said that those who promoted it hadn’t read any history.

Their idea of history is “fundamentally flawed”, he said, adding that over 10 million young persons finished school every year and they too had aspiration.

“They see glamorous weddings on television, they see cars, fashion and they want all that. And why not?” he asked. Without adequate jobs, “where will all that energy be channeled,” he questioned.

Mirza also spoke about the growing trend of Hindutva-oriented films and said that the filmmakers “know exactly what they are doing and in a strange way I believe they think they are doing no wrong because this is the time for retribution.” But in the end, he said, “hate cannot last forever, it has to have an expiry date.”

Listen to the full podcast:

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.