“Little Terrorist” (2004) by Ashvin Kumar

A 12-year-old Muslim Pakistani boy mistakenly crosses the border between India and Pakistan.

Theme: Friendship

The film locates itself in a minefield somewhere between India and Pakistan. A young boy, Jamal, crawls under a barbed wire, heading slowly and carefully towards a red ball. It seems like he had been playing cricket with friends when the ball crossed the border and Jamal was asked to retrieve it. Suddenly we hear loud gunshots and blaring sirens. Jamal scrambles around, wildly running across the minefield. He is confused when he realizes that the ball has disappeared. Confusion turns into panic as he notices that the guard in the watchtower has seen him. Thus begin the unintentional and heartwarming adventures of this ‘little terrorist’.

The film touches upon ideas of a shared culture and humanity. Such moments are subtle yet powerful – the village headmaster saying to the guard that ‘people from the other side are the same as us’; and when the headmaster asks Jamal to step inside his footsteps when they try to cross the border at night. The story establishes that there are certain identity markers that can be changed or disguised easily. It also shows how there are certain situations, like in this case, an honest mistake made by an innocent child, where empathy can take precedence over prejudice. In my opinion, the most crucial point that the film makes is how prejudice can be layered. Peeling back one layer can reveal another, like in the scene where the three characters share a meal.

This Oscar-nominated short film also gives us a peek into the rustic beauty of Rajasthan and carries a strong reminder of how the partition of India continues to affect the lives of people living on the borderlands. In the run up to the 74th Independence Day celebrations of both the nations, let this film remind us about the unnaturalness of borders and labels, and to recognize the sameness in each other.