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Thursday
June 21, 2001

How dare you?

I am really appalled at the boldness shown by Mohsen Makhmalbaf ["Limbs of no body"]: he is poking his knows in matters he knows nothing about. He has never lived in Afghnestan; he is not an Afghan man; how dare he take up the cross on behalf of Afgan people and oppose what may or may not appear right in the eyes of Afghans and their government? Why shoudl this narrow minded Iranian film maker who is in desparate need of publicity for his new film think he can get involved in matters he knows nothing about? He is indeed a typical Iranian man who thinks he knows it all, doesn't he? On the other hand come to think of it, Mohsen Makhmalbaff is a shameless Iranian man who has on numerous occasions actively put down Afghan people: for instance in Cyclist or Bycikelrun in which Iranian actors and actresses play roles which should have been played by Afghan artists simply because it was about a circ-e-Afghani.

I am indeed both amazed and appalled at the guts Mohssen Makhmalbaf is showing yet again. Can someone please tell me; answer me: Akheh... how can he forget that not long ago, in fact only 21 years ago, he was one of hundreds of Islamic Iranians who did to Iran what Talaban is now doing to Afghan? Who will dare think or say that Talaban is worse than our own Ayat ullah Khalkhaly? The Afghan people or Talaban movement are only imitating what Mohsen Makhmalbaff and his like did to Iran 21 years ago proudly and defiantly. So why should now Talaban be a bad movement or person, while Makhmalbaf and his likes considered themselves heroes up until ten or twelve years ago for doing the same thing as Talaban is doing now?

Let me assure this typical ignorant Iranian man/artist that since the victorious Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, all Islamic countries, including Algeria and Afghanestan, have been trying to do within their own countries what Mohsen Makhmalbaff and his gang of foundamental Islamists did to Iran during and after the Revolution of 1979 simply because they still think what happened in Iran then was good and they too want a taste of this good that happened to Iranians; why should Makhmalbaf/we laugh at them {other Islamic nations} for wanting to do what the likes of Makhmalbaf did in Iran only 21 years ago; they {Islamic countries/people} want a taste of the good that took place in Iran due to Islamic Revolution, simply because they too are victims of an Iranian saying or zarbulmassal which says: seday douhul shaneedan az dour khoshast. These people did not experienced the with-hunt and self-destruction that took place / is taking place inside Iran because of the Islamic Revolution; they have in fact heard or seen no evils about having an Islamic Revolution, any revolution inside any country; they only saw the excitement of it on their TV screens and fell for it and to this date they are still trying to experience it themselves/personally. Has he (Makhmalbaff) forgotten that up until ten years ago he was in the business of making films about the good of being a foundamentalist Islamic fanatic {like he himself used to be?} The youth of Islamic countries fell in love with his films and became his fans precisely because he was their Islamic hero as they too wanted to bring about an Islamic Revolution within their own countries and go through what Makhmalbaf had been through?

In short I am of the opinion that Mohsen Makhmalbaff is no more than a shamelss, opportunist hypocrit film maker who is jumping on the band vagon in order to take advantage of the saga relating to destruction of the Budha statue in Afghanestan; he needs and is in search of maximum publicity for his latest film: saffar Ghandahar {which is no more than an unauthorised copy from a book by Behjat Reza'ee called LIKE THE MOON} and believes that the Afghan question is the best vehicle that can take him to where he wants to go: which is publicity at international level and then even more publicity at international stage.

For if this gentleman (Makhmalbaf} was not a hypocrit who is after his own personal interest and an opportunist who is taking advantage of other people's miseries, instead of jumping on the band vagon of Budha Statue he would do something about the peight of Iranians inside Iran; i.e. he would do his best to eliminate poverty, ignorance, absence of legal and political rights within Iran which includes upholding rights of all artists from whom he is busy making copies without first seeking their permission let alone creditting them for the unauthorised adaptations he is in the business of. Millions of little children inside Iran are starving to death; millions of parents are forced to kill off their own children because they cannot afford to feed, clothe and educate them; but no, Mohsen Makhmalbaff is not interested in assisting his own people; why? because there won't be anything in it for him; Mr Makhmalbaf is not interested in upholding the rights of other Iranians to minimum social and economical security, simply because he himself is engaged in violating Iranian people's riths / trampling them under his own feet; instead he chooses to be interested in the lot of Afghan children and conditions of Afghan people and destruction of Budha statue etc {while he is busy destroying Iranian artists so that he could copy their works /intelllectual property. Why is he doing this? Because he needs publicity; because like all his fellowIranians he too needs to be at the centre of the world stage so that all the attention can be focussed on him and no body else but him.

So, let us keep our head above water and not fall in the whirlpool that is being created by Mohsen Makhmalbaf so that he and he alone can come back to the international stage for Iranian film makers with a big bang and make the most of it while he is at it. Believe me, a true charitable person will start from his own home simply because one person is not big enough to sort the problems of all the world; just as the Iranian saying goes: cheraghy keh be khaneh ravast be masjid haram ast; or in other words Mohsen Makhmalbaf is a phoney Iranian film maker and a con benefactor of Afghan children; he has entered the arena consisting of dilemas relating to Afghan issues today for his own sake only {perhaps he wants to be Princess Diana of Iran, who knows?} Believe you me this man has not an iota of sympathy for children / people of Afghanestant nor for any living being on this planet. For if he did, he would not ignore conditions at his own door step and go 2000 miles away from it and attend to the plight of the children inside Afghanestan.

Yours sincerely,

Rana Bahar

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