Little messengers of peace

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The movie ‘Little Master’,  directed by L Rajendran, is based on the role played by children in nurturing communal harmony. The movie revolves around two states - Gujarat and Kerala and the evil of communal riots which destroy innocent lives.  A young couple, Gopi and Rajalakshmi, elope from Kerala, and board a train to Gujarat with great expectations about a life together. The roles of Gopi and Rajalakshmi are played by Madhupal and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy.Soon they have a son Nandu, who grows up with the dream of becoming a cricket player. His father encourages him in the sport. Gopi gifts his son a new cricket bat, ‘autographed with his heart beats’. The peaceful life of this small family is often marred by the communal tension prevailing in the state. And one day, attackers barged into their house and Gopi is assaulted to death. Left with no one to support, the mother and son board the bus to Kerala. Lakshmi is sure that she will not be welcomed by her family members with open arms. Though her mother is happy to see her daughter after 15 long years, her brothers are not ready to welcome her. Her childhood friend Subaida takes her home. Subaida’s brother Rafiq, played by Lal, is a character who tries to help them out in times of difficulties. But then the gossip mongers cook up stories about Lakshmi and Rafiq. Lakshmi leaves the house with her son. Rafiq finds a new place for them to stay, helps her find a job as a teacher and her son is admitted to the same school.Nandu has no friends at school but later Ummu Kulusu, a girl his age, becomes friends with him. The place where they are living has plenty of instigators of communal hatred and assaults between Hindus and Muslims are common. In one of the riots, Ummu loses one of her legs and Nandu misses his friend at school. His mother, who had never encouraged him to play cricket, hands him the bat in the hope of eliminating his loneliness and asks him to play and fulfill the dream of his father. He practises with the help of Rafiq who is the physical trainer at the school. Watching him play, many join him irrespective of their religion. A cricket team is formed in the school under the captaincy of Nandu. But, some elders cannot digest the sight of unity developing among the children. Some fanatics belonging to the Muslim community plan to bomb the premises of the temple junction while the match is going on.Nandu and his team win the match and Firoz, who used to nurse a grudge against Nandu, is titled ‘Man of the Match’. Out of guilt, Firoz discloses the bomb plan to Nandu. They run to the spot to clear off people standing near the area. Nandu and Firoz rush into the temple and close its gates, screaming, ‘‘We are going to shed our own blood for attaining peace and harmony in this society.” Watching this, the miscreants who planted the bomb venture forward and defuse it. The friends’ group, which began as a one-man army with Nandu all by himself, becomes ‘Little Masters’. The movie ends on the note that each child can play a role in bringing about communal harmony in a land of hatred.