The Aligarh Muslim University recently held a screening of the biopic

MUMBAI: Keeping faith in his mission was one of the traits of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898), a leading reformer who founded Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Inspired by Sir Syed’s unshakeable resolve to achieve his goal, Mumbai-based filmmaker Shoaib Chaudhary has completed the first biopic on the man who is credited with infusing new life in his community left devastated in the aftermath of 1857 revolt.
Based on one of Sir Syed’s earliest biographies, Hayat-E-Javed by noted writer-poet and Sir Syed’s close associate Altaf Hussain Haali, the film, ‘Sir Syed Ahmed Khan The Messiah’, is divided into two parts of two hours each, and has been completed despite hitting roadblocks.
The project faced hurdles as AMU’s authorities put several tough conditions to the filmmaker if he wanted to shoot some portions at the heritage section of the campus. Initially, former VC Dr Tariq Mansoor did not acknowledge Choudhary’s letters, seeking permission to shoot at the campus. Then the university made some tough guidelines, one of which wanted the filmmaker to share the subject’s synopsis. Subsequently, the university wanted Rs 1 lakh per day for shoots at the campus.
“We had not asked for any monetary help from the university. We would have even paid the amount in fees for shooting at the campus, but the demand to share synopsis was unjustified and we refused,” said Choudhary.
“We had asked for the synopsis, but he didn’t want to share with us and now we have heard he has gone ahead with shooting in Mumbai,” a spokesperson for the university had told TOI in Feb 2023.
“The film is also important because it gives a message that modern education and scientific thoughts can be panacea to backwardness of any community,” said Shafey Kidwai, professor of mass communications at AMU. Kidwai had also vetted the biopic’s script.