What significance does this poem add to the movie?

In the movie Kaafiron ki Namaaz, the soldier character or the other turns on and off the radio a couple of times. Everytime the radio is on, there is a radio show going on. The host of the show reads some letters from the listeners of the show. In one of the scenes, he reads out a letter from a soldier named Gurman Singh. He writes in the letter about his deceased friend Naushad Ali. He adds a poem written by his deceased friend. It goes as follows:

When there's benefit, I am the pride,
When there's a riot, I am a toilet,
When there's nothing, I am a call girl
Some call me Dīn*, Some call me Dharma**
By what name do you know me? Do you know me at all?
You most certainly don't know me.

The host appreciates the poet and the poem. The soldier and the writer listen to the poem silently. Writer was a bit surprised on the letter. The content in the letter is related to the soldier character and matches with his mentality. On the other hand, it is opposite of the writer's mentality.

My question:

What does the poem add to the plot of the movie?

You can watch the scene here

^{*Dīn is the Arabic word for religion.}
^{**Dharma is the Sanskrit word for religion. The poet meant religions Islam and Hinduism respectively.}

plot-explanation kaafiron-ki-namaaz

Best Answer

What does the poem add to the plot of the movie?

It gives us another way to understand the protagonist. Like this poem soldier's beliefs on religion were also controversial but not unreasonable. Soldier's view of world was analytically critical so does the poem. Soldier praises the poem whereas the writer seems confused. So soldier's and writer's reactions to this poem also add understanding of both the characters by showing their reaction towards the poem.