“The God of Love” – Hint at the Name
“Khalid” (Mohammed Asad) is the main character in “Ghulam.” The name Khalid has a Hindu connotation which links it to Vayu, Vishnu’s consort. For this reason, it is always used as the first letter of a person’s name in “The God of Love”JeevanMohanMohan.”
In “The God of Love,” Khalid’s name appears three times in the sequence. The first time he is mentioned is in the opening scene, when his name appears in the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 4). In the next scene, when the Baba (Pratap) speaks to the prince (Rajit), he uses the name Khalid as his alias. Finally, in the final scene (Chapter 45), the title character (Rajit) drops the name and proclaims himself “Khalid.”
“The God of Love” is about the relationship between Jesus and Krishna. Krishna tries to persuade Jesus to save the Ganges River from pollution. Krishna and Jesus are based on a literary and artistic theme – Krishna/Jesus is both being tempted by the Devil and entrapped by God. In this film, the demons hide behind the names that will remind them of their true nature, in order to confuse Jesus. And all the while, Jesus is at the same time trying to convince Krishna to follow his heart by following the perfect example set by Krishna.
In “The God of Love,” Khalid’s name features four times, in the first two minutes of the film. At first, the narrator says, “Allegedly Khalid is an orphan.” Then, in the next scene, Khalid’s name appears again, after Krishna has warned him to be mindful of his path: “Khalid’s life as a shoemaker would keep him from serving the gods.” Later, Khalid says to Krishna, “Your crowd is too harsh and uncivilized for me,” and whenKrishna asks how that is possible, he replies, “You don’t have a crowd. But I do. I have a very big family.”
A striking aspect of the story’s theme is that Krishna brings Khalid to his mind and then in the second scene says, “Do you know where I got my name? I was born under the name of Khalid.”
Another story’s parable is repeated in the final scene: “In many ways have I been made like this.” It is actually the “contradiction” between “sacred truth”concealed meaning” that lies at the core of the story. It also signifies the contradictions between God and humanity.
In “The God of Love,” Khalid’s name appears once more in the middle of the story. When Jesus asks him if he is upset by the fact that God allows his mother to die, he replies, “I love my mother.” Then, in the final scene, “God has got me when I am not looking. To you, he may have been dead and gone.”
In the end, the story has a neat, economical ending. Even the devil can be tricked with the help of a divine name: “Well, I can see Khalid now. {SAPip: ay that!)”
