Playing the Part Properly

Playing the Part Properly

1985 12 December 12 Playing the Part Properly (419) British actor Ian Richardson plays the part of Jawaharlal Nehru in a new Anglo-American television series entitled “Mountbatten in India”. Realizing the difficulties of a foreigner playing the part of one who remains a hero in the sight of his countrymen. Richardson prepared himself for the task in hand with amazing rigour. First he made a pilot trip to India. “I said I couldn’t possibly play it unless I felt in touch, could smell, could taste, would have Delhi belly, could have whatever is associated with India.”

Then he started reading. “I read so much about Nehru it was coming out of my armpits. In his own words largely.” He listened to recordings of all Nehru’s speeches and then compiled an enormous personal pronunciation dictionary. “It meant that I would prepare a scene, memorize it, then refer to my Nehru dictionary, underlining key words with various asterisks in the corner of the page.” He went to incredible lengths to look and sound like Nehru. “I feel I have to look as close to the character, to be as close to the character as possible.”

This is the length to which people go to play a part which is just going to occupy a short period of their lives. Muslims also have a role to play, and one that should occupy every moment of their entire lives on earth. It is the role of their leader, the Prophet Mohammad, may peace be upon him, who within the twenty-three years of his mission, completed a revolution which completely reoriented people’s thinking, and reverberated the world over.

This is a role which can only be performed with intense preparation. The world is awaiting a revolution in consciousness, the like of which has not been seen since the day of the Prophet of Islam. It is up to his followers to initiate this revolutionary process. To do this, they must acquaint themselves with every department of the Prophet’s life. They must become familiar with the manner in which he set about his task, the skill, wisdom, dexterity and tact with which he asserted the ascendancy of true religion on earth, and put falsehood to flight.

To become a true Muslim is to play the part of the Prophet Mohammad on earth. It is to involve oneself fully in the struggle for revival of true faith in God. This is the most mighty and all-consuming task. It requires much more rigorous preparation than that which an actor undergoes to perform a mere theatrical role.