The film Qutub: Ek Adhura Afsana, which is about the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site and symbolic marker of the city of Delhi, explores various histories, myths, legends and everyday meanings associated with this remarkable historic building which transform it into a perfect site of memory.
The film takes the Qutub complex as a reference point to raise a few very base questions. Can a religion be assigned to buildings of historic importance? Does it mean that every minaret is Muslim and every idol is Hindu? How does this fixed imagination of history that divides India’s past into Hindu and Muslim contribute to communal conflicts?
How do we look at the process of recognising old buildings/ruins as officially declared protected monuments of national importance? How does this official recognition affect the symbolic status of Qutub Minar as a monument? Do common people care about the controversial histories of this building?
The video encourages an informal convention on history, myth politics and popular culture so that we can draw our own meanings of Qutub.