Sukhi Lala was the immortal character of famous Indian classical movie ‘Mother India,' produced by Mehboob Khan. Sukhi Lala has been shown as greedy, brutal and immoral Lala, in the end, was brutally murdered. Unfortunately, this is the unchangeable and permanent image of Hindu Lala, Bania and Vaishya community people.
(See ‘Mother India')
Movies are rollercoaster voyage those have the amazing command to entertain and to teach. They can be a leading apparatus to bring about well-organized social change - true or untrue, that has no meaning here. Bollywood filmmakers are expert and misusing this quality. For example, Hindus, their customs, religion, temples, gods and goddesses etc. have been openly mocked in the Indian cinema. This is an inseparable part of Indian films. Unfortunately, this has become the image of Hindus and Hinduism made by Indian films in the society.
With the release of ‘Padmawat', produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, same debate is again repeated. Alauddin Khilji was a brutal king. His only big achievement was to stop the marauding Mongols. This act was not enough to make him a great sultan. However, the Bollywood, like Indian historians, always glorify Islamic invaders and rulers, glamorized this act.
They maintain that the Sultan had called his war specialists and they all advised him not to resists the brutal Mongols, when the foe was near Dilli. They claim that the Sultan did not pay any thought to his council. Bollywood, like left historians, claim that on this the Sultan said that he would not be able to enter his harem (private brothel) or show his face to his people. It was a very vile argument to show his bravery. Mongols had to retreat.
(See ‘Padmavat')
Actually, Alauddin murdered his own uncle and marries his daughter, means his cousin sister, Mehrunnisa, after raping her. Alauddin was a monster and not a Sultan. A few years back, Nitin Chandrakant Desai made a TV serial on this, titled, ‘Chittor Ki Rani Padmini Ka Johur'.in which Ratansen and Padmini in a ‘swayamvar' behave in an absurd manner. These Bollywood filmmakers twist the real story of Hindu kings in a very insulting manner.
Bollywood has been also very critical of ‘Jauhar', which used to be performed by Rajput women for protecting their chastity and honour otherwise; they would be subjected to rape by Islamic invaders. The Karni Sena was upset with it and forced Sanjay Leela Bhansali to change his views in ‘Padmavati'. He has made a very effective mixture of intense biases and age-old prejudices—something that makes a nationalist vies come true. Even some left-winger like Swara Bhasker has compared these chivalrous and sacrificing women, just like a vagina who just live and die, just for a part of the body and that is a vagina. ‘They must have felt like a 'vagina' when she chose 'fire' over 'rape'? It was her 'call', her 'decision' as a vagina. Right, wrong, strong, weak is up to you to interpret as a 'penis' or as a 'vagina'. (Google)
Indian filmmakers repeatedly have shown incompetence in depicting the true history and historical characters. Padmavati is no special in this regard. Queen Padmavati was shown, behaving like an ordinary woman. Thinkers believe that films can be amazingly complex to make a firm bond between the influence of a film and social change. However, Bollywood movies twist the entire story so the social forces of movies are twisted with a design to show Hindus in a bad light. The film, ‘Bajirao Mastani' is a very apt example. In the movie ‘Bajirao Mastani', the Hindu king Baji Rao has been portrayed in a poor way.
(See ‘Bajirao Mastani')
The real story was turned an imagery and romantic story to show the idealism of Alauddin Khilji and compares him with Rajputs. Bollywood claims in a number of movies that, ‘aan', ‘baan' and ‘shaan' were not restricted to Rajputs and Hindus; Muslim kings and rulers too, personified all of those preferred virtues.
Researches are available to show the impact of movies on people and society. In one of the studies, Andrew Butler of Washington University created a classroom where a movie was shown as a teaching device. A correct account of a historical incident was taught and the same event was shown by a movie. The movie showed contained both the correct and incorrect information about the historical incident. The student gripped very fast and memorized, whatever was shown in the movies.
(Andrew Butler, Washington University, Herbert, Wray, "I Learned It at the Movies", Scientific American Mind).
This is not new in Bollywood movies. Even so many dreaded or petty criminals have been shown as icons and it has tried to glorify them. Dreaded Muslim criminal Mohammad Latif has been projected as a nobleman in the film ‘Raees.' Dawood Ibrahim is a dreaded terrorist and smuggler. His entire family is involved in all types of crimes but his sister Haseena Parker is glorified in the film ‘Haseena.'
(See ‘Raees' and ‘Haseena')
A big chunk of Indian audience is uneducated and ignorant. They can be very easily influenced by the movies by the calibre of their interactive characters and exciting contents. Movies are misguiding our ideals and hope of realism, in spite of our eagerness to be influenced. Although the learning is inadvertent, it is just as competent as intended learning and controls our ideas and conduct.
In a large number of movies Hindus, Hindu Gods, Hindu customs and traditions are mocked and insulted. ‘PK', ‘SDurga', ‘Oh My God' etc are such movies in which Hindu Gods and customs are very badly mocked. In Pk, even, God is shown as the wrong number but he will never show Allah or 786 as wrong numbers. There are many such movies in which Indian and Hindu customs and ‘sanskaras' are mocked but ironically, there is hardly any movie in which Muslim or Christian ways etc are criticized or mocked.
(See ‘PK' and ‘SDurga')
In the famous film ‘Sholey', Dharmendra tries to fool Hemamalini to impress her, hiding behind the idol of Lord Shiva in a temple. In film ‘Shan' Amitab Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor dance very vulgarly, attired fully as Hindu saints, and are shown cheating women and people.
(See ‘Sholey' and ‘Shan')
In the movie, ‘Hath ki Safai', a Hindu prayer is parodied, glorifying theft and thuggery. In the movie of Farhan Akhtar starrer, ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag', ‘havan karenge,' is also shown in a comical manner. m The title of the film ‘Toilet ek Prem Kaths' in itself is very derogatory because ‘Katha' word is related to Hindu religion. Contrary to all this, cross, church pesters, skullcaps, namaz, maulvis etc are shown in an honourable manner.
(See ‘Hath ki Safai', ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag', and ‘Toilet ek Prem Kaths')
At the level of society, movies are understood to play a role in transmitting, creating, maintaining, and reinforcing the new societal and cultural ideas. In most of the cases, they create a new image of society and facts by interpreting the facts and things in terms of market and political ideas. They have nothing to do with "what is right", "what is", "what we want'" and "what is related to what else." In other words, movies generally depict a new or unreal reality.
(Kane, Harrison D., Taub, Gordon E., Hayes, B. Grant, "Interactive Media and Its Contribution to the Construction and Destruction of Values and Character").
In the ‘Comedy Nights', by Kapil Sharma, the knowledge ‘Shikha', (choti), donned by Hindus, is shown in a very disdainful manner. In the movie ‘Jigarwala', the Hindu priest is shown as a comical fraud. In the film ‘Bhool Bhullayya', ‘Deewana Mastana', ‘Mr & Mrs Khilari' etc also Hindu rituals, astrology, the knowledge ‘Shikha', (choti), Hindu temples etc are shown in a very derogatory manner.
(See ‘Comedy Nights', ‘Jigarwala', ‘Bhool Bhullayya', ‘Deewana Mastana', and ‘Mr & Mrs Khilari')
The Hindu priest is shown in poor light in Bollywood movies. Chief Hindu priest of Mewar, Raghav Chetan is shown peeping evil and is banished from the kingdom. He is also shown as cunning and greedy and extorts one of the precious bracelets from Padmavati by deceit.
But this deceiver is shown, glorifying Alauddin. Raghav Chetan says to himself in the book, "I shall go and describe the lotus (Padmavati) there where Alauddin, the bee, is. When he hears, he will rise, like the sun, and the jewel (Ratansen) will be darkened. "
Bhansali has united the first and second wives of the actual Alauddin to make a completely new woman. However, in real life, both women hate each other very bitterly. Clearly, facts can never come in the way when portraying any Muslim character.
In Jayasi's Padmavat, Alauddin isn't the only one mad for Padmavati. There was another Rajput prince named Devapal of Kumbhalner, too, who wants to marry her. A sword combat happens between Ratansen and Devapal, and both die fighting . Both the queens Padmavati and Nagmati commit sati on the funeral pyre of their husband. However, in the film, as they always do in the anti-Hindu imagination, the Muslim king wins the duel.
( Padmavat by Mallik Mohammad Jayasi)
In a number of movies, immorality is shown to the audience in the form of boys and girls make physical relationships out of wedlock. But in most of the movies, the religion of the girl is Hindu. Films, ‘Two States', ‘Ye Jawani Hai Deewani', ‘Jab We Meet' etc are an apt example of this kind. Elopement of the girl from the ‘mandap' with some loafer is also very common in Indian films. Again, this is shown in the Hindu marriage. ‘Three Idiots', ‘Duhle Raja', ‘Dil Wale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge', ‘Burfi', ‘Band Baza Barat' etc are some of the films showing this act.
(See ‘Two States', ‘Ye Jawani Hai Deewani', ‘Jab We Meet' Duhle Raja', ‘Dil Wale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge', ‘Burfi', and ‘Band Baza Barat')
Most of the Left wing and Islamists' biases that went into the Bollywood mix as features are clearly and intentionally. Some of them are - ‘Muslims are non-violent', ‘Hindus always stab you in the back', ‘Hindus always win by guile', ‘Muslims are incapable of violence', ‘Muslims will always play fair', ‘Hindus will always have a moral defeat', ‘Mosques, Dargaha, namaz, Church, The Bible, The Quran', etc are always depicted in a positive way but ‘Temples, Pundits, Hindus system', etc are shown in negative ways and so on.
Films, written by Salim-Javed or the film in which Kader Khan, Kaifi Azmi, Mahesh Bhatt etc are involved, generally show Hindus in a very bad light but Muslims, Christians and Sai Baba are depicted in a noble manner. There must a great Muslim character in their movies but a mockery of Hindus is a common phenomenon in their movies. Frauds, cheaters, and oppressors are always Hindu characters.
In, ‘Amar-Akbar-Anthony' the father of three children, ‘Kishan Lal' is a killer and smuggler but ‘Akbar' and ‘Anthony', who are shown as great Muslim and Christian, look after his children. The glorification of Sai Baba was started with this movie. a
(See ‘Amar-Akbar-Anthony')
noIn film ‘Kranti,' a character ‘Raja' (Pradeep Kumar) is shown as a traitor but ‘Karm Khan,' (Shatrughan Sinha) is a great patriot and sacrifices his life for the nation. Hindu landlords are depicted as brutal oppressors. Hindus generally insult parents in the Indian cinema and left unattended in some old age home. ‘Bagwan' has this story.
(See ‘Kranti' and ‘Bagwan')
The so-called new millennium started with the controversy generated by the filming of Deepa Mehta's last of the Trilogy ‘Water', which was based on the life of Hindu widows in the 1930s and the storyline again tries to demonize Hindu and Hinduism. In the recently released film ‘Kedarnath', again Hindu faith has been shown in poor light.
(See ‘Water' and ‘Kedarnath)
It can be said without any confusion that in Indian film, Hindu is either shown as an atheist or a person mocking the religion but names like Sher Khan, Pathan, Akbar, Abdul, DSP Disuja, Anthony, father, Michael, David etc are depicted as noble and great characters.
There is a unique characteristic of India cinema. Muslim actors are given great and honourable surnames. Dilip Kumar as ‘Tragedy King', Mehmood as ‘King of Comedy', Shah Rukh Khan as ‘King Khan', Aamir Khan as ‘Mr. Perfectionist', Saif Ali Khan as ‘Chote Nawab', Salman ‘Khan as Dabang' Meena Kumari as ‘Tragedy Queen', etc. But such surnames are never given to Hrithik Roshan, Ranbir Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgan, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai etc., who are much superior to them.
Hindu family relationships like mother-in-law (Saas), daughter-in-law (bahu), uncle (mama and chacha), aunt (mami and chachi) etc are demonized. They are presented like ruthless, conspiring and cheating villains. Ironically, all such characters are Hindus.
The Indian film industry is always in the grip of Muslim criminals like Dawood, Chota Shakeel, Abu Salem, Raees Khan, Karim Lala, Haji Mastan etc. so Muslims get honourable treatment there and Hindus are shown in poor light. Pundits are shown as rogues, Rajputs as brutes, Bania as a miser, greedy, cheater, (‘Roti') and Sardar as a foolish comedian.
Hardly, any of the films of Bollywood has intended to be agents of social change in a positive manner. Most of them are foolishly moving stories whose primary purpose is to earn heavy and fat bucks.
Bollywood is in the grip of anti-Hindu secular liars. It seems shrewd and sound that a well-made film- particularly one with a gripping tale and well-built outreach chart would serve as a method to alter minds, cheer viewers to change fixed behaviours, and begin update or recuperate social movements.
According to the film critic and academician Bhagwat S. Goyal:
Film, as an art, of the age of mechanical reproduction, is a hybrid product of modern technology and man's aesthetic imagination- a form that has borrowed freely, from the existing art forms like literature, theatre, dance, painting, architecture, music and cinematography etc. just a hundred years old, cinema or film, had brought out a revolutionary change in the way people perceive reality, the way they see things, and the way they believe. The all-pervasive influence of the film has outstripped all other influences, of fine art and culture on people's imagination.
(Film and Literature, K.K.SHARMA (ed.), K.K.Publications, Delhi-110006, 1997, p-1.)
Bollywood directors understood long back that if present Islam, in its true colours is projected with truth, then many Muslims won't tolerate that. So, they don't show the darker part of it e.g. triple talaq, gender inequality, child-marriage etc.
Some directors tried but faced a huge protest from the Muslim community.
The second reason - Increase in business by targeting Hindus is very easy to explain. Hindus have always been an easy target. Make fun of their Gods/ Goddesses, their culture/traditions, their religious beliefs and you can easily en-cash your movie.
(Quora, Why does Bollywood glorify Islam and makes fun of Hindu culture?, Qamaruddin Mohammed ibn Aiqbal Abu Salem), FreeLancer at Freelancing, Updated Feb 15, 2017, Google)
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