According to a survey done by Professor Dheeraj Sharma of IIM Ahmedabad and his team, in more than 150 schools, 94% of students believe Bollywood’s stereotypical representation is authentic. Those 94% of young minds fall for the propaganda and believe whatever Bollywood depicts as true and part of our History.
Bollywood is trying to create an alternate reality rather than showing it.Bollywood is trying to create an alternate reality rather than showing it. In research done by Professor Dheeraj Sharma, where he included movies and shows from the 1950s to 2010s – in 74% of films, Sikhs are laughable – in 58% of films, corrupt politicians share Hindu Brahmin surnames – in 62% of films, corrupt businessmen had Vaishya surnames. On the contrary, 84% of films show Muslims as deeply religious and honest people.
Now, let us look at some specific examples. PK is one of the most popular movies, starring Aamir Khan. Yes, I know plenty has been written on the film but no harm in repeating it. When many Hindus started protesting that in the film, Hindu gods, especially Shiva, are ridiculed, the makers of the film insisted that all religions are questioned in the film and to an extent, they are right. The small difference is whereas all the religions are questioned, Hinduism is ridiculed, and the ridicule is highlighted in a long sequence when one of the greatest Hindu gods, Shiva (a person acting as Shiva in a nautanki, not actual Shiva), is shown crawling under the seats or hiding in a toilet.
When the central character of the film PK questions other religions, he is not questioning their gods or making fun of their gods, he is simply questioning the way people try to placate the gods or try to make profit out of people’s blind belief.
But when it comes to a Hindu god, the very existence of the gods is questioned, and not just questioned, ridiculed, lampooned. Even the main godman in the end who questions and torments the female character is a Hindu. If you say this is because maybe the female character was a Hindu, then in this case, why not have a Muslim female character or a Christian female character? There was no particular reason for the female character to be a Hindu, just like there is no particular reason for Rishi Kapoor’s character in 102 Not Out to seek solace in a temple rather than a church.
In which Bollywood movie have you seen a Hindu priest or a Hindu sadhu playing a good, benevolent role? Hindu religious men and women are shown to be hoodwinking people, tormenting the lower castes or just being nasty in general. They are never a good or a normal part of the narrative. There is always a negative connotation that leaves a bad taste in the mouth. It is always the subconscious that is the target of such narratives.
The first image of a Hindu Brahmin in an old black-and-white movie that I have etched in my mind is that of a child running and colliding into a Brahmin who is reciting slokas, and the Brahmin hurls choicest abuses on the child, because now he would have to take a bath again.
