tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post6014426319310280083..comments2023-11-10T08:26:51.182-06:00Comments on Beth Loves Bollywood: Javed Akhtar on Hindi films as a state of the unionBeth Loves Bollywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05540154833326987567noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-63074374951493642042007-05-11T14:31:00.000-05:002007-05-11T14:31:00.000-05:00I came accross Ram Guha's article sometime time ba...I came accross Ram Guha's article sometime time back. I wouldnt have agreed with Javed Aktar a decade ago, but Hindi Cinema found acceptence in south India in the last decade or so. My parents and most of my relatives have limited knowledge of Hindi, but they watch good Hindi movies now and then, that too with out subtitles.<BR/><BR/>@ Nina<BR/>South Indian movies do a better job at depicitng cultural/religious. diversity. There are loads of movies with one of the lead characters as Christians, especially in Tamil and Malayalam Cinema.Indianoguyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05083600569835485262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15977843.post-26907103292661601692007-05-09T05:31:00.000-05:002007-05-09T05:31:00.000-05:00That's a very tempting analysis, but given Bollywo...That's a very tempting analysis, but given Bollywood films' tendency to 'other' certain sub-communities within India, Bollywood may not be the best unifier in the land. It does seem that in Bollywood films, North Indian Hindu = the norm, and any other community is brought in as a broad slapstick stereotype, or avoided entirely. Or the third option, reserved mostly for how Muslim India is portrayed, where the avowed aim of the film is to portray pan-Indian or pan-religious brotherhood, and then you get a Veer-Zaara or an Amar Akbar Anthony. While good-hearted, these films also seem to me to 'other' the minority communities, by making such a belaboured point about how all men are the same, whatever their extraction. Rare is the Bollywood film where the majority of characters are, say, Muslim <I>as a matter of course</I> that need not be remarked upon, rather than as an aid to the plot.<BR/><BR/>I've seen far fewer South Indian films, but those too seem to go for the 'ignore' school of representing cultural diversity -- I haven't seen any characters in them that weren't South Indian Hindus.<BR/><BR/>That said, Bollywood films do combine a lot of landscapes, (filmified) dress and cultural aspects from all over India in any given film, so they may well provide a window onto other Indian states' culture for many viewers, making these less 'foreign' and thus fostering some element of India-wide unity. But I'm only speculating here.<BR/><BR/>The unifying aspect is perhaps simply in the love that all Indians have for these films, regardless of any cultural message.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com