Wrong depiction of Hindus and Hindu culture in a few movies - some thoughts

Purpose of this article is to express my views, displeasure and anguish on the depiction of Hindus in some of the movies made in India. Purpose is to question the motive behind such unfair practice. This article is based on information available in public domain. 

Cinema is a powerful medium. Some of the intelligent filmmakers know how to cleverly infuse their personal ideological agenda to influence viewers or please their followers.

To certain extent any movie or writing will surely project the  personal belief system of its creator. Still, when fiction overshadows facts to show a particular section in poor light, it cannot be accepted and has to be called out. 

This trend is notable especially while making biopics. If the protagonist is a Hindu or especially GC Hindu, his or her identity will be either changed or hidden or underplayed. Identity of antagonist will be mostly depicted as Hindu even if his true identity is different.

All of this done in the name of creative liberty. Somehow project Hindu/Brahmin as regressive, selfish, superstitious and uncultured and project others as epitome of virtues - this seems to be the motto. This theme runs as covert undercurrent or many a time done overtly.

Derogatory depiction of Hindus, our Gods, Bharateeya traditions and GC Hindus like Brahmins, Baniyas, Thakurs etc, can be observed in many of the Bollywood made Urdu movies. ( Many movies of  bollywood are more Urdu than Hindi)

Some examples.

1) Chak De India (2007) - This movie was supposedly based on the life of hockey coach Mr. Ranjan Negi, a Hindu. In the movie the lead character's identity was changed as Kabir Khan played by popular actor Shah Rukh Khan. Why not be accurate while making a film on true individuals? No. It doesn't suit the moviemaker's agenda that Hindu cannot be shown in a positive manner.

2) Sherni (2021) - In this movie,  based on the incidents in the life of Hindu IFS officer K Abharna, her identity was changed into a Christian character Vidya Vincent played by Vidya Balan.  While real life hunter Asghar Ali Khan was filmed as kalawa-wearing Ranjan Rajhans a Hindu. Agenda of some of the movie makers seems to present Hindus as bad people, by hook or crook.

These are two examples to show the bias against Hindus in the Urdu / Hindi movies. Twitter handle @gemsofbollywood has exposed many such Hinduphobic movies.

In some of Aamir Khan's movies, Hindu Gods, Hindu religious practices, it's followers have been shown in disrespectful, distasteful manner. At the same time characters of other faiths will be portrayed as gentle, cultured, fair and helpful. Such derogatory depiction is  brazen in some movies and nuanced in others. Sometimes this is done in a subtle manner through seemingly innocuous dialogues, props and images.

Eg. PK movie which portrayed Hindus gods and religious practices in a very insulting manner. Why the same actor never attempts to take the same liberty with other faiths ?  🤔.

Even in his TV programme Satyameva Jayate he always projected the faults in Hindu culture and never even raised a single bad practice of any other faiths including his own religion. Why ? Is this not a deliberate attempt to belittle Hinduism ?

In the movie 3 idiots this is done in a subtle manner. One of the three friends, a Hindu character is shown as superstitious, his family is shown as uncultured and unhygienic. Whereas the family of a Muslim character is shown as very cultured and dignified. 

Coming to south, the Hinduphobic and anti GC Hindu depiction has been observed in a few movies. Especially in some of the recent Tamil movies, the projection of Dravidian ideology seems to be on the rise. In some of the Malayalam films also silently anti Hindu undercurrent runs.

1) Soorarai Potru - A successful and well made movie based on entrepreneur Capt. Gopinath's life who built Air Deccan, a low cost airline against all odds. For reasons  best known to themselves, the identity of the hero's character who is a Brahmin in real life is changed. A villainous character is shown as Brahmin. Dravidian ideology is injected to change the tone and tenor of the movie.

Please read this article which has a detailed review of the movie.

(https://www.google.com/amp/s/swarajyamag.com/amp/story/ideas%252Fsoorarai-pottru-review-a-bopic-meant-to-highlight-a-deccan-success-but-ends-up-a-dravidianist-apology)

2)The just released movie Amaran based on the life of Maj. Mukund Varadarajan, a brave martyr who gave his life for the nation fighting against terrorists in 2014.

This movie is being appreciated by viewers and critics. While there is no issue with the craftsmanship while one can see the nuanced anti Brahmin approach. The identity of Major Mukund who was a Tamil Brahmin is conveniently hidden in the movie. Fair enough, as there is no issue of caste or religion in serving nation and armed forces. If the identity of the army officer's family is truthfully presented, does it in any way decrease his greatness ?

Whereas the identity and roots of the  major's wife character Indhu Rebecca Verghese are meticulously presented.

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Please read this thread how Tamil movies are controlled by Dravidian ideology.

https://x.com/labstamil/status/1852225868086808639?t=IyXHKe0KvAbrz4P-dAAJ7Q&s=19

Please read the Twitter handle Gems of bollywood to know how badly Hindu culture and festivals have been depicted in Bollywood movies.

https://x.com/GemsOfBollywood?t=Pbcd38qafoZCB_Ddz2k3jA&s=09

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ఈ విషయం లో తెలుగు సినిమాలు కొంత నయం. బ్రాహ్మణులను తక్కువ చేసి చూపడం కొన్ని సినిమాలలో ఉన్నప్పటికీ, హైందవ సంస్కృతి, సనాతన ధర్మం గురించి మంచిగా చూపే ప్రయత్నం ఉంది. ఉదా. అఖండ చిత్రం. ఇందులో బాలకృష్ణ పాత్ర ద్వారా సనాతన ధర్మం , మన దేవతల గురించి  అద్భుతంగా చిత్రీకరించిన కొన్ని సన్నివేశాలు ఉన్నాయి.అలాగే కార్తికేయ -2 చిత్రం లో కూడా కృష్ణుడి గొప్పతనం వివరించే దృశ్యాలు చూపడం అభినందనీయం. 

అయితే తద్భిన్నంగా హిందువులను ముఖ్యంగా GC హిందువులను భారతీయ సంస్కృతిని తక్కువ చేసి చూపే చిత్రాలు ఒక వైపు వస్తూనే ఉన్నా, సనాతన ధర్మం, హిందూ సంస్కృతి ఔన్నత్యం చూపించే చిత్రాలు కూడా ఈ మధ్య కొన్ని వస్తున్నాయి.ఇది స్వాగతించాల్సిన విషయమే. 

Hindus are increasingly becoming aware of the anti Hindu movies being made and started questioning. Leftist controlled MSM doesn't give much coverage or voice to Hindus.