By Katyayani
Though it started as a mere Twitter hashtag, the much-debated Boycott Bollywood trend has proved to be one of the latest victories of the Hindus against the continuous attack on Hindu Dharma. After Shamshera, Laal Singh Chaddha, Rakshabandhan, Dobara, and Liger, the next movie boycotted by Hindus is Brahmastra.
The ire of the Hindus is not unjustified. Since Bollywood’s inception, the industry has run on Hindu hate. To degrade the Hindus and their faith while glorifying Islam and Islamist invaders has been the fundamental character of movies. Through their fictitious stories, Bollywood has done one of the greatest disservices to the Hindu society and its reputation while presenting a sparkling image of the Muslims.
Remember the famous “Ramu Kaka”? For every affluent family shown in a classic Bollywood cinema, there was a servant named Ramu. This is how Bollywood mocks Bhagwan Ram who is loved & adored by Hindus. What’s worse? Several generations of movie-goers didn’t realize this mockery.
Actors like Yusuf Khan, Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jafri, Mahjabeen Bano and Mumtaz Jehan Dehlavi took Hindu names like Dilip Kumar, Jagdeep, Meena Kumari, and Madhubala. The behind-the-screen situation was also being ruled by Islamists who exploited their creative positions to the fullest. Salim Khan, Javed Akhtar, Khalid Mohamed, and Kader Khan are only a few names in a long list of Muslim writers who came up with stories, dialogues, screenplays, and characters that helped them propagate the narrative of “Muslim good, Hindu bad”.
A newly-independent Bharat depended on cinema for entertainment and emotional connection. Cinema also helped shape people’s opinions, thoughts, and ideologies. The Islamist cabal in Bollywood was quick to learn this truth and, through their cinema, peddled a pro-Islamist narrative.
A Pathan is projected as a brave and loyal friend, whereas a Brahman or Kayastha was either a lecherous man or a “ghuskhor muneem” who would molest a hapless woman or exploit her financially. “Hawas ka pujari”, and “Gunahon ka Devta”, were anti-Hindu terms that became part of the country’s everyday conversation.
Kafir, a word reeking of Islamist bigotry, was set as an evil entity in the subconscious of Hindu minds through melodic songs. The Hindu hero was showcased as an atheist who had no belief in the Hindu deities. He would not step inside a temple, refuse the Prasad, but would sport the Islamic 786 with utmost honour every day. This is how the megahit Deewar softly promoted the idea of Islam.
While the 60-70-80s saw a softer Islamization in cinema, the 2000s vehemently propagated Islamism in the country by showing down Hindu Dharma and belittling Hindu sentiments.
In 2003’s Veer-Zaara, Shah Rukh Khan played an Airforce officer who became so desperately mad in love that he sacrificed his duty toward his country, and his responsibilities towards his parents, for a Pakistani girl he had met just two days ago.
In Main Hoon Naa (2004), an ex-army officer, a Hindu named Raghav (another name of Bhagwan Ram) was presented as the villain, while Pakistanis were shown with great human qualities who wanted peace with India. We all know how reality is entirely different.
Within two years of the 2008 Mumbai attacks by Islamist Jihadis, Bollywood released My Name is Khan (2010) and Kurbaan (2009). In both these films, Muslims were projected as victims of hate and bigotry, and Islamist terrorism was accorded a soft justification. The promotion of Love Jihad through both these films cannot be ignored either.
The 2008 movie Firaq, based on the 2002 Gujarat riots, showcased Muslims as the absolute hapless and tormented demography in Bharat; Bollywood, in the past 20 years, has not made one movie to expose the brutality of Islamists who had charred over 50 Kar Sevaks alive.
From 2010-2020, the industry had barred its anti-Hindu and anti-Bharat fangs. With the introduction of social media, industry members, actors, or behind-the-scenes contributors exposed their innate hate for the Hindu culture. From mockery of Karwachauth, abusing Hindus as Hindutva terrorists, cow-piss drinkers, making sacrilegious comments on Hindu deities, and shaming Hindus for celebrating Holi-Diwali in the name of activism, Bollywood has done it all.
On one hand, they swapped the character of Mir Ranjan Negi to Kabir Khan in Chak De India to create a false narrative of Muslim victimhood and on the other hand, they made Haider propagate the Kashmiri separatist movement. Films like PK, where Aamir Khan denigrated Bhagwan Shiva, acted as the last nail in the coffin.
Bollywood is now infested by Hindu-hating elements that will add to the Hindu society’s cultural and moral decay. But Hindus have woken up from their prolonged slumber and decided not to take these insults lightly anymore. The Boycott Bollywood trend acted as the peak of an iceberg that hit the industry massively.
The arrogance of actors like Kareena Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Taapsee Pannu, and the newbie Vijay Devarakonda has cemented the audience’s aversion towards their films. The fact that Bollywood’s releases don’t match up to the expectations when the audience has access to global cinema and OTT platforms cannot be overlooked either. All in all, the sinking ship of Bollywood is now waiting to hit the rocks. Only a complete 180-degree turn from their anti-Hindu propaganda may rescue them, if at all.
(This story has been reproduced here with permission from Hindu Post.)
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