Construction of Differences Through Movies: A Case Study of Portrayal of Kashmiri Muslims in Indian Movies (original) (raw)
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Portrayal of Muslims in Indian Cinema: A Content Analysis of Movies during (2002-8)
bzu.edu.pk
This study examines 'Indian cinema and Muslim image' from 2002 to 2008. From the very beginning and particularly since 9/11 incident, the Indian film industry very often portrays the Muslim with stereotype image (which is negative). After the 9/11 incident, Muslims are being looked as suspicious people and portrayed as terrorists. Indian film industry adds fuel to the fire by making a lot of movies on Muslims and presenting them as terrorists and negative ones. This research is being carried out to scientifically explore that how and to what extent Indian cinema is distorting and changing the Muslim image. This study tests by using content analysis of 50 Indian movies which were taken out from 350 Muslim-characters based movies. Ten variables were developed to test the hypothses. Code sheet has been made to get the results in statistical form. Favorable, unfavorable and neutral were the three slants through which the content was analyzed. These slants show that whether Indian movies present Muslims as favorable, unfavorable and neutral. The overall results of these slants show 4.4% favorable images, 65.2% unfavorable and 30.4% neutral images of Muslims portrayal by Indian cinema. The results indicate that Indian cinema is distorting the Muslim image and an anti-Muslim propaganda has been carried out not only in India but also at international level.
2024
Indian films, namely Bollywood films, have an appreciative reputation for making cinemas that embrace intercultural values and racial coexistence. Nowadays, Bollywood films have noticed an aberration from its history of producing highly acclaimed films irrespective of ideology and affiliation. Many films were banned in many Muslim countries, and many were receiving widely controversial talks from internationally recognized film experts. As anational film industry, Bollywood has been trying to show the problems existing in Kashmir. The author selected two recent films, The Kashmir Files (2022) and Mudda 370 J & K (2019), based on the dimension of insensitive scenes shown in the films. Seemingly, the films were exploring what was happening in Kashmir and what had already happened there against the Hindu community. However, the narrative and visuals of the film are explicitly Islamophobic. This study intended to examine the selected films' text,dialogues, signs, and overall content. Through qualitative film analysis, the author explored how the films' contents were insensitive to a particular ethnic group and could create disharmonizing factors in society. Due to the extensive multimodality of film contents, the author used critical discourse analysis. Through rigorous analyses, the author showed how they used contents (signs and text) narrative, i.e., the storyline fabricated Islamophobic discourses. Films’ contents dehumanize Muslims, a minority group in India, as rapists, traitors, brutal bigots, and evils. The film industry should responsibly represent every communal group in the proceedings of developing the story and script of a film. If otherwise happens, the espousal of inter-religious peace and cultural pluralism gets hindered. So far, the representation of the Muslim community in Bollywood films is confined to racial majoritarianism, which is subtly backed by ideology and power.
Effects of Indian movies related to Kashmir issue on Pakistani youths
2015
This has been observed that due to many reasons, Indian movies are very popular in general public of Pakistan and particularly in young generation. This study focuses on the effects of Indian movies on Pakistani youths with special reference to Kashmir issue. Kashmir issue is a core issue between two neighbor countries - India and Pakistan. After the brief introduction and background of the issue, this is analyzed that after watching these movies, whether Pakistani youths has changed or mould its opinion regarding this specify issue under the influence of the stories, scenes and songs etc. of the Indian movies, and whether this young generation has any type of patriotism in their minds for its own country Pakistan .They have become the supporters of Indian viewpoint or not. For this purpose, the contents of those movies which were released after 2000 are analyzed and then a survey of 100 Pakistani youths are conducted randomly. After the results, the researchers have found that 95....
Portrayal of the Muslim Community and Islam by Indian cinema Post 9/11- An Analysis
2014
Indian cinema has been a mirror to the multidimensional nature of the subcontinent, be it in its portrayal of Indian culture, society, castes, classes, politics, art, or religion. Movies like Bombay depict the trauma of an inter-religious love and marriage of a young Hindu man and a beautiful Muslim woman, and their ultimate triumph, amidst a communal riot. Muslim terrorism was depicted in movies like Roja , Mission Kashmir, Maachis and others, with Kashmir and the Indo-Pakistan conflict as the theme. Minorities especially Muslims, as spies, traitors, or smugglers, has been a common theme in commercial cinema. This paper attempts to examine the representation of a minority community-the Muslims-in Indian cinema post 9/11. The paper presents a content analysis of the films New York, Anwar and Vishwaroopam. Predominantly, so far, the representation of this minority community in Indian cinema has remained within the dominant discourse, even in its stereotyping.
Politics and Propaganda in the Films: Critical Engagement with the Kashmir Files
Films are not the only source of entertainment but also the medium of politics. The political establishments use some genres of the films to justify a particular ideology and worldview. Like many film industries in the world, Bollywood also produced films representing the worldview of a specific ideology and framed the marginalized communities as the 'other'. The recent Bollywood film-The Kashmir Files by Vivek Agnihotri depicts the episode of migration of the Kashmiris Brahmin Population in the early period of the 1990s. Film critics categorise this film as ideological-driven and serving the vested interest of the present-day regime in India. Using the content analysis, this paper critically engages with the film, its plot, cinematography and dialogues of the characters and sees how the film serotyped the Kashmiri Muslim as the 'other'. The paper will also use the secondary literature and the interviews to see how far the film is based on actual events.
Global Media Journal-Indian Edition, 2020
Cinema is one of the powerful and popular media that reaches the masses. Indian films represent the multidimensional nature of the country; the popular themes establish the various cultures, customs, castes, classes, politics, art, and religion of the sub-continent. The process by which the films interpret and construct the spectator's world or external reality is known as representation. Religious minorities, especially Muslims, are represented as kings, spies, friends, smugglers, gangsters who are transformed to terrorist in popular Hindi cinema. Similarly, Tamil films portray the image of Muslims from the pre-independence period, followed by the post-independence with conflicts of India and Pakistan, later with controversial issues like Kashmir insurgency, communal riots, 9/11 attack, Mumbai bomb blasts etc. This paper aims to analyze the portrayal of Muslim characters in Tamil cinema by examining material from selected three Tamil films featuring Kamal Hassan, released between 2009 and 2018. The result reveals that Tamil films predominantly propagate the negative image of Muslims and fabricate them as violent, terrorists, aggressors with the heavy stereotypical manner, and portray them as the destruction of peace.
This research aims to analyse the ways in which Muslims are portrayed in Bollywood films. Since September 11, Bollywood films have been using negative stereotypes of Muslims. These films have gradually begun to portray Muslims in a serious and widespread fashion. Since the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, concerns about Muslims being portrayed negatively in films have increased dramatically. Bollywood movies today frequently show Muslims from other countries and sometimes show Indian Muslims in a negative light. Muslims are often represented in negative ways, such as being untrustworthy, anti-national, hostile, harsh, malevolent, or terroristic. The film business has expanded greatly over the past decade, and its products are now watched by a massive international audience. Many Hollywood Alisters, the majority of whom are Muslims, are cast in films that are critical of Islam. The purpose of this research is to determine systematically how Muslims are portrayed in Bollywood films and television shows. Bollywood, India's Hindi film industry, is generally more accepting of Muslim characters than Hollywood is, but there have been recent cases where the dialogue has metastasized Islamophobia through frightening portrayals of Muslims. Although there are over 200 million Muslims in India, many Bollywood films still portray members of this community as terrorists or extremists. This portrayal adds to the demonization of one of the largest religious populations and perpetuates the misconception that all Muslims are aggressive or dangerous.
Portrayal of Muslims in Bollywood Movies: A Comparative Analysis Pathan, and Kerala Story
2023
This research delves into the portrayal of Muslims in Bollywood cinema, analyzing two significant films released in the first half of 2023, 'Pathaan' and 'The Kerala story'. With one film adopting a balanced and neutral perspective and the other propagating highly biased and factually inaccurate information, the study scrutinizes the complex and evolving dynamics of Muslim representation in the industry. This research also underscores the powerful role of Bollywood in shaping societal norms, challenging stereotypes, and influencing perceptions. It calls for a more conscientious approach to filmmaking, emphasizing authenticity, inclusivity, and ethical considerations. The study advocates for responsible storytelling that fosters understanding, respect, and harmony, rejecting the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes and biases in favor of a more inclusive and interconnected world.