Bollywood

This study investigates the representations of Hindu-Muslim relationship in Bollywood movies from 2008 to 2018. It is assumed that after 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, which are known as 26/11, conflicts between Hindus and Muslims have escalated. Since Indian people are extreme fans of movies, especially Bollywood movies, in this regard, it is expected that media could play a significant role in increasing or alleviating the conflicts by influencing people’s attitudes and opinions. This research seeks to examine the extent and modality of the representation of Hindu-Muslim relationships in Bollywood after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The study was conducted through a content analysis of 11 Bollywood movies, which were selected from 70 Muslim-characters-based movies. Favorable, unfavorable, neutral and unclear were the four factors through which the movies’ contents were analyzed. The overall analysis of these factors indicate that 66.17% of the scenes were favorable, 14.70% were unfavorable, 2.94% were neutral, and 16.17% presented unclear images of Hindu-Muslim relationship in Bollywood movies. The results also indicate that Bollywood is not only depicting a positive image of this relationship, but also tries to tighten the bonds of the two religions, and in a broader sense, ties the two neighboring countries, Pakistan and India.

This paper aims to investigate the portrayals of Hindu-Muslim relations in recent Bollywood movies with a specific emphasis on the Tanhaji movie. The movie narrates and depicts a religious struggle in the 17th century for the liberation of India. While Hindu-Muslim relations and conflicts have had many fluctuations throughout the history of India, evidences indicate that the contemporary situation of Muslims have worsened in the country. In parallel with the discriminatory discourses that are becoming prevalent against Muslims in the mainstream Indian society, different types of media represent and justify these actions. Cinema as the most significant type of popular entertainment in India has played an important role in this regard. The results of the present study indicate that by introducing Hindus as heroes who are smart, loyal, brave, diligent and dedicated to their motherland, and Mughal Muslims as violent, cruel and irrational, certain Bollywood movies have provided a significant contrast between the two groups.