A spy thriller said to be inspired by true events, Mission Majnu was released in January on Netflix in Pakistan, instantly being placed in the “Top 10 movies in Pakistan Today” chart. However, the bashing started when the trailer was released on YouTube and other social media platforms. The trailer, much before its release on Netflix, was criticised for its portrayal of Pakistanis as the men adorned black eyeliner and kohl, welcomed each other with adaab and called each other janaab. This is not the first time that Pakistanis had been misrepresented. Bollywood, as a film fraternity, is known to produce films with Pakistani-Muslim antagonists. Examples could include the most recent release and blockbuster, Pathaan (2022) or Bajraangi Bhaijaan (2015). Throughout history, it can be argued that the relationship between the two countries has constantly impacted how both have portrayed each other in cinema.
The docuseries, The Romantics (2023) follows the journey that made Yash Raj Films what it is today. The first episode takes us through the early years of his career. It brings light to how different economic and political changes impacted the film industry and how the “angry young man” came to be in the early 1970s when tension grew between West Pakistan and East Pakistan and India chose to intervene. We see how this has been going on since the beginning of time. Ms Mira Hashmi, a Pakistani actress, host and academic best known for her role in Family Front (1997) and Teen Bata Teen (1995), says, “This representation has been there for a very long time and it is not Pakistan but the Muslims that are being shown as the others.”
Ms Hashmi adds, “There have been exceptions, however, in what we call mainstream Bollywood today, the exceptions are fewer and a specific type of stereotyping has been the norm.” Unlike Bollywood, Pakistani films do not explore narratives that may lead to backlash based on controversial claims. Today, films like Parwaaz Hai Junoon (2018), Waar (2013) and Border (2002) have had Indian antagonists or have based themselves on India-Pakistan conflicts, which have pulled patriotic audiences to the cinema, but some have been marketed as commercial films focusing on a different storyline such as Parwaaz Hai Junoon (2018).
Bollywood has experimented with its films in multiple ways and they have usually reflected the political or social ideology of the time
Similarly, the Bollywood films in question can be said to be purely from creative imagination to entertain audiences rather than have malicious intent of spreading misinformation. Ms Hashmi continues, ‘if you look into the films of the 50s, 60s and even the 80s, you’ll see how Muslim representation is based on fantasy.’ She goes on to say that ‘Bollywood is fantasy as they needed to differentiate the Muslim characters to portray otherness but also as exotic characters.’ With the rise in the importance of media, it can be argued that by this portrayal of otherness, Bollywood is being used to advance the Hindutva agenda. Ms Hashmi says that ‘this is debatable and depends on the ideology.’
Ms Mira Hashmi gives the example of Nehruvian socialist politics where the agenda was ‘communal harmony and unification [and so on] where the Muslim characters were very positive characters such as the character of Imam Sahab in Sholay (1975).’ She continues to say that ‘Films do tend to reflect the political and social ideology that is being propounded by the powers and it is not any different right now.’ This can be seen through movies that have been made post 9/11 as well such as Kurbaan (2009), New York (2009), Tere Bin Laden (2010) and Raazi (2018). She adds that ‘whatever Bollywood is it reflects society so if you have those views in society, they will be reflected in the arts.’ We can see this in Hollywood as well as their general perception of the Middle East can be seen in movies in a satirical manner such as The Dictator (2012) or as discriminatory depictions such as London Has Fallen (2016) and Iron Man (2008).
It can be said that where Bollywood’s cinematic perception of Muslims and Pakistanis is based on fantasy and creative imagination, films are being used to further a particular political ideology through force. Ms Hashmi says, “More than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), there are organisations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that are creating fear so that people do not speak out about the misrepresentation.” It can be seen throughout history that Bollywood has experimented with its films in multiple ways and they have usually reflected the political or social ideology of the time for example the Nehruvian vs the Modi regime. This proves that even though films are influenced by political and social ideology, the Hindi Film Industry does base its stories widely on fantasy and their creative imagination.
The writer can be reached at jannatasrar.amin@gmail.com.