Bollywood of India: Geopolitical Texts of Belonging and Difference and Narratives of Mistrust and Suspicion

Iqbal Shailo

doi:10.5195/cinej.2016.138

Abstract

A number of Bollywood films create meaning and geopolitical narratives through dialogue, raw images, settings, costumes and historical contexts. This study examines three contemporary Indian films —Earth (Deepa Mehta, 1998), Lagaan (Ashutosh Gowariker, 2001) and Sarfarosh (John Matthew Matthan, 1999) — that explore sub-continental history with a particular focus on insecurity, mistrust and suspicion. It discusses how socio-cultural and regional differences are (re)produced and how geopolitical meanings of ‘we’ and ‘they’ are narrated and constructed through Bollywood. These films construct an image of identity, belonging and difference, emphasizing that Hindus and Muslims are Indians however some legacies and suffering brought on during the partition of British India are still alive in memories when discrimination and exclusion are practiced in their ancestral homelands.

Highlights

Bollywood can be understood in terms of geopolitical narratives and geo-historical texts, and has played a pioneering role in constructing discourses with political implications
The study discusses how meaning is derived and understood from images and narratives contained in films and how they work to construct discourses on identity, belonging, difference and mistrust
The Other— Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Parsis: the Marginalized and the Demonized As a nation, India has been thriving to define its identity in the post-colonial era as a secular, multiethnic, diverse and pluralistic society despite the following majors events: the demolishment of the Babri Mosque and killing of the Muslim People in Gujarat in 1992 and the killing of members of the Sikh minority, especially in New Delhi, after the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984

Summary

Introduction

Bollywood can be understood in terms of geopolitical narratives and geo-historical texts, and has played a pioneering role in constructing discourses with political implications. The characters in the film, especially ACP Rathod, Police Inspector Salim, singer Gulfam, businessman Haji and gang member Sultan use the words quam (community/ethnic group), mulk (country) and ghar (home) repeatedly and these words have specific connotations.

Results

Conclusion