Hindutva boycott of Hindi films

Last updated

Several boycotts have been started against Urduwood termed as Hindi films by Indians in recent years, which deliberately trying to replace Hindi-language from Bollywood film industry to a Muslim-dominated, anti-Hindu industry which favours the use of Urdu over Hindi. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

History

Bollywood has historically had many Muslims involved in the production of its movies, with some of the most popular film stars being Muslim, especially the Khans of Bollywood and many of the lyricists and songwriters infusing Urdu into the scripts; [7] [8] Urdu, which is heavily influenced by Middle Eastern languages such as Persian and Arabic, is generally associated with South Asian Muslims. [9]

Names

Along with Urduwood, related terms that are used are Khanwood (referring to the dominance in Bollywood of actors with the common South Asian Muslim last name Khan), Jihadwood, and Dawood-wood. [2] [10] [5]

Boycotts

Accusations of Bollywood films hurting Hindu sentiments have led to calls for boycotts against several major films in recent years under the hashtag #BoycottBollywood; [11] [12] [13] Bollywood producers have said that the threat of boycotts has led them to avoid certain topics in their films. [14] In addition, there have been more recent films which are nationalistic or pro-Hindu. [15] However, some films have been able to succeed regardless of the boycotts, [16] and there seems to have been an overall limited impact on boycotted movies' revenues. [13]

Some boycotters have called for South Indian cinema to be promoted instead, claiming that it was more respectful in representing Hindu culture, [17] [1] [18] [19] however some South Indian films were also boycotted by them. [20] [21]

See also

Events

Film topics

Religious and linguistic topics

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindi cinema</span> Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai, India

Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" and "Hollywood". The industry is a part of the larger Indian cinema, which also includes South Indian cinema and other smaller film industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urdu</span> Indo-Aryan language spoken in South Asia

Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan, where it is also an official language alongside English. In India, Urdu is an Eighth Schedule language, the status and cultural heritage of which are recognised by the Constitution of India; and it also has an official status in several Indian states. In Nepal, Urdu is a registered regional dialect and in South Africa it is a protected language in the constitution. It is also spoken as a minority language in Afghanistan and Bangladesh, with no official status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindustani language</span> Indo-Aryan language spoken in India and Pakistan

Hindustani is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in North India, Pakistan and the Deccan, and used as a lingua franca in both countries. Hindustani is a pluricentric language with two standard registers, known as Hindi and Urdu. Thus, it is also called Hindi–Urdu. Colloquial registers of the language fall on a spectrum between these standards. In modern times, a third variety of Hindustani with significant English influences has also appeared which is sometimes called Hinglish or Urdish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khushbu Sundar</span> Indian politician, actress, producer (born 1970)

Khushbu Sundar is an Indian politician, actress, producer and television personality. She is known for her work predominantly in Tamil language films and in a few Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. She has appeared in over 185 films, and has won three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, two Cinema Express Awards, a Kalaimamani Award and a Kerala State Film Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waheeda Rehman</span> Indian actress (born 1938)

Waheeda Rehman is an Indian actress. Regarded as one of Hindi cinema's most accomplished actresses, she has worked in more than 90 feature films, in a career spanning over five decades. Her accolades include a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards. She was honoured with India's civilian awards; the Padma Shri in 1972 and the Padma Bhushan in 2011. In 2021 she was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in the field of cinema, but was awarded in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siddharth Anand</span> Indian film director, screenwriter, producer

Siddharth Raj Anand is an Indian filmmaker. He is the grandson of screenwriter Inder Raj Anand and is primarily known for his work with Yash Raj Films. He first became known for directing the successful romantic comedies Salaam Namaste (2005), Ta Ra Rum Pum (2007), Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008) and Anjaana Anjaani (2010). He then established himself as a leading action filmmaker with Bang Bang! (2014) and the YRF Spy Universe films: War (2019) and Pathaan (2023). These films rank among the highest-grossing Hindi films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindi–Urdu controversy</span> Linguistic Dispute

The Hindi–Urdu controversy arose in 19th century colonial India out of the debate over whether Modern Standard Hindi or Standard Urdu should be chosen as a national language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindi film music</span> Songs featuring in Hindi films

Hindi film songs, more formally known as Hindi Geet or filmi songs and informally known as Bollywood music, are songs featured in Hindi films. Derived from the song-and-dance routines common in Indian films, Bollywood songs, along with dance, are a characteristic motif of Hindi cinema which gives it enduring popular appeal, cultural value and context. Hindi film songs form a predominant component of Indian pop music, and derive their inspiration from both classical and modern sources. Hindi film songs are now firmly embedded in North India's popular culture and routinely encountered in North India in marketplaces, shops, during bus and train journeys and numerous other situations. Though Hindi films routinely contain many songs and some dance routines, they are not musicals in the Western theatrical sense; the music-song-dance aspect is an integral feature of the genre akin to plot, dialogue and other parameters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kabir Khan (director)</span> Indian filmmaker

Kabir Khan is an Indian film director, screenwriter and cinematographer who works in Hindi cinema. He started his career working in documentary films, and then made his feature film directorial debut in 2006 with the adventure thriller Kabul Express. He is best known for directing New York (2009), Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015). His latest film 83 was released in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imtiaz Ali (director)</span> Indian film director

Imtiaz Ali is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for directing Jab We Met (2007), Love Aaj Kal (2009), Rockstar (2011), Highway (2014) ,Tamasha (2015), Laila Majnu (2018) and Amar Singh Chamkila (2024).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sobhita Dhulipala</span> Indian actress and model (born 1992)

Sobhita Dhulipala is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She won the Femina Miss India Earth 2013 title at Femina Miss India 2013 pageant and represented India at Miss Earth 2013. Dhulipala made her acting debut in Anurag Kashyap's Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016) and subsequently played the lead role in the Amazon Prime Video drama series Made in Heaven (2019–2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mrunal Thakur</span> Indian actress (born 1992)

Mrunal Thakur is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Hindi,Telugu and Marathi films. She began her acting career with the television soap operas Mujhse Kuchh Kehti...Yeh Khamoshiyaan (2012) and Kumkum Bhagya (2014–2016). For the later, Thakur won the Indian Television Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

Ghar Wapsi is the programme of religious conversion to Hinduism from Islam, Christianity, and other religions in India conducted by Indian Hindu nationalist organisations Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and their allies. The term owes to the Hindu nationalist ideology that all people of India are ancestrally Hindu and, hence, conversion to Hinduism is one of "returning home" to their ancestral roots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YRF Spy Universe</span> Shared fictional universe

YRF Spy Universe is an Indian media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of spy action films, which feature various fictional RAW agents. The films are produced and distributed by Yash Raj Films.

<i>Pathaan</i> (film) 2023 Indian Hindi action thriller film

Pathaan is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film co-written and directed by Siddharth Anand and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. The fourth installment in the YRF Spy Universe, it stars Shah Rukh Khan in the title role, alongside Deepika Padukone and John Abraham, while Dimple Kapadia and Ashutosh Rana in supporting roles. The story follows Pathaan, an exiled RAW agent, works with ISI agent Rubina Mohsin to take down Jim, a former RAW agent, who plans to attack India with a deadly lab-generated virus.

<i>Jawan</i> (film) 2023 Indian Hindi action thriller film by Atlee

Jawan ( transl. Soldier) is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film co-written and directed by Atlee in his Hindi film debut. It is produced by Gauri Khan and Gaurav Verma under Red Chillies Entertainment. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan in a dual role as father and son who team up to rectify corruption in society. Nayanthara, Deepika Padukone, Vijay Sethupathi, Priyamani and Sanya Malhotra appear in supporting roles.

Sanskritisation is the process of introducing features from Sanskrit, such as vocabulary and grammar, into other languages. It is sometimes associated with the "Hinduisation" of a linguistic community, or less commonly, with introducing a more upper-caste status into a community. Many languages throughout South Asia and Southeast Asia were greatly influenced by Sanskrit historically.

References

  1. 1 2 Raj, Kaushik; Gurmat, Sabah (30 September 2022). "Bollywood under siege as rightwing social media boycotts start to bite". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Why right wing hates Bollywood". The Week. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  3. "Hindutva Protesters Stop Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor From Entering MP Temple". The Wire. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  4. decine21.com (4 October 2022). "Bollywood pasa a ser conocido como Urduwood - decine21.com". Decine21 (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. 1 2 "Is the Hindu Nationalist 'Boycott Bollywood' Campaign Impacting the Box Office?". thediplomat.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  6. "Dissecting the language of Baahubali trolls: 'Hindu film', 'Urduwood', 'Chrislamist critic'-Entertainment News , Firstpost". Firstpost. 5 May 2017. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  7. Subramanian, Samanth (10 October 2022). "When the Hindu Right Came for Bollywood". The New Yorker. ISSN   0028-792X. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  8. "Bollywood Is a Major Target for Right Wing Groups Looking for Signs of 'Hinduphobia'". The Wire. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  9. "The siege of Bollywood". The Economist. ISSN   0013-0613. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  10. "The Bollywood saga: Social media ruining the relation". The Times of India. ISSN   0971-8257. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  11. Mallick,Kritika, Abhilash (7 October 2022). "The Booming 'Boycott Bollywood' Trend: Who Are the Players Behind It?". TheQuint. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  12. "Decoding the #BoycottBollywood trend". cnbctv18.com. 6 January 2023. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  13. 1 2 P, Jinoy Jose (22 September 2022). "Something is rotten: Understanding the Bollywood boycott phenomenon". Frontline. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  14. Goyal, Prateek (28 December 2022). "Why 2022 was the year of #BoycottBollywood". Newslaundry. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  15. "How Bollywood's silence proved convenient for India's Right Wing". South Asian Today. Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  16. Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (4 February 2023). "Pathaan and the king of cinema blast Bollywood out of the doldrums". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  17. Manga, Dhiren (13 December 2022). "Will #BoycottPathaan impact SRK's film?". DESIblitz. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  18. "Explained: The #BoycottBollywood trend, and its impact on the industry". The Indian Express. 27 August 2022. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  19. "Bollywood's problem is not boycotts, it is the quality. Or lack of it". WION. 3 September 2022. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  20. Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (12 January 2024). "Netflix pulls Indian film after backlash from rightwing Hindu groups". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  21. "Adipurush row: Mob protests at mall in Maha's Palghar, asks people to boycott screening". The Indian Express. 19 June 2023. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.