Hindutva boycott of Hindi cinema

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Several boycotts have been started against Hindi films by Hindu nationalists in recent years, with the term Urduwood being used to characterise the Hindi-language Bollywood film industry as 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

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. The term 'Bollywood', often mistakenly used to refer to Indian cinema as a whole, only refers to Hindi-language films, with Indian cinema being an umbrella term that includes all the film industries in the country, each offering films in diverse languages and styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urdu</span> 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. In India, where Urdu arose, it is an Eighth Schedule language, the status and cultural heritage of which are recognised by the Constitution of India. It also has an official status in several Indian states.

<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 and Pakistan, and functioning as the lingua franca of the region. It is also spoken by the Deccani people. Hindustani is a pluricentric language with two standard registers, known as Hindi and Urdu which serve as official languages of India and Pakistan, respectively. 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.

Hindutva is a political ideology encompassing the cultural justification of Hindu nationalism and the belief in establishing Hindu hegemony within India. The political ideology was formulated by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1922. It is used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the current ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and other organisations, collectively called the Sangh Parivar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aditya Chopra</span> Indian filmmaker (born 1971)

Aditya Chopra is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and studio executive who works in Hindi cinema. He is the Chairman of India's multi-national film, media, and entertainment conglomerate Yash Raj Films (YRF). The films he has produced make him one of the highest grossing Indian film producers of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Javed Akhtar</span> Indian poet, lyricist and scriptwriter (born 1945)

Javed Akhtar is an Indian screenwriter, lyricist and poet. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007, two of India's highest civilian honours.

<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">Zarina Wahab</span> Indian actress

Zarina Wahab is an Indian actress who predominantly worked in Hindi and Malayalam films. Known for critically acclaimed roles in Chitchor and Gopal Krishna in Hindi and Malayalam cinema with films like Madanolsavam, Chamaram, Palangal and Adaminte Makan Abu.

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

Sobhita Dhulipala is an Indian actress. She won runner-up title Femina Miss India Earth 2013 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).

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

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<i>Pathaan</i> (film) 2023 Indian film by Siddharth Anand

Pathaan is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Siddharth Anand and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. Written by Shridhar Raghavan and Abbas Tyrewala on the basis of an original story by Anand, it serves as the fourth instalment in the YRF Spy Universe, and stars Shah Rukh Khan in the titular role, alongside Deepika Padukone and John Abraham, and Dimple Kapadia and Ashutosh Rana in supporting roles. The first instalment in the universe to observe a crossover among characters and officially instate the universe as a brand, it follows an exiled RAW agent, who 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.

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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'". 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.
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