Muslim South Asia Conference 28 Oct, 2013

Shiraz Sheikh
Green on Silver: Manufacturing Muslim Image through Bollywood
Cinema

ABSTRACT: During the last decade, a series of Bollywood movies were produced which
caricatured the Muslim image in a certain way. The biased portrayal grew in time when
numbers of Muslim youths were framed and fabricated with false terror charges. The
accumulated angst against the partisan communal profiling of Muslims outburst was
protest against the movie Vishwaroopam. This has regenerated media debate about the
artistic freedom and the freedom of expression. In this context, the paper focuses to
analyse the portrayal of Muslims in Bollywood Cinema since 9/11. It seeks to examine
the pattern of portrayal that negatively reinforces the bias against the community and
also how with positive portrayal a balance is sought. For this purpose two clusters of
movies are selected. One set of films produces loaded narrative that reinforces notion
that evil community is required to be contained whereas the second set producing a
counter narrative. On theoretical plane the paper seeks to theorsie the prevailing
phenomenon by applying two general theories. The first theory is of profitability that is
to exploit a burning issue which is easily sellable. Second, an assumption that there is
politics entrenched with ideology that helped manufacture Muslim image as an enemy
within to contain the bellicose threat of spread of Islam. Finally the paper tries to analyse
the debates generating within the educated Muslim youths.

Key Words: Bollywood Cinema, Muslim Image, Hindutava, Hindu Nationalism,

Muslim Youth, Freedom of Expression, Social Media.

Introduction
In February of 2013 movie Vishwaroopam was in news due to protest against it by
Tamilnadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam and Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath. It resulted
from the accumulated angst of Muslim groups. Protestors chief grievance against the
movie was its portrayal of Muslim-self as terrorist. This period saw hundreds of Muslim
boys implicated on terror charges many falsely who were acquitted after long years of
trial.1 Series of legal and street protest against the film generated television debates on

1
M. Reyaz, Muslim youths: Indias most wanted!, TwoCircles.net, accessed on 7 September 2013, URL:
http://twocircles.net/2013may23/muslim_youths_india%E2%80%99s_most_wanted.html. Also see A
report by Jamia Teachers' Solidarity Association, Framed, Damned, Acquitted Dossiers of a Very Special
Cell. Can be accessed on http://document.teacherssolidarity.org/JTSA_Report.pdf
artistic freedom and freedom of expression and its limits. The media debate established
that the protesting community is illiberal and against the freedom of expression rarely
emphasizing on the context which consequent to the articulation of this objection. The
dissent ensued in the background of occurrences which bears implications for the
community central to the subject of Vishwaroopam.

The background is the socio-political environment developed post 9/11 vis--vis

Muslims globally in general and India in specific.2 During the same period Hollywood
too shifted in its storytelling by focusing to fight the fanatic evil in the Muslim world
leaving the Godless communists.3 Simultaneously Bollywood produced many movies
whose central subjects were Muslims. In this context, the paper focuses to analyse the
portrayal of Muslims in Bollywood Cinema since 9/11.

It seeks to examine the pattern of portrayal that negatively reinforces the bias
against the community and also how with positive portrayal a balance is sought. For this
purpose two clusters of movies are selected. The first consist series of movies which
nurtures communal biases through repeated depiction of ill-conceived stereotypes. It
produces loaded narrative that reinforces notion that evil community is required to be
contained. The second cluster of movies tries to minimise the impact emanating from the
first series of movies by producing a counter narrative. Its caricaturisation of Muslim is
as a pious, rational, moral and normal person as others.

Context
Unlike Hollywood which constructed its enemy outside its territory in the communist
world the Bollywood cinema found it within the country. The caricaturisation of this
enemy has a historical context. Subaltern historian Shahid Amin who studied the
2
See reports of Islamophobia Research & Documentation Project (IRDP), URL:
http://www.islamophobiacon.com/reports.html. Also See Islamophobia Watch: Documenting anti Muslim
bigotry, URL: http://www.islamophobia-watch.com/.
3
Communists were portrayed as enemy in James Bond and Rambo series movies. The Hurt Locker and
Argo were two Hollywood movies made in last five years are plotted in the Muslim world which won
Oscar awards.
popular Hindi text of late 19th and 20th centuries showed that remembrance of Muslim
past in the popular works of Pratap Narayn Mishra, Bharatendu Harishchandra and
Balkrishan Bhatt, was created as antagonistic to Hindu interest. 4 Construction of Muslim
Other continued after partition as exhibited by Dibyesh Anand in his recent book Hindu
Nationalism in India and the Politics of Fear. Analysing literary works produced by
RSS-VHP-Hindu Writers Forum and also generating ethnographic data, Anand illustrated
that Hindu Nationalism is created against the Muslims Other.

Anand argued that proponents of Hindutava nationalism mobilise and generate

negative stereotypes of Islam and Muslims.5 Through his ethnographic research he
established that Hindutva forces have porno-sexualized the Muslim body.6 In Hinutava
meta-narrative Muslims were linked to Pakistan, rejected as fanatic and traitor, called as
Babar ki aulad, their concentration is called mini Pakistan, and they work for
Pakistan.7 His discussion exhibits how the task of popular myth-making through oral and
written narratives continued. The centrality of Muslim otherisation in the lexicon of
Hindutava nationalism was not limited to popular narrative produced by its literati but
also infiltrated the official ideological apparatus.

Prakash Louis in his empirical work showed that RSS tried to construct official-
myth by giving communal contour to text books. BJP led government distorted History
books to imbibe a communal consciousness in the minds of young children.8 The
history text books of this time portrayed Hindus as nation and stigmatized Muslims and

4
Shahid Amin, Representing the Musalman: Then and Now, Now and Then in Shail Mayaram et al
(eds.), Subaltern Studies XII: Muslims, Dalits, and the Fabrication of History (New Delhi: Permanent
Black, 2005), pp. 1-35. Also see Romila Tahpar, The Past and Prejudice (New Delhi: National Book Trust,
1975).
5
Dibyesh Annand, Hindu Nationalism in India and the Politics of Fear (New York: Palgrave Macmillan,
2011), p.1.
6
Ibid, pp. 49-81.
7
Ibid, p. 40.
8
Prakash Louis, The Emerging Hindutava Force: The Ascent of Hindu Nationalism (New Delhi: Indian
Social Institute, 2000), p. 214.
Christian as anti national.9 What imperative this construction of nationalism vis--vis
Muslim other has caused? At the background of this context six movies are analyzed to
see to what extent this officio-popular myth-making has impacted the subject of film-
making in Bollywood cinema.

The Construction
Film-makers are also get influenced by their contemporary settings. Therefore the initial
few decades the Muslim subject of Bollywood cinema was largely represented by the
feudal elites and aristocracy. Then later decades saw movies more on Muslim middle
class or Muslim social whose subject was of common mens concerns. In the last two
decades the political scenario in the shadow of Hindutva nationalism underwent radical
experiences. The cinema as a medium of creative and social change got impacted and
also reflected the contemporary realty. One can argue that it only captured and translated
what was already in the air into visual narrative. Or it can be also argued that it strengthen
the existing stereotypes through partisan projection of Muslim identity rendering artistic
justification.

Qayamat: City Under Threat (2003)

Qayamat: City Under Threat was made in the background Muslim terrorists threatening
the city of Mumbai. Three friends Ali and Abbas Ramini and Rachit are thieves. Rachit
falls in love and wishes to leave this profession. But Ali and Abbas coerced him to
commit his last crime. The heartless materialist Ali and Abbas show disrespect to his
relations. They, under the snag of a Pakistani General, take 213 prisoners hostage and
plant three missiles with deadly virus to blackmail the Indian government. Rachits
humanism (read Hindu patriotism) stops him to be part of such inhumane act. To avenge
this, Ali and Abbas dupe him that leads to his arrest.

9
Ibid, p. 215. Also see Arti Dhar, Academics, eminent citizens dismayed over biases in text books, The
Hindu, New Delhi, 7 September 2013.
 Rachit then helps a Muslim CBI officer Akram Sheikh to capture them. Rachit
leads the police team to reach the jail through secrete tunnel from which he once escaped.
Ali and Abbas also have a common girlfriend Laila who is as cruel and immoral as they
are. Rachit with the help of Akram fights the entire gang and kills Abbas, Ali and Laila
and saves the city. So at the end audience is filled with patriotism and narrative that they
were Muslim terrorists who are ready to sell themselves to Pakistanis for money. Hindus
are, no matter how bad they are, at the end ready to sacrifice for the motherland.

Dhokha (2007)
Made in the backdrop of atrocities in Kashmir Dhokha is story that can have multiple
readings. Inspector Zaid Khans wife Sarah turned out to be a fidayeen. The police
suspecting his complicity in suicide-bombing arrests and then later suspends him. Zaids
friend calls him traitor and accuses the Muslim community. Zaids sympathizers are also
called pseudo-secular who are the real traitors. Zaids house was attacked by mob and
people call him terrorist and traitor. After his suspension he goes for his own
investigation and gets to know that her father was killed, brother was tortured and she
was raped by police. Sarah and his brother Danish are shown to be indoctrinated by some
terrorist chieftain Maulana Omar Faridi. In search of Danish, Zaid travels into the shanty
colonies of Muslim where he is confronted by Faridis men. Zaid is later abducted by
these people who bring him to Faridi. He tells Zaid that his wife was a martyr who
avenged the humiliation and atrocities hurled on her. She has sacrificed in the cause of
Allah. He tries to convince Zaid who disagree with his methods. At the end Zaid
manage, to convince Danish not to commit fidayeen attack. He also exposes those corrupt
police officers who are then convicted for Sarahs father murder.

At one reading it looks like voice of moderate Muslims. But the visuals again
establish the old clichs of depicting Muslims. Everyone is having beard, keffiyeh and
skull caps. These people do not believe in the legal system of the state and are
remorseless to kill innocent people. This also establishes that Muslim have propensity to
resort to violence. It also establishes that even women cannot be trusted as Sarah became
the female feedayeen.
Bhindi Bazzar Inc. (2010)
Figuratively meaning chaos Bhindi Bazzar Inc. is actually a place in Mumbai called
Bhendi Bazzar. It is the Muslim concentrated lanes of old Mumbai where according to
the film-narrative criminals are born and thrive. Belonging to gangster films genre the
film deals with dark streets and shady criminals. Mamu is the mafia-head of Bhindi
Bazzar who snatched the kingship from someone and fears it will repeat upon him. All
suspect all as Brutus who will snatch the reign by backstabbing.

The film pornosexulizes the Muslim body as Dibyesh Annad illustrate in his
book. Mamu is paan-chewing Muslim gangster who dons Surma in his eyes and wears a
skull cap. He has sexual relation with his sister in law who also has sexual relation with
Mamus right-hand man Fateh. Her hyper-virility takes her to sleep with the Hindu right-
hand man of the mafia-head (Piyush Mishra) of the rival gang. The Tawayaf of 1970s
now turned into hyper-sexualized personalities that now they appear normal.

Reactive Deconstruction
This second set of three movies represents counter narrative which the essay called
reactive deconstruction of the popular fabrication. These films came as reaction to the
stereotypes which translated into prejudice reflecting in behavior towards Muslims.

Chak De! India (2007)

The character of protagonist Kabir Khan (Shahrukh Khan) set in the background of
women hokey teams struggle in Chak De! India is said to be inspired from the real-life
hokey player Mir Ranjan Negi who was ostracized from the team for letting the match
against Pakistan in the 1982 Asian Games. The opening shot establishes the protagonist,
Kabir Khan, as the captain of Indian hokey team who fails to convert a penalty shot into
goal against Pakistan. Consequently India loses the match. Khan is accused of conspiring
with Pakistan by media, faces humiliation and forced to leave his ancestral city as the
neighborhood exhibits prejudices against him.
 Seven years later he joins the disgraced women hokey team as coach. To reclaim
his honor he led the team triumph over Australia in the world cup. This proves his
nationalism and he returns to his ancestral home at the end with regained pride. Khans
character reflects the dilemma of Indian Muslims whose loyalty is always in question.
Director Shimit Amin made the audience feel and share the agony of a fellow citizen
whose patriotism is subject to scrutiny. He portrayed that bias against Muslims exist in
the society at large and they suffers from trust deficit. Amin aptly uses dialogue that aise
logo ko to partiona ke time hi Pakistan chale jana chaiye. This attitude is the outcome
of nationalism propagated by the right wing forces in this country.

Aamir (2008)
Picturised in the murky streets of Mumbai, Aamir is a silent catharsis of Indian Muslims
whose loyalty and intention is subject of constant suspicion. The film opens with the
arrival of protagonist doctor Aamir Ali (Rajeev Khandelwal) at the Mumbai airport.
Outside the airport Aamir receives calls from faceless villain who ask him to follow his
instruction otherwise his family will be killed. He is directed to take a suitcase to deliver
at certain place. Carrying the suitcase he travels through shoddy mohallas of Mumbai
where Muslim live in large numbers.

The anonymous voice tries to convince Aamir, illustrating the plight of Muslim in
India which needs to be avenged, to become part of his jihad. Aamir disagrees with his
means. Aamir was asked to board on a crowded bus and ask to plant a suitcase bomb
otherwise his family will face death. In catch-22 Amir thinks of his family and plants the
suitcase and deboards. His heart changes as he thinks of passengers in the bus and takes
back the suitcase. Aamir carries it to relatively empty place and clutches it against his
chest. The bomb detonates on time blowing his body. The media frenzy still labels him as
suicide bomber who failed to accomplish his assignment.
My Name Is Khan (2010)
Set in the background of 9/11 and located in American setting My Name Is Khan
addresses the Indian audience back home too. The protagonist Rizwan Khan (Sharukh
Khan) suffering from Asperger syndrome and a devoted believer joins his brother in Sans
Francisco after his mothers death. While working as salesman he meets Mandira (Kajol)
a Hindu hairdresser with her son (Samir) from her previous marriage. Despite his
brothers disliking both marry and settle in a fictional city. Mandira and Samir adopt his
surname, Khan. Samir becomes the victim of communal smear amid growing disliking
for Muslim in the pretext of 9/11. Losing her son Mandira accuses Rizwan that due to his
surname Khan he died and departs from him. Rizwan ask her what he has to do to be
with her. She tells him that he has to tell the American President that his name is Khan
and he is not a terrorist.

Taking her words seriously Khan sets out a journey to meet the president. Enroute
he meets a fanatic Faisal Rahman in a mosque of Los Angles who tries to indoctrinate a
group of young men. Rizwan disagrees with his methods and says that spreading hatred is
work of Shaitan and he informs the FBI. Latter in a rally Rizwan sees the President and
repeats that My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist. The police arrest him
interpreting his line as he said I am a terrorist. He was later released and goes to help the
community of Afro-American with whom he befriended in Georgia. Later he meets the
President who tells him Your name is Khan and you are not a terrorist. At the end
Rizwan and Mandira unites.

Protagonists of these three films are free of visual clichs used to depict good
Muslims.They are not speaking Urdu, not singing qawwali, neither wearing Pathani
suits nor chewing paan. They are regular-looking educated guys who believe in god. But
the stories they tell are really fictional or do they reflect social reality? Sharukh Khan,
Azim Premji, APJ Kalam were all stopped at American airports for being Muslim.
Shabana Azmi and Imran Hashmi denied home for being Muslims.10 To communicate his

10
Shabana Azmis interview with Karan Thapar on Devils Advocate URL: http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=VeVzsG2VC_o.
angst Sharukh had to write long article Being a Khan in Outlook magazine.11 Are these
film narrative only works of fiction or do they have and semblance to social reality?

Why Such Films?

There are two very strong justification attributed to the making such films. The first
reason comprehend is of profitability and the second is of politics of ideology.

The Profitability
Qayamat: City Under Threat was the seventh largest grosser of the year of its release.
Whereas Bhindi bazaar Inc. and Dhokha were the two low budged film made with new
comers and some well known actors. These movies also made profit. The films analyzed
in the reactive deconstruction category Chak De India and My Name Is Khan were the
fifth and sixth largest grosser of the year of its release respectively. Aamir was again very
low budget film which drew praise from the critics who seldom utter positive.

Farid Khan a script writer from Bollywood wrote an article in BBC Hindi service
arguing that along with technological revolution the Muslim lower class stopped coming
to cinema halls as satellite television brought these movies to their living room.12
Secondly Bollywood started targeting the overseas viewers who were not interest in the
underbelly of village-India. Therefore the kind movies made on Muslim subject
from1970s to 1990s called Muslim Social lost its centrality in the new shining India.

Politics of Ideology
It is certainly near impossible task to establish any official linkages between fabrication
of Muslim image and the motive behind it. On the basis of circumstances and the way

11
Read the full text at URL: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/read-shah-rukh-khan-s-article-which-
appeared-in-outlook-turning-points-2013-323900
12
Farid Khan, Musalman Nayak Kaise Ban Gaya Kahlnayak, (How Muslim Hero turned into Villain),
BBC Hindi, 31 July 2013, accessed on 2 September 2013.
URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/entertainment/2013/07/130730_muslim_socio_tv_dk.shtml
politics of identity utilized in the political discourse in India give only signs which can be
interpreted to get a meaning.

Maniratnams Roja (1993) laid the foundation of films portraying Muslims as

terrorist uprightly. This film was made in the background rising insurgency in Kashmir
after the Babri Masjid demolition coupled with the rise of Hindutava nationalism. The
film was praised by L. K. Advani (BJP leader) and T. N. Seshan (then Chief Election
Commisioner of India). Another film Bombay (1993) made on the subject of Bombay
serial blast and subsequent riots. The film portrayed that Muslims as responsible for riots
although Shrikrishna Commission report blamed the Shiv Sena and Police complicity for
the riot. The Sangh Parivar imposed restriction on Deepa Mehtas film Water (2005).
Under the pressure of Sangh the BJP led government forced her to modify the script.

Govind Nihlanis Dev (2004) and Rajkumar Santoshis Khakee (2004) portrayed
police politicians (read state) complicity in framing the Muslims.13 Omar Khalidi in his
book showed that police was an active participant in 1992-93 Bombay riots and Muslims
were told to go to Pakistan by them to save themselves.14 Another film by Samar Khan
Shaurya (2008) illustrated how the armed forces are also infected with communal bias
against the Muslims.

Ungaging the Self-Censorship

Amid the anti-Muslim reverberations of 9/11 Indian Muslims were portrayed as
antagonistic to national interest. It was the period when many Muslim youth were framed
as terrorist. A section of upward looking middle class youth started questioning their
position in the society. They also realized that part of the problem lies in their abysmal
representation in media. To fill that they came out of their cocoon or self censorship and
started making their voices heard on community-based new media. The new digital
public sphere which did not require huge financial support provided the space to the

13
Right now there are 32 police personal in jail for committing fake encounter in Gujarat mostly of victims
were Muslims.
14
Omar Khalidi, Khaki and Ethnic Violence in India: Armed Forces, police and Para-Military During
Communal Riots (Gurgaon: Three Essays Collective, 2010), pp. 139-40.
educated youth to communicate to the larger audience. Muslim Observer from the US,
Muslim Village from Australia and The Muslim News from the UK are some portals
which addresses the issues related to the Muslims of the world in general. In India,
Twocircles.net emerged as catalyst for other many sites which believed that people
should know the news and views of Muslim related to social issues not necessarily on
Islam. Muslim Mirror, Ummeed, Indian Muslim Observer are some of them. Due to these
sites the Muslim-self which only appeared in news related to fatwa, terrorism and riots
started capturing other aspects of Muslim life.

Another strand of this questioning Muslim came forward as group of activists-

community workers and professionals advocating the release of Muslim youths arrested
in false charges through legal means. Two such organisations are Rihai Manch in Uttar
Pradesh and Anhad (Act Now For Harmony and Democracy) for communal harmony
founded by Left leaning activist like Shabnam Hashmi. A third way of addressing such
grievances emerged as form documenting these cases. Jamia Teachers Solidarity
Association (JTSA) a group of left leaning young teachers comprising both Hindus and
Muslims from Jamia Millia Islamia, JNU and University of Delhi came to show their
solidarity by documenting such cases. First of their work came in the form of a book
titled Framed, Damned, Acquitted: Dossiers of a Very Special Cell15 which documented
fifteen false cases. Very recently JTSA produced another book called Guilt By
Association16 documenting 200 cases from Madhya Pradesh.

15
A report by Jamia Teachers' Solidarity Association, Framed, Damned, Acquitted Dossiers of a Very
Special Cell. Available on http://document.teacherssolidarity.org/JTSA_Report.pdf
16
A report by Jamia Teachers' Solidarity Association, Guilt By Association: UAPA Cases from Madhya
Pradesh (New Delhi: 2013).