Forrest Gump claims that because "you never know what you're going to get," life is like a box of chocolates. The movie's Indian adaptation is already facing calls for a boycott due to remarks made by its Muslim star Aamir Khan years ago.
It is the most recent illustration of how Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Modi is putting more pressure on Bollywood artists, especially minority Muslims like Khan.
The Indian remake of Tom Hanks' 1994 blockbuster "Laal Singh Chaddha" is predicted to be one of India's top movies in 2022.
This is mostly because of the film's lead actor, 57-year-old Aamir Khan, one of the most bankable performers in the Indian film business with previous blockbusters including "3 Idiots" (2009) and "Dangal" (2016).
However, in advance of the film's August 11 release, the Internet is flooded with snippets from a 2015 interview in which Khan pondered leaving India with his then-wife and voiced a rising "feeling of anxiety."
She worries for her child. She worries about the environment we shall be in. Every day when she opens the newspaper, she feels afraid, he added.
Since last month, more than 200,000 tweets, many of which came from BJP party members, have been posted urging viewers to boycott Laal Singh Chaddha.
"Aamir Khan wed two Hindu women but gave his three children the names Junaid, Azad, and Ira. One tweet made reference to (Hindu co-star) Kareena (Kapoor) marrying a Muslim and giving birth to two called Taimur and Jehangir.
"Those are sufficient justifications to avoid Lal Singh Chaddha, which is essentially a Love Jihad club production from Bollywood. #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha is a pejorative hashtag created by Hindu nationalists who claim that Muslim males force Hindu women to convert by marrying them.
Khan, who goes by the moniker "Mr. Perfectionist," is renowned for taking Bollywood movies beyond the usual fare of song and dance and introducing them to social and cultural themes.
Additionally, he was the anchor of the TV discussion program "Satyamev Jayate," which covered sensitive subjects like rape, domestic abuse, and corruption.
Khan this week emphasized his patriotism, a fundamental component of the Modi regime, in response to the controversy over his new movie, which adapts Tom Hanks' well-known line to state that "life is like a golgappa," an Indian delicacy.
He told local reporters, "I feel terrible that some of the people... think that I am someone who doesn't like India.
"That isn't the situation. Do not boycott my movie, please. Please view my movie.
In the 1.4 billion-person nation that is obsessed with movies, movies have long been a source of contention and violence.
The criticism directed at Khan, one of several Muslim megastars in the business that also includes Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, however, is said by observers to reflect the growing intolerance, marginalization, and vilification of the minority.
One commenter, who requested to remain unnamed for fear of being a victim himself, said: "There is no question that Aamir is being targeted by those preaching hatred toward Muslims."
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a military group advocating "Hindutva," or building India into an exclusively Hindu state, is where Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got its start.
Fear has been sowed among the 200 million-strong Muslim population as a result of lynchings of Muslims by Hindu mobs for "cow protection" — an animal revered by many Hindus — and other hate crimes.
There is a lot of false information on social media, such as claims that interfaith marriages would soon cause Muslims to exceed Hindus or that the minority is a treacherous fifth column supported by Pakistan.
Since Modi took office in 2014, critics claim that the stars of the most successful film business in the world have progressively altered their work to conform to the government narrative.
A recent spate of militarily themed films have been nationalistic, all-guns-blazing tales of bravery by police and soldiers, typically Hindus, against foes both inside and outside of India.
In the film "The Kashmir Files" this year, which is about Hindus leaving Kashmir's Muslim-majority region in 1989–1990, there were instances of individuals urging Muslims to be killed in retaliation.
The author and film critic Anna MM Vetticad claimed that denigrating these minorities and persistently seeking proof of their patriotism are two strategies used to "subordinate India's Muslims and Christians to the majority group." But not much is anticipated to change.
The majority of Bollywood actors, according to Vetticad, "are apathetic, opportunistic, or terrified. This is India's tragedy."
Comments
Post a Comment