Bollywood Is Not A Unified Whole!

Bollywood is actually a misnomer. In true subservience to Hollywood this name was coined since the Indian Film (Hindi) Industry was located in Bombay—which ceased to be so long back and Mumbai took over. Therefore, if at all, this industry should be called Mullywood! Anyway, Bollywood consists of a vast assortment of producers, directors, actors, music directors, lyricists, singers, production managers, spot boys and a huge lot of technicians in various categories ranging from cinematography to post-production labs. Basically all these people are individuals and thus all have right to their own opinions. Difference of opinions has been a celebrated hallmark of democracy—particularly in the largest democracy called India. If this democratic right of having one’s own opinion is universal why Bollywood be an exception? We cannot jump to the conclusion, as many self-motivated individuals engaged in media or politics often do, that ‘Bollywood is divided’.

That the righteous difference of opinion applies equally to Bollywood is made amply clear by the mind-boggling types of movies being churned out by this industry over the decades. Every producer or director has his/her own way of approach to filmmaking, own concepts or ideas and own intellectual types or standards. Likewise, all actors or singers or technicians have their own forms of expression that may be termed as excellent or poor. Else why would this industry make movies like ‘Pistolwali’ or ‘Hunterwali’ and also ‘Mother India’, ‘Sholay’, ‘Black’, ‘Neerja’ and so on over the decades? Grading of A or B or C for movies has been too apparent all the time. If some desperate souls still try to ‘unite’ Bollywood based on the celebrated ‘masala formula’ (an unholy but deliberate mix of entertainment ingredients) of Hindi films, they must admit now that the formula has come to a natural death quite some time back as the evolving audiences of the country saw through it. Therefore, it is almost surely established that Bollywood has difference of opinions within and this has nothing to do as the industry being ‘divisive’.

There is thus absolutely no problem if someone in Bollywood supported the continuance of Pakistan actors in Bollywood films and some opposed it, if someone even slammed the Prime Minister of the country and if some rallied with the government. The problem lies elsewhere.

There are always opportunity seekers, particularly from some sections of the media and politics sectors, waiting for every kind of expression, and thanks to social media opinions are now never private. The celebrities enjoy huge fan following and so their tweets go viral if the concerned tweets are controversial. The opportunists take full advantage of this and try manufacturing ‘mass ‘opinions’ thus contributing to the on-going tirade of labelling the whole country as ‘divisive’ ‘intolerant’ or ‘propagandist’. The currently popular term of ‘polarisation’ is also an off-shoot of this, particularly nurtured by some sections of the media not realising that in the process they are getting polarised and losing the principles of objectivity or neutrality. This ridiculous tirade to misinterpret ‘difference of opinion’ has led to even categorisation or sub-categorisations of universally accepted terms like ‘patriotism’ or ‘nationalism’. True anti-nationals are relishing this new-found chance.

When Bollywood biggie Karan Johar expresses himself, his mode of expression may well be controversial, he does so from a practically business point of view as the release of his film has been caught up in the melee. Maybe he preferred that mode of expression to avoid hounding from the opportunists. And, it is woefully wrong to label him as ‘giving in to the so-called ultra-something forces’ thanks to misinterpretation by the ever vigilant opportunists. If fact, every individual or association or company is guided by certain interests, and nobody could be so selfless as to defy one’s own interests on this planet. This ‘self-interest’ is also universal and often this also leads to ‘difference of opinion’ which is again lapped up by the waiting opportunists.

At the macro level the ‘self-interest’ leads to ‘vested interests’, and in India the sway and the clout of the vested interests can never be denied—at every level of activity and existence. In the present fluid situation it is hazardous to express one’s opinion—for or against or anything. However, for nonentities or non-celebrities there is not much fear of being labelled something. Therefore, at least at an analytical or argumentative level, this writer would like to suggest that the overwhelming power-play of the vested interests got severely affected by the change of government in 2014, and so, since then every effort has been made to hold the government responsible for anything under the sun. This is, of course, open ended and not mutually exclusive.

Coming back to our basic subject, Bollywood has only difference of opinion and the industry is not divided or ‘divisive’. If it has problems presently, these can be solved too.