Sikhs in Bollywood Can Bollywood even dare to make a movie depicting the real nature of RSS? Take a shot at truth for a change.
The Sikhs have repeatedly underlined their mis-representation and caricaturization in Bollywood churnings and had pleaded their case even before Asma Jahangir, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, during her visit to Mumbai last year.
Despite continuing protests from the community, various producers and directors continue their demeaning portrayals of Sikhs and depiction of stereotyped and offensive Sikh images in Bollywood movies and television serials.
Indian democracy is made up of a host of ethnic, social and religious peoples. The sick jokes about Sikhs in Bollywood are testing the distress level of the lay Sikh and may even have dangerous social ramifications and repercussions.
Unlike Raj Thackeray, the Sikhs have so far kept their patience. The fact that the industry has many well known Punjabis in its ranks should have helped sensitisation but obviously thisis not the case. and various films continue to take a jibe at the Sikh identity every now and then.
New Delhi has failed to set up a mechanism to ensure that community and gender sensitivities are respected in cinema. The film industry cannot hide behind the false image of a bunch of people in Sikh garb, like Navjot Sidhu, to claim that some sections have no objection to such depiction.
Such people may have their vested reasons to flaunt their socalled secular approach and gain popularity in the bargain but the plethora of Santa-Banta jokes has to come to an end. Poking fun at a community through malicious jokes is hardly a sign of any mature democracy or high art.
Many journalists and academics have in recent times started suggesting that somehow the identity markers like turban are of increasingly no use and Sikhs may well shun these and that "it would not make them any lesser Sikhs." At times, we are being told that Sikhs must see these jokes through the prism of a sense of humour. We are asked if jokes can be harmful?
But the people who ask questions is that language can be a huge weapon and yes, jokes can be very very harmful. It is pertinent to remember that Karan Johar did not try to convince Raj Thackeray that calling Mumbai Bombay was not harmful. He knew the consequences of goons landing up at cinema halls.
Indian politician in the mid-1980s and the Bollywood cinema have made their contribution in first tagging Sikhs as “terrorists” and then doing the same to Muslims. Can Bollywood even dare to make a movie depicting the real nature of RSS? Take a shot at truth for a change.
The Sikhs have repeatedly underlined their mis-representation and caricaturization in Bollywood churnings and had pleaded their case even before Asma Jahangir, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, during her visit to Mumbai last year.
Despite continuing protests from the community, various producers and directors continue their demeaning portrayals of Sikhs and depiction of stereotyped and offensive Sikh images in Bollywood movies and television serials.
Indian democracy is made up of a host of ethnic, social and religious peoples. The sick jokes about Sikhs in Bollywood are testing the distress level of the lay Sikh and may even have dangerous social ramifications and repercussions.
Unlike Raj Thackeray, the Sikhs have so far kept their patience. The fact that the industry has many well known Punjabis in its ranks should have helped sensitisation but obviously thisis not the case. and various films continue to take a jibe at the Sikh identity every now and then.
New Delhi has failed to set up a mechanism to ensure that community and gender sensitivities are respected in cinema. The film industry cannot hide behind the false image of a bunch of people in Sikh garb, like Navjot Sidhu, to claim that some sections have no objection to such depiction.
Such people may have their vested reasons to flaunt their socalled secular approach and gain popularity in the bargain but the plethora of Santa-Banta jokes has to come to an end. Poking fun at a community through malicious jokes is hardly a sign of any mature democracy or high art.
Many journalists and academics have in recent times started suggesting that somehow the identity markers like turban are of increasingly no use and Sikhs may well shun these and that "it would not make them any lesser Sikhs." At times, we are being told that Sikhs must see these jokes through the prism of a sense of humour. We are asked if jokes can be harmful?
But the people who ask questions is that language can be a huge weapon and yes, jokes can be very very harmful. It is pertinent to remember that Karan Johar did not try to convince Raj Thackeray that calling Mumbai Bombay was not harmful. He knew the consequences of goons landing up at cinema halls.
Indian politician in the mid-1980s and the Bollywood cinema have made their contribution in first tagging Sikhs as “terrorists” and then doing the same to Muslims. Can Bollywood even dare to make a movie depicting the real nature of RSS? Take a shot at truth for a change.
