Indian Politics: The reasons behind Why Bollywood comes in the middle of a socio-political Crisis

Deepika Padukone is again snatching the spotlight for the obvious political reasons. Before that, she has been in the center of the political controversy in connection with her movie 'Padmavat'. 

This time she came in support of JNU students protest; a pre-planned scary political event ransacking the peace of a common man. 

The Bollywood noteriority to ignite such events are not new for India. On several occasions, Bollywood left its footprints in the political arena. Either it is by the way of being a leading party candidate or by the way of targeting their movies on historical subjects for which people have feelings. 

Some of Bollywood's controversial films are :

1.  Garam Hawa - 1973:

Garam Hawa is based on an unpublished story of famous Urdu writer Ismat Chughtai. In 1947, India got independence and united India was divided into today's India and Pakistan. The storyline of the film is that a Muslim businessman has to choose between India and Pakistan to live in. In those days, the communal sentiments were on the rise and a little ignition could have resulted in a severe social clash. At that time also Bollywood took advantage of the situation to publicize this movie on a conflicted turf. The film stood abandon for 8 months. 

2. Aandhi - 1975: 

This political drama centers around a woman politician whose look became uncannily similar to that of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. This led the movie to face allegations that it become based on her, mainly Gandhi’s relationship along with her estranged husband. However, the filmmakers had most effective implied the protagonist's appearance from the Prime Minister and the rest had nothing to do with her life. Even after its release, the director was asked to eliminate scenes which showed the lead actress smoking and drinking during an election campaign and the film become completely banned for the duration of the national Emergency later that year.

Bandit Queen - 1994:

This film is based on fugitive Phoolan Devi. The crunch of the film is that Phoolan was exploited by upper caste men and adopted the life of a bandit. She took her revenge and finally surrendered to the police. This movie was criticized for its nudity and use of abusive language. It also served as part of the society in up-down directions. 

Hava Aney De - 2004:

Hava Aney De is an Indo-French film that works with the sensitive subject of India-Pakistan war. The Censor Board of India demanded over 21 cuts in the film, but the director Partho Sen-Gupta would hear nothing of it. Hava Aney De, therefore, was never released in India. It did win multiple awards at film events held abroad including Best Film at Durban International Film Festival and the BBC Audience Award at the Commonwealth Film Festival.

Black Friday - 2007:

Black Friday, an Anurag Kashyap venture, faced a transient ban. It deals with the 1993 Mumbai bombings, and the Bombay High Court determined to drop the release till the trial was over. This intended that Kashyap had to look ahead to the other three years till Black Friday hit cinemas. The movie received praise from both global and countrywide media with the New York Times comparing it to Academy Award nominees Salvador and Munich.

Parzania - 2007:

Parzania is inspired by the true tale of a 10-year-old boy, Azhar Mody who disappeared after the 2002 Gulbarg Society massacre throughout which 69 human beings were killed. This is one of the many incidents which caused the Gujarat riots, one of the worst acts of communal violence India has ever witnessed. Cinema proprietors in Gujarat had been threatened not to screen Parzania and the film went on to stand an unofficial ban within the state.

Inshallah, Football - 2010:

Inshallah, Football is a documentary film about a younger boy from Kashmir who desires of becoming a well-known footballer. But his dreams are shattered while he isn't allowed to tour abroad because his father is an alleged militant. Critics felt the documentary showcased the fact of violence-bothered Kashmir, but it didn't get the green signal from the authorities for launch in India as they felt the movie in many ways interrogates the operations of Armed Forces within the politically sensitive place of Kashmir.

Padmavat - 2017:

Padmavat is the latest Hindi film to court serious controversy as people felt that the film misrepresents history and thus tarnishes the reputation of Indian communities. A bounty was also put on the director and the lead actress, who portrays the historical queen Padmavati in the film. The film was scheduled for release in December 2017 but released only after SC order. 

In fact, these are some of the socio-politically enmeshed movies. There are other incidents too where Bollywood tried to encash contradicted issues on LGBT, Hindu - Muslim love affairs, people's beliefs and values, vulgar relationships, quick and picking up stigmas, etc. 

So, this is all about businesses and promotions, and taking advantage of opportunities. Such events have a very narrow perspective on society and its structure. The infiltration of Bollywood on such issues is highly motivated and placarded to gain popularity and political motives.