Hindutva boycott of Hindi cinema explained

Several boycotts have been started against Hindi films by Hindu nationalists in recent years, with the term Urduwood being used to characterise the Hindi-language Bollywood film industry as a Muslim-dominated, anti-Hindu industry which favours the use of Urdu over Hindi.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

History

Bollywood has historically had many Muslims involved in the production of its movies, with some of the most popular film stars being Muslim, especially the Khans of Bollywood and many of the lyricists and songwriters infusing Urdu into the scripts;[7] [8] Urdu, which is heavily influenced by Middle Eastern languages such as Persian and Arabic, is generally associated with South Asian Muslims.[9]

Names

Along with Urduwood, related terms that are used are Khanwood (referring to the dominance in Bollywood of actors with the common South Asian Muslim last name Khan), Jihadwood, and Dawood-wood.[10]

Boycotts

Accusations of Bollywood films hurting Hindu sentiments have led to calls for boycotts against several major films in recent years under the hashtag #BoycottBollywood;[11] [12] [13] Bollywood producers have said that the threat of boycotts has led them to avoid certain topics in their films.[14] In addition, there have been more recent films which are nationalistic or pro-Hindu.[15] However, some films have been able to succeed regardless of the boycotts,[16] and there seems to have been an overall limited impact on boycotted movies' revenues.[13]

Some boycotters have called for South Indian cinema to be promoted instead, claiming that it was more respectful in representing Hindu culture,[17] [18] [19] however some South Indian films were also boycotted by them.[20] [21]

See also

Events

Film topics

Religious and linguistic topics

Notes and References

  1. News: Raj . Kaushik . Gurmat . Sabah . 2022-09-30 . Bollywood under siege as rightwing social media boycotts start to bite . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-10-27 . 0261-3077 . 2023-10-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231027210254/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/sep/30/bollywood-under-siege-as-rightwing-social-media-boycotts-start-to-bite . live .
  2. Web site: Why right wing hates Bollywood . 2023-10-27 . The Week . en . 2023-10-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231027210254/https://www.theweek.in/columns/swara-bhasker/2022/09/03/why-right-wing-hates-bollywood.html . live .
  3. Web site: Hindutva Protesters Stop Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor From Entering MP Temple . 2023-10-27 . The Wire . 2023-10-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231027210253/https://thewire.in/rights/hindutva-brahmastra-alia-bhatt-ranbir-kapoor-temple . live .
  4. Web site: decine21.com . 2022-10-04 . Bollywood pasa a ser conocido como Urduwood - decine21.com . 2023-10-27 . Decine21 . es-es . 2023-10-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231027210253/https://decine21.com/noticias/124499-bollywood-urduwood . live .
  5. Web site: Is the Hindu Nationalist 'Boycott Bollywood' Campaign Impacting the Box Office? . 2023-10-27 . thediplomat.com . en-US . 2023-09-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230930204312/https://thediplomat.com/2022/09/is-hindu-nationalists-boycott-bollywood-campaign-impacting-the-box-office/ . live .
  6. Web site: 2017-05-05 . Dissecting the language of Baahubali trolls: 'Hindu film', 'Urduwood', 'Chrislamist critic'-Entertainment News, Firstpost . 2023-10-27 . Firstpost . en . 2023-10-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231027210255/https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/dissecting-the-language-of-baahubali-trolls-hindu-film-urduwood-chrislamist-critic-3425664.html . live .
  7. Subramanian . Samanth . 2022-10-10 . When the Hindu Right Came for Bollywood . en-US . The New Yorker . 2023-10-27 . 0028-792X . 2023-11-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231130061141/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/10/17/when-the-hindu-right-came-for-bollywood . live .
  8. Web site: Bollywood Is a Major Target for Right Wing Groups Looking for Signs of 'Hinduphobia' . 2023-10-27 . The Wire . 2023-10-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231027211705/https://thewire.in/film/bollywood-target-right-wing-groups-hinduphobia-tandav . live .
  9. News: The siege of Bollywood . The Economist . 2023-10-27 . 0013-0613 . 2023-10-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231027212316/https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2021/02/25/the-siege-of-bollywood . live .
  10. News: The Bollywood saga: Social media ruining the relation . The Times of India . 2023-10-27 . 0971-8257 . 2023-10-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231027211657/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/herbinger/the-bollywood-saga-social-media-ruining-the-relation-45244/ . live .
  11. Web site: Mallick,Kritika . Abhilash . 2022-10-07 . The Booming 'Boycott Bollywood' Trend: Who Are the Players Behind It? . 2023-10-27 . TheQuint . en . 2023-10-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231027211704/https://www.thequint.com/news/webqoof/people-behind-the-boycott-bollywood-trend-analysis . live .
  12. Web site: 2023-01-06 . Decoding the #BoycottBollywood trend . 2023-10-27 . cnbctv18.com . en . 2023-10-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231027215250/https://www.cnbctv18.com/entertainment/decoding-the-boycottbollywood-trend-how-the-film-industry-is-dealing-with-hate-and-hashtags-15600631.htm . live .
  13. Web site: P . Jinoy Jose . 2022-09-22 . Something is rotten: Understanding the Bollywood boycott phenomenon . 2023-10-29 . Frontline . en . 2023-10-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231029160657/https://frontline.thehindu.com/arts-and-culture/cinema/something-is-rotten-understanding-the-bollywood-boycott-phenomenon/article65902023.ece . live .
  14. Web site: Goyal . Prateek . 2022-12-28 . Why 2022 was the year of #BoycottBollywood . 2023-10-27 . Newslaundry . 2023-10-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231027210254/https://www.newslaundry.com/2022/12/28/why-2022-was-the-year-of-boycottbollywood . live .
  15. Web site: How Bollywood's silence proved convenient for India's Right Wing . 2023-10-27 . South Asian Today . en . 2024-02-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240227201751/https://www.southasiantoday.com.au/article-10194-how-bollywoods-silence-proved-convenient-for-indias-right-wing-details.aspx . live .
  16. News: Ellis-Petersen . Hannah . 2023-02-04 . Pathaan and the king of cinema blast Bollywood out of the doldrums . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-10-27 . 0261-3077 . 2023-10-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231027210255/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/feb/04/pathaan-shah-rukh-khan-bollywood-out-of-doldrums . live .
  17. Web site: Manga . Dhiren . 2022-12-13 . Will #BoycottPathaan impact SRK's film? . 2023-10-27 . DESIblitz . en . 2023-10-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231027210256/https://www.desiblitz.com/content/will-boycottpathaan-impact-srks-film . live .
  18. Web site: 2022-08-27 . Explained: The #BoycottBollywood trend, and its impact on the industry . 2023-10-27 . The Indian Express . en . 2022-08-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220828083414/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-culture/boycott-bollywood-trend-impact-on-industry-explained-8115054/ . live .
  19. Web site: Bollywood's problem is not boycotts, it is the quality. Or lack of it . 2023-10-29 . WION . 3 September 2022 . en-us . 2023-10-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231029160658/https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-bollywoods-problem-is-not-boycotts-it-is-the-quality-or-lack-of-it-512585 . live .
  20. News: Ellis-Petersen . Hannah . 2024-01-12 . Netflix pulls Indian film after backlash from rightwing Hindu groups . 2024-01-26 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077 . 2024-01-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240126061731/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/jan/12/netflix-pulls-indian-film-annapoorani-the-goddess-of-food-after-backlash-from-rightwing-hindu-groups . live .
  21. Web site: 2023-06-19 . Adipurush row: Mob protests at mall in Maha's Palghar, asks people to boycott screening . 2024-01-26 . The Indian Express . en . 2024-01-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240126061731/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/adipurush-row-mob-protests-mall-maharashtra-palghar-boycott-screening-8672886/ . live .