Representation of Minorities in Popular Hindi Cinema

Abstract

Throughout the country, religious differences are significant, especially between the Hindu majority and the large Muslim minority; and other Indian groups like Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Jews, Parsis, Sikhs, and practitioners of tribal religions, all pride themselves on being unlike members of other faiths. Given the vast diversity of Indian society, where there are a lot of similarities and differences between various groups on the basis of language, religion, region, caste, etc., it is difficult to represent their social reality as such. At the same time while discussing the representation of social reality in any text, including cinema, it is necessary to remember the fact that all cultural representations are some where link with politics. They can serve pernicious interests of cultural oppression by positioning particular segments of the society as superior, thus pointing to the inferiority of the other. A commercially driven enterprise, Indian film industry generally gives more importance to what their audiences want rather than what is in their interest or social reality. It gives emphasis on the feelings of the majority at the cost the minority. In representing minorities generally film makers rely on stereotypes. That is why while analysing representations of minorities in Hindi cinema, any one may find that they are regulated stereotypes that appear again and again to reinforce their images in the minds of audience.