In a world that seems increasingly filled with distressing news of war and violence the world over; many people flee to the cinema to find a few hours of peace in the embrace of a good story and atmosphere. I am certainly amongst their ranks, and frequently I will look over my Hindi dictionary and make an arduous trip into the far reaches of Glasgow to view the upcoming Indian movies.
Historically, Indian cinema – affectionately (or vulgarly depending on who you ask) referred to as “Bollywood” which primarily refers to the highest budget films whose production, is based primarily in Mumbai. Bollywood’s “Classical Era” had been dominated by variations of the romantic comedy, blending elements of musicals and action to create movies quite distinct from the rest of the world. Movies such as Sholay, Baazigar, Maine Pyar Kiya Hai and – my personal favourite – Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge came to define the period and industry as a whole, shooting actors such as Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan into über stardom, their appeal still having yet to fade in the heart of the Indian public.
It is in part this affection which has caused Bollywood to stagnate in recent years. In 1993, Shah Rukh Khan played a young action anti-hero vigilante in Baazigar. And yet, 30 years later in Jawan, we see nearly the very same actor performing the same type of role, playing the age of 30 at 59. A privilege which is not always shared by their female counterparts.
When looking at the highest-grossing movies of the last decade, almost all of them star an actor who made their start in the 80s or 90s – in some cases, even before that. The industry’s rigidity and these actor’s individual unwillingness to let go of their youth has weakened the industry significantly. Despite India’s rapid modernisation and youth population, it appears that in some respects, Bollywood is still stuck in the past. However, even if there are plenty of familiar faces in front of and behind the camera, the Bollywood one finds on screen at present has changed dramatically. The industry’s romantic era faded from popularity by the mid 2010s. Since then, the new age of the ‘action hero’ has flooded Indian theatres. These films often focusing on conflicts with India’s barely 80-year-old rivalry with Pakistan, be it wars or terrorist attacks.
2024’s Fighter starring Hrithik Roshan (another star of the 90s and 2000s) – a movie I was looking forward, signalling the return of my favourite actor to the big screen – is by far one of the most egregious examples of this new era of Bollywood. The movie depicts a modern-day fictional account of an Indian pilot fighting in Jammu and Kashmir. Sold as an Indian Top Gun, it feels as though the intention was to make a piece of advertisement for the Indian army as opposed to telling a compelling story. Long sequences of flag waving, saluting and chanting of Vande Mataram pad the runtime of the film. Despite the movie’s plot being cantered around an intensely complicated issue, it does not make any attempt at nuance. The audience is not guided to consider the impacts on the other side of the war, civilian or otherwise. The Pakistani villains are flat, and cartoonishly evil, there is no consideration that our heroes fill the exact same role when viewed from the other side of the border.
This is a trend which can be seen in the most recent release of its ilk, 2026’s Border 2. Starring another 80s legend, Sunny Deol, the movie falls into many of the same pitfalls as Fighter. Despite its 3-hour runtime, Border 2 hastily rushes the audience through the “boring bits” of the exposition leaving our main characters feeling undeveloped and flat. Their main characterisation being that they are soldiers who have families that they care about. Despite the 3 main characters each being cadets in the 3 areas of the military, they do not reflect the 3 main religions of India, only representing Indian Hindus and Sikhs. Indeed, there is no mention of Indian Muslims at all, the only reference to Islam in the movie is the star and crescent on the flag and uniform of the Pakistani army. This follows a modern trend of ignoring the fact that India has the highest population of Muslims in the world. It portrays a view that you cannot be Muslim and Indian, and that Pakistan is the place for Muslims.
This is made worse by the film’s general lax view towards the deaths of all but one of the Pakistani soldiers, contrasted by the pain expressed at the loss of every Indian soldier emphasises an unwillingness – even a fear – to explore the other side of the border. Even dehumanising them. Is it any wonder that this trend coincides with the rapid growth of the Hindu nationalist BJP party, whose political philosophy is centred around the belief that India ought to be a nation for Hindus only?
Instead of exploring any of its themes of war and hardship, Border 2 reserves most of its runtime for long drawn out and samey fight sequences and tongue-lashing sequences asserting that India is greater than Pakistan. (You know, in case you forgot).
Bollywood’s new affinity for this kind of storyline deepens the divide between the two nations. It glorifies war, making it into something aspirational. By turning Pakistan into a bogeyman in these films and making it synonymous with Islam, it not only demonises Pakistanis civilians but also Indian Muslims.
That is certainly not to say that Pakistan is blameless in any Indo-Pak conflict, quite the opposite. But it is still disappointing to me that movies, such as those mentioned above, fail to explore their plots to the fullest potential. That they fail to address the true root of conflict between the two nations, that their rivalry was entirely fabricated by a dying British Empire. They instead encourage the audience to switch their brains off, and to view Pakistanis as a whole as the enemy.
These films do not portray the best of Indian culture, rather the worst of it. Of tribalism and bigotry based on a line in the sand. Instead of being transported into a story, I feel as though I am watching the same thing being played on the screen on repeat: You will hate Pakistan! You will hate Pakistan! An unhelpful message, and a stale one at that.
It is especially frustrating when we see what is possible when this new style is ignored, and new blood is allowed to flourish. 2024’s Laapataa Ladies, which was only the second head directing project by director Kiran Rao, where the titular ladies were played by two hitherto unknown actresses of similar age to their characters. Even staying within the realm of action, 2022 RRR – a fictionalised retelling of two figures in the Indian independence movement – dazzled audiences and became the 5th highest-grossing movie in Indian history. Both films swept domestic and international awards shows, Laapataa Ladies being nominated as India’s submission for the academy awards that year, and RRR went on to win the nomination for best original song.
But successes such as these are unfortunately few and far between on the national level. There is evidently a market for other genres within and outwith India, yet Bollywood largely continues to use the guise of patriotism to hide its stagnation and fear to take risks. Indian cinema deserves better than this. From Punjab in the west to Assam in the east, we are a nation filled to bursting with so many stories to tell.
Do we really need to hear the same old story of “India good, Pakistan bad!” again?
(he/him/his)
Hi! I’m D’arcy, a first year Software Engineering student who loves to write, and make video games!
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