Why is Bollywood so obsessed with glorifying criminals?
It’s gangsters raining in Bollywood this season. The much awaited Shah Rukh Khan’s flick, Raees, is up for release, with the grandiose launch of its trailer. Only a couple of weeks before, actor Arjun Rampal flexed his muscles as the dreaded gangster turned politician Arun Gawli in the teaser of his upcoming movie, ‘Daddy’. Likewise, Shraddha Kapoor has turned incognito, even donning a burqa while shooting to that effect to suit her current role of Haseena Parkar, sister of Dawood Ibrahim in the upcoming flick ‘Haseena : The Queen of Mumbai’
What’s the catch then? The current trend of biopic being made on dreaded gangsters, and glorifying most of them to a certain extent, is not only alarming, but also ridiculous to say the least? For the beginners, SRK is just not playing the antihero in ‘Raees’, he is “allegedly” essaying the role of dreaded bootlegger, arsonist and kingpin of the Gujarat mafia, Abdul Latif, who was a terror in the 80s. There a few scenes in the trailer, where they not only glorify the rioting skills of this dreaded gangster (who was also the right hand of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim), but also stereotype two communities as dreadful and violent ( Remember the dialogue ‘BANIYE KA DIMAAG AUR MIYANBHAI KI DARING?) Is ‘Raees’ glorifying the same man who was one of the forces behind the cowardly Black Friday blasts of 1993? Are we making rioters, arsonists and extortionists as our role models for the future?
If this is the end, you’re wrong mate. This is actually the beginning. While movies of gangster genre are nothing new to Bollywood, the recent trend of glorifying criminals is disturbing, to say the least. Be it the biopic on Arun Gawli or Abdul Latif, the Hindi film industry seems rather obsessed with proving hardened, rather shameless criminals as innocent people, who were forced to pick up the wrong path due to the injustice meted out to them by the authoritarian forces of the Indian government. Wait, isn’t this the same excuse used by the intellectual terrorists to justify the actions of dreaded (now slain) terrorist Burhan Wani?
If you don’t believe me, here is a sample of the atrocious criminals glorification that the mainstream Bollywood is indulging in:-
‘Daddy: The Only One Who Did Not Run’
Is Bollywood serious? Arun Gawli, the one who did not run? While his reign of terror in the late 80s is not doubt a cause of shame on the part of the whole Maharashtra, calling this guy a man of substance would be an insult on the part of our police forces, especially the encounter specialist, late Inspector Vijay Salaskar (26/11 martyr, Ashoka Chakra recipient), who had single handedly eliminated a huge chunk of this don’s gang, and himself was a nightmare for Arun Gawli. Interestingly, is Bollywood equally enthusiastic for a biopic on this brave heart police officer? I doubt so.
For those, who think that Bollywood films are only for entertainment and not for career counseling, let me tell you, the bigger the image, the deeper the impact. Remember the famous flick Darr? The menacing stalker played by SRK influenced so many future criminals, that one of them stood out and notoriously abducted a Snapdeal executive from Gurgaon. Still having doubts on the influence on Bollywood in a negative way on the society?
None will deny that Shah Rukh Khan and his films have a massive fan base, which extends almost throughout the world. Given the amount of massive Youtube views and likes Raees (20 million+ as of now and counting), millions of people will be interested to watch this movie, and the backdrop of Gujarat mafia in the 80s, especially with the input of anarchy, as shown in the trailer, gives a clear indication that ‘Raees’ is more or less inspired by the dreaded bootlegger Abdul Latif. While I would seriously hope that the expectations of Latif being glorified are demolished with the release of the film, I have my own doubts.
The question still lingers: WHY IS BOLLYWOOD SO OBSESSED WITH GLORIFYING CRIMINALS? Well, somewhere the fault lies within us, the common Indians. If we think that behind a girl’s no is a hidden yes, and overwhelmingly follow this ideal as a gospel truth, there is something wrong. From eulogizing stalkers and abductors, to investing money in movies from shady sources, there is no crime that is not associated with our film industry. I hope no one has forgotten the apathy towards the martyrs of the Uri attacks that some of our mainstream filmmakers and actors had shown, while at the same time howling like hyenas against the public boycott of movies which had Pakistani actors and actresses, like ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’.
Hypocrisy runs deep in the mainstream Bollywood, who is ready to glorify terrorists and gangsters and portray them as the Robin Hoods of our society, but will wet their pants if asked to make a whole hearted flick on the heroes of our nation, be it the Kumaon company at Rezang La, or people like Tukaram Omble, who had not only captured Ajmal Kasab, but also demolished the bizarre theory of RSS and right wing activists being behind 26/11. Unless we strike on this very hypocrisy by boycotting such films, such incidents will continue to happen. Some might give the gospel of ignorance, but the more we ignore, the more we’ll regret later.
Source:-
https://www.scoopwhoop.com/inothernews/movies-that-inspired-crime/#.m1ndqnbcs