Let me ask you a question. Have you watched ‘Gehraiyaan’? If not the movie, you must have watched the trailer at least. What do you think, can you watch the movie with your family? No, right? The way cheating has been normalised in the Bollywood movie and the promotion of vulgarity is something that can make you awkward while watching it with your parents. The same goes with the movies like Gangs of Wasseypur. Unlike ‘Gehraiyaan’, it does not promote vulgarity but glorifies gangsters and abusive languages.
Why am I telling you about these movies, you may ask? Well, it is necessary to bring into the limelight this nauseating aspect of Bollywood in which it keeps on peddling various agendas and has forgotten an essential ingredient of Hindi films.
Bollywood glorifies gangsters and promotes vulgarity
Shah Rukh Khan once said that “Not all films need to give out a message. They can be mere tools of entertainment too.”
But this is not the truth. The fans and cinemagoers are somehow influenced by the stars and the characters played by them in the respective movies. Thus, is it okay to glorify gangsters?
While Shah Rukh played a ‘dreaded’ bootlegger hailing from Gujarat in the 80s, Akshay Kumar also did not think twice before playing the fictitious character of Dawood Ibrahim in Once upon a time in Mumbai 2. Notably, Shah Rukh’s character in Raees was heavily inspired by the late underworld don Abdul Latif, who once ran the biggest alcohol mafia in Gujarat.
Be it, Gangs of Wasseypur or Don, Once upon a time in Mumbai or recently released Bachchhan Pandey, Bollywood movies keep glorifying gangsters. Their characters are larger than life and are designed in a way that you’ll end up empathising with them. What is funniest is that they are portrayed as family men.
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The cinema impacts society and thus it is necessary to oppose the blatant glorification of criminals. These films wrongly influence the audience as well.
Similarly, Bollywood has also been promoting vulgarity. It is responsible for rising vulgarity and related crimes in society. Javed Akhtar, at the Jaipur Literature Festival 2015, had also addressed the issue saying, “There is so much vulgarity today. When you can protest against something illegal and even at stupidity then why there is no protest against vulgarity?”
Bollywood forgot the core of Hindi films
Bollywood is an Indian film industry. Thus, it becomes mandatory for it to keep in mind Indian culture and Sanatan Dharma. However, it has forgotten the core and stopped making family-oriented films. When was the last time you went to watch a modern Bollywood movie with your family? Even if you had, was it possible for you to enjoy the movie without any awkward moments? No, right? It’s not your fault as a majority of Indian families still cannot watch the movies like ‘Gehraiyaan’ together.
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It is probably due to this reason that Bollywood is struggling to survive as it has nothing to offer except propaganda, vulgarity and copied content. Tollywood, on the contrary, is excelling when it comes to delivering good content. You won’t have to think twice to enjoy the movies like RRR and Bahubali.
It is high time Bollywood learns from Tollywood and starts making family-oriented films or what will transpire, will surely make Bollywood cry foul.