Bollywood: Behind the Scenes
Inside Modi's weaponisation of Indian cinema
In India, Narendra Modi’s government is being accused of weaponising the Bollywood film industry as a propaganda tool. These efforts are generating concerns for freedom of speech, as people working within the industry are worried that their careers may be at risk if they don’t conform to Modi’s ultra-nationalist line.
The BJP, India’s governing party, is threatening legal action against actors and filmmakers who don’t align with the governing ideology. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub is facing criminal charges for his role in a series that was deemed to insult Hindu politics and religion. “It was, I think, kind of a warning for people that you should be in your limits and just make the kind of stuff that we agree with” he says. Swara Bhasker is an actor who openly campaigns against the BJP and its treatment of Muslims. She has faced increasing threats and censorship: “if you want to thrive in Bollywood, you have to shut up” she says. Some actors support Indian cinema's nationalist turn. Pallavi Joshi, an actor, says, “when you know that the prime minister is kind of endorsing the film in a way, you know that you're doing something right, and you are doing something right for the country and for the citizens. We want to take India to the world. We want to show the truth about India.” But the increasingly limited narrative being transmitted to the rest of the world is causing alarm over freedom of speech in the world's biggest democracy.
FULL SYNOPSIS