Today, films are not just a means of entertainment but have developed into a strong soft power, therefore every producer-director should take care that the content or title of the films does not hurt the sentiments of any particular community.
Like literature, if cinema is really a mirror of society, then in today’s era it will have to be inclusive. Not just from a plot point of view, but also in the portrayal of the characters. Unfortunately, Hindi cinema does not have a good record when it comes to stereotypical portrayal of a particular community, which the world today knows as Bollywood. From the very beginning, an image of many communities, from the Parsi community to Biharis, from South Indians to people from the North-East, was created on the screen, which was beyond reality. Sometimes a special character of a community was portrayed in a hit film, then such characters started appearing in every other film.
However, in the new century there has been a significant reduction in the stereotypical, ridiculous and insulting portrayal of characters. Young filmmakers of today’s times are presenting their stories and characters in a new way instead of typecasting them as per the demand of the time. Famous filmmaker Neeraj Pandey is among those filmmakers who have made many excellent films. Therefore, when the controversy over the title of his new film Ghooskhor Pandat increased, many questions were raised.
After the release of the film’s trailer, allegations were made that the title of his film is not only casteist, but also shows ill will and prejudice towards a particular community, which could lead to the danger of spreading animosity in the society. As a result, protests took place against the film in many cities, FIRs were filed and the matter reached the Supreme Court. During the hearing, the court made it clear that freedom of expression does not mean presenting a bad image of any community. Ultimately the producer filed an affidavit that the title of the film would be changed.
In fact, deliberately creating controversy for commercial gain just before the release of the films has been an old pastime of many filmmakers. For Bollywood moguls, it is no less than Brahmastra, especially when they feel that the film does not have the ability to bring the audience to the theatre. Therefore, for publicity, they have often resorted to such tactics which lead to nationwide controversies and which have nothing to do with the content of the film. Obviously, controversies increase the interest of a large section of the audience towards the film, which leads to rush at the ticket windows. Such disputes prove to be a profitable deal for manufacturers. So, will the latest episode also benefit Neeraj Pandey’s film commercially?
There are many such examples in the long history of Indian cinema, when due to controversies even a mediocre or worse film has proved to be a superhit at the box office. According to many filmmakers, they get more benefits from the negative buzz than from the positive publicity of the film. The more protests, the greater the demand for the film at the box office. Now such a strategy is being made for the OTT platform also, because even in the digital era, just streaming the film does not get the audience, efforts have to be made for that also.
Controversies over titles, dialogues, songs or any other aspect of Bollywood films have been going on for a long time. Sanjay Leela Bhansali had to change the name of his film Padmavati to Padmavat (2018). The name of his another film Ram Leela also had to be changed to Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013) after protests. Due to similar reasons, the title of Salman Khan produced Loveratri (2018) had to be changed to Loveyatri and Akshay Kumar starrer Laxmmi Bomb had to be titled Laxmi (2020).
In 2009, the word barber was removed from Shahrukh Khan’s film Billu Barber because a particular community considered it derogatory. The use of caste-related words in the lyrics of a song in Madhuri Dixit’s film Aaja Nachle (2007) sparked controversy. Despite this, such controversies keep happening every day. It cannot be said that any filmmaker remains unaware of the consequences of choosing a controversial title or plot.
Today films are not just a means of entertainment but have developed into a strong soft power. It has an impact on socio-political life. Therefore, it is expected from the producer-director that he will take care in the content or title of the films so that they do not hurt the sentiments of any community.