Indian traditions and arts are often ridiculed by Hollywood in its films!
Hollywood has been making films where India, Indians, Indian art and Indian traditions have been ridiculed. First they don’t know the depth of any tradition and take very superficial impression and thus interpretation based on this half knowledge becomes culprit to make mockery of India and its culture.
Indian classical music, be it vocal or instrumental has become a tool for Hollywood filmmakers to use in awful manner. Where ever its extreme violence or a extremely funny but vulgar situation or there are scenes depicting orgies or human sacrifice etc then they use either Indian classical music, vocal with chanting of sacred mantras or it can be an Indian classical instrument, mostly Sitar, playing in the background. If they have to show something extreme violent then they have statues of Kali or other Goddesses to be shown.
Many films are there to quote the example. At present, one such example, I recall, is a film from great trio of George Lucas, Philip Kaufman and Steven Speilberg’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom (1984)” the second of their Indian Johnes triology.
It’s a pathetic attempt by masters of cinema who are famous for combining imagination, technique, technology etc to send audience in to a different world during the time when film is screened. Here they knew least or nothing and thus made a mess.
Wonder, Roshan Seth and Amrish Puri never told them what is eaten in India? Snakes? Python, having live snakes in its stomach? Heads of Monkeys as sweet dish? Drinking of Blood?
Is it called research before writing a story?
and its makes me more sad when I find great film maker like Late Stanley Kubrick using Indian classical music and Sanskrit Shlokas in the background in the infamous orgy scenes in his last film “Eyes Wide Shut“. Why on earth Mr Kubrick used classical music for orgy scenes? Did he feel that such music and shlokas are used for such activities?
Then there are low graded loud sexual comedies like “Freddy Got Fingered”. The pathetic scene in hospital has classical Indian music in background and later sacred mantra chanting.
Many other examples are scattered in various Hollywood films.
Indian classical music is not to depict extreme violence, orgies and similar vulgar things!
Hollywood should handle with care the traditions of other cultures which are so old and about which they know either very less or nothing.
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Even the Spike Lee film ‘Inside Man’ used ‘Chhaiyya Chhaiyya’ in its title sequence. I loved the film and found the title sequence really slick.. but couldn’t make the connection. Why?
Although I agree with your criticism of ill-informed portrayals, it’s important to look at the flip-side as well. Indian films that feature Americans or Americans of Indian descent (NRIs) too portray that culture in a grossly ill-informed manner, succumbing to stereotypes. Not just Americans, but any other culture for that matter. As an example, I remember a scene from the film Duplicate where SRK has cooked a meal for a Japanese delegation. And the Japanese guy talks about how much he loved the meal, but strangely enough, he is speaking in Chinese.
Forget about external cultures. We can’t even correctly portray our own culture and traditions. Look at the portrayal of South Indians in Hindi cinema. In Hindi cinema, for decades, South Indians have always been portrayed as idli-chomping clowns with ridiculous accents. Or look at the stereotypical representations of Bengalis, or even Sardars for that matter.
When we see ourselves portrayed poorly by another culture, it lights a fire under our ass. We need to correct ourselves and our potrayal of our own people before we go out criticizing those outside our country.
oh god…cleared cookies..damn…
RK : thanks for writing on this..i share the same feelings, bloody bbc and hollywood never tried to explaore indian tratditions in depth, the problem is also that they do not understand it easily…it should b something cathy for them…like chanting “hare rama hare krishna” while doing drugs or kama suthra and yoga…
Vijay : i agree with what u said about south indians being depicted in stereotyped and objectionable manner in some hindi films, but that has decreased over the years and u should also take into account the reach of the films…
hollywood films are played in every nook and corner of the world, thus giving wrong impressions of India across different countries..
but i think things are changing for the better if we take the instance of the Wachowski brothers being inspired by hindu myths and phylosophy, they also used asathoma sadgamaya chant and other things from Upanisads(remember very vaguely, ignore any ignorance on my part)
As for the west’s depiction of Indian tradition, it’s not just Indian culture that suffers from poor representation. Hollywood will go after anything exotic. Latin American and other East Asian customs too are very poorly represented.
That’s because that is the image that has been fed to the West for so many years. The exoticism of India to the west in fact dates as far back to the writing of Rudyard Kipling, perhaps even farther.
But another thing we also need to realize is that what we sow is what we get. That is the image we are projecting to the west of ourselves. Of course the Indiana Jones Temple of Doom example excluded. I am talking about exoticism in general.
We sell our tourism through stuff like Palace on Wheels and so on where we showcase the ancient, rich, and exotic India. The cinema we export showcases the same stuff. Naturally, that is the image that exists there. So I disagree that Hollywood has a responsibility to get their portrayal of India right. If their films are playing in every nook and corner giving wrong impressions of India, then WE INDIANS need to set that right. Let us represent ourselves truthfully as we really are in our art forms that we export. It is our responsibility to set it right, not Hollywood’s.
I agree with Vijay that it is the responsibility of us Indians to set things straight.
Another point I wanted to make was that in “Indiana Jone and The Temple of Doom”, it was a representation of a practitioner of black magici and not a typical Indian. So frankly I did not find anything wrong in it, since we all know that black magic is still practiced in various parts of India and even cities like Mumbai have been stunned with cases of human sacrifices. In fact, there even exists this one clan of “ascetics” somewhere on the banks of Ganga that rubs human ashes from the cremation grounds on their body and are known to feast on human remains.
Temple of Doom may offend some Indians, but didn’t bother me. To begin with, it’s not a movie to be taken seriously and analyzed. All the cultural representations in all the Indiana Jones movies were shit. As a pure movie watcher, that’s perhaps what made the films so much fun to watch.
Indians also had issues with a 1968 Blake Edwards film called The Party, in which Peter Sellers plays Hrundi V. Bakshi, an Indian man working as an extra in Hollywood. Despite the fact that Bakshi ends up as the hero of the film, walks away with the best lines and the girl, Indians had issues because he spoke funny. The movie was banned in India. This during the same year that Mehmood immortalized the character of Master Pillai in Padosan with what is perhaps an even more stereotypical, degrading representation.
One of the problems that I have with Hollywood films is that they don’t even portray Americans correctly.
For the most part, characters in Hollywood films are stereotypes or archetypes – all the best to tell the story. Why should the writers portray realistic characters when it is easier to create a facsimile of a person to drive the plot. Regardless of the character’s country of origin, it is easier to sell the stereotype than to create an engaging realism.
This is the reason I was driven to watch foreign cinema as a teenager. The kids portrayed in the “teen” movies of my youth had nothing to do with my friends and I, they didn’t resemble us, our speech, our dreams, our lives.
And, the adult fare that I see has little to do with me or my life, either.
And, I loved the fact that Spike Lee chose Chaiyya Chaiyya in the film! Yes, it fit nothing. But, he liked the song and has the power to dictate how his films get made. What better reason is there to use a song ;) Besides, if he were just another Hollywood director, the producers would have forced a Maroon 5 or Justin Timberlake song into the track. Another reason that Hollywood sucks…
What do you have to say aboout Indian filmmakers misrepresenting Indian cultural icons? Look at what Vidhu Vinod Chopra did in Eklavya, the way he used Gayatri Mantra as the background chant in the romantic moments of his film. He also unearthed some saying of Pitamah Bhishm to support the premise of his insipid film. This is just one recent example. You can find thousands of such instances in Bollywood films. And while Indians have been using western sounds and visual sense to enhance the so called ‘production value’of their films without paying any royalty, westerners have not really been all that careless and obtuse in picking up Indian musical themes and icons. You should be ojective while making generalisations like this.
One notices a marked improvement in the perception of Hollywood filmmakers about Indians and their characterisation in their films. We don’t see that happening in India. The new breed of angicised Indian filmmkakers can be seen to be more contemptuous of Indianness, especially the way they depict the rural people and our politicians who cannot speak English properly, as idiots and villains. ‘Bheja Fry’ is a tell tale evidence of that.
Vijay:
I think discussion is slightly swayed away.
Indiana Johnes was ill attempt. Reader’s Digest and Hollywood have been two decent armaments of American imperialism to portray other countries in bad manners.
But thats still fine.
In short,
My objection is misuse of Indian classical music. Whenever something bizzare has to be shown then they use it in background. Thats pathetic. Indiasn classical music is not to send some one on high like one gets by using drugs. It brings opposite trance.
Its meant for other things.
Black magic , devils etc all are fine but one cant play with a rich tradition which has been developed over thousands of years. Sitar is not to bring more impact on orgies based scenes.
Re: Portrayals of other countries and even NRIs in hindi films, sometimes it also goes overboard.
I found it objectionable in Karan Johar’s K3G when he kept that scene where Kajol ridicules an english woman who comes to leave her child at Kajol’s home.
This is not a good thing.
But Hollywood does more severe acts.
Jokes about other communities and countries should be in controlled manner.
Yoga is not to enhance sexual power as much vocal Ms Oprah Winfrey imposed on Aishwarya Rai during her interview.
It can be taken under humour but on an average few traditional things have been taken in wrong manner in that side of world across the atlantic and Hollywood is major culprit in this.
Its not about that thing which AL Basham wrote” The wonder that was India” and people caught the lines that India is a country of magician, chameleons, serpents, elephants etc. Every country is free to read any thing and make opinion about any country in any manner. it shows the lacking of reciever and not lacking of the object. But even after knowing so much about classical music, yoga, if people misuse them then its objectionable.
One cant find use of pop music in hindi films in parties where its used to show sexual attraction between young charactres but no misuse of western classical music will be seen. Pop Music is taken as such from west. whatever they do, its shown in exact manner here also.
AM, t, have not seen the film where Chaiya Chaiya is used.
Rakesh Kumar Singh,
have not seen Bheja Fry, so cant say anything about that. It shd be directed to those who have seen and liked it.
Is it really scene to scene copy of Dinner game and if yes then Rajat Kapoor took rights? or he just followed stealing without giving due credit to original?;)
If not, then now its a hit film and perhaps now Rajat Kapoor has money to buy the rights. what if he does it post release:)
bheja fry????????no way man…..
if u tell me abt the zamindar mmovies then fine…but not bheja fry yaar….and moreover i dont think u got the satire of the movie…go see it again…aur light lena
RK….agree.i think its a new genre called exotica filmmaking. But if we also dont potray our things rightly what will the firangs do.
T!…with all those stories of american dysfunctional family,now i think every family in us is dysfunctional. nobody is normal.
Phoenixnu: you are right, our filmmakers have to show more responsible behaviour. Art is not to make fun of any community. Laugh can be created without being too subjective.
Re: generalization of dysfunctionality is not possible. Its very difficult to understand any society from a distance though its very easy to make an opinion, and irrespective of the fact which country we belong we all are suffering from this tendancy universally that we make a prototype of a country or soceity though reality can be very different. Its true about American society also. A dysfunctional society cant be progressive.
As we have so many problems in society, so have Americans. Moreover Political America is different than social America.
Richard Gere could say openely against George Bush to Karan Johar but Karan cant dare to speak against CM of his state or PM of our nation.
USA cherishes Naom Chomsky inspite of his shouting from roof top against USA’s policies while here Aamir Khan’s films were indirectly banned by a state govt. because he crticized its deeds.
we are also abnormal.:(
Justin:
Ya “FGF” is a crazy film.:)
People, culture are ridiculed by filmmakers all over the world. But it can be light toned as was in Mummna Bhai MBBS where Circuit catches a foreigner when Munna demands a human body.
But as I said, Classical music is not to be associated with evil acts. Its for contrary.
Its of no objection if they show Indians in any manner which they think is right.
People are not topic of much botheration as that depends on individual’s exp. One can meet a good person of a country or a bad or a funny and can have opinion based on that encounter. Thats individualistic take.
We cant make fun of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven in the films. Thats foolish, ridiculous and unpardonable.
Art is to bring beauty in our life and not to bring distortion.
Human Psychology is bigger and not limited to Freudian boundaries only.
Chinese music?
Do Indian film makers know abt chinese music?
thats revelation.
I am missing Shot gun, Shatrughan Sinha, he would have brought a great punch line for this occasion:d
Good on RK….
I agree with what Vijay has stated….i Also remember once Sunil Gavaskar getting annoyed doing commentary in West Indies, he said …..when people show WI, they show the beaches, the merry-making people, etc…and when India is shown..it is always the slums, the poor India, the beggars, the over-crowded streets…..
I mean yeah….it is true this exists in india…but it not India…..Similarly in the movies as well…..Do we still have bloody Snake-Charmers? i am sick of answering this question…..
AM,
“Even the Spike Lee film
@Ash
“[AK] Well, The title sequence for
@AM
Not Sure on why Spike had that song in, but what i know is that he is really fascinated by Indian Music and he had this music in,just because he really loved that music ,and i believe he was just not trying to prove anything, just had that music because he wanted to have it in.
This all reminds of the stories i heard about Himesh Reshamiya songs and how some movie sequences were woven around his songs, though not completely analogus but the point is when you want somethin in, then the plot doesnot really matter :-)