A mural from the classic film ‘Hum Saath Hain’ featuring Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan Wall In Mumbai in 2012. | Photo credit: AFP
TeaThe month of June 2024 was filled with news from the recently released Yash Raj Films production, MaharajDirected by Sidharth Malhotra. According to many critics, this was another badly made film despite a strong performance by actor Jaideep Ahlawat. However, the film caught our attention for two reasons. One, the film is based on the historical Maharaj defamation case of 1862, which was a critique of blind faith. The protagonist Karshandas Mulji, played by debutant Jaund Khan, is a social reformer and journalist who challenged the religious orthodoxy of Bhagwan Maharaj, played by Ahlawat. Secondly, the film sparked legal and social controversy as a case of hurting religious sentiments was filed in the Gujarat High Court, which eventually ruled in favor of the film.
There have been many such cases against popular films made on issues related to the major religion in India i.e. Hinduism. We can recall some such films which faced such controversies, such as P (Raju Hirani, 2014) and Oh God (Amit Roy, 2023) The main question is whether there is space in popular cinema for a humanistic and critical relationship with gods and religious leaders.
Hindu mythology in cinema
Several scholars of cinema such as Ashish Rajadhyaksha, Ravi Vasudevan, Aruna Vasudev and Madhava Prasad have critically discussed the locus standi of early cinema in India. In the light of such discussions, the understanding emerges that human relationships with gods and deities are nothing new to cinema. Mythological narratives were central to silent cinema. In the era of filmmaker Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (1817–1944), popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke, there were films such as satyavan savitri (1914), The Truthful King Harishchandra (1917), and Kaliya Mardan (1919). These films were not just about devotion, but also about man’s personal approach to religion and spirituality. After the first talking film, this trend continued even after sound came to cinema alam ara (1931). Vijay Bhatt’s famous film Ram Rajya (1943) even had Mahatma Gandhi in the audience despite his reservations about the medium of cinema. In addition, there were many films that criticized dominant Hindu values. Franz Osten’s Untouchable Girl (1936) will always be remembered as a historical milestone. This film ridiculed the religious leaders who were the custodians of discriminatory Brahminical values.
Film critic and historian Chidananda Dasgupta, who co-founded the Calcutta Film Society with legendary filmmaker and Oscar award winner Satyajit Ray, wrote about cinema’s relationship with mythological deities. Though he is more known for his translations of the works of Rabindranath Tagore, Manik Bandopadhyay and Jibanananda Das, Dasgupta’s critical study of early cinema is significant. In his book seeing is believing In this film, published by Penguin, he brought to life the romance between early popular Hindi cinema and Hindu mythology in a dramatic fashion. Stories of gods and demons that Hindu believers had heard only in oral tradition became available for visual-sensory experiences in the first decade of modern cinema in India. Seeing the gods come alive on screen meant that they were available for relating to mortals. Earthly mortals were obliged to apply their social and cultural logic to the newly formed relationship with God. Viewed through the prism of human emotions, gods and goddesses became available for friendly association. Apart from evoking devotion and submission, the gods also inspired humans to question and subject God to peculiar tests in these mythological films.
Thus Hindi cinema has constantly strived to restore faith and free gods and spirituality from the clutches of babas and dominant values.
Critical engagement
Film scholars such as Rachel Dwyer have grouped many such films under the label of Hindi social films. Such films were not intended to be anti-religious, but they do promote critical engagement with religious notions. Two examples from the past are worth recalling. One was a film directed by Kidar Nath Sharma based on a famous novel by Hindi litterateur Bhagwati Charan Verma titled pictogramSharma had made a film with the same title twice in 1941 and 1964. The film is about a prostitute Chitralekha and a spiritual guru Kumargiri. Kumargiri wants to free a prince named Bijgupta from the prostitute’s attachment. Miss Mehtab played the role of Chitralekha in the 1941 version while Meena Kumari played the same role in the later version. Another important thing about the 1941 version is that the censor board objected to actress Mehtab’s bathing scene. However there was no controversy over the most important portrayal, i.e. the sexual degradation of the saintly spiritual guru Kumargiri. The cinematic narrative brings forth the philosophical debate between the beautiful prostitute and the morally upright saint. However, the guru gets attracted to Chitralekha and realizes the weakness of inhuman morality and transcendental spirituality.
Songs from both versions pictogram The 1941 version featured playback singer Ramdulari singing some of the most influential songs written by Kidar Sharma, and composed by composer Jhande Khan, who was trained in Indian classical music. The song title is self-explanatory, you go become a great god (Pretentious godliness, go away). Similarly, the 1964 version had countless lyrics written by the great poet Sahir Ludhianvi, sung by Lata Mangeshkar against Roshan’s music composition. One song mocks Guru, saying, You keep running away from the world, how will you find God? (Which God will you find, because, you are running away from the world).
Another film directed by IS Johar attempts to free God and divinity from the clutches of religious gurus and social dominance. Atheist (1954). The film was a commercial success, Atheist Kavi Pradeep sang a song to the tune of composer C. Ramachandran which expressed the mood of the entire film. This song can still be heard in every corner of India in the nasal voice of the singer, which says Oh my god, look at the state of your world (Look God, where your world has reached). The film is set against the backdrop of the violence of partition in India, highlighting the depth of social rifts. The protagonist Anil becomes an atheist and becomes the archenemy of the priest, the guardian of religious virtues. The film depicts a bitter relationship between the protagonist who is an anti-hero and God.
Finally, one can hardly forget a gem of popular Hindi cinema directed by Yash Raj Chopra in 1975, Wall (The Wall). The quintessential angry young man named Vijay was played by Amitabh Bachchan. The film depicted 1970s India which was filled with social and political frustration which enabled Vijay’s character to maintain an unusual relationship with God. He was an agnostic who had never entered a temple before except for the climax of the film. It is an iconic scene that is etched in the collective memory till date. After his mother’s accident, Vijay enters the temple to deliver a critical monologue in front of the idol of Lord Shiva. It is not blind faith that prompted a mortal character Vijay to talk to Shiva. The two seemed to be in eternal dialogue with each other. Vijay and Lord Shiva’s relationship saw various emotions like anger, fear, contempt and most importantly love and devotion.
Suffice it to say that popular cinema provides rich social and cultural rationales for engaging with religious ideas. With or without opposition, such relationships and engagements will continue to flourish.
Dev Nath Pathak is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, South Asian University.
