The portrayal of Nationalism in Indian movies differed from time to time. If we take a glance at our early films we tend to realize that Hindi cinema has played a big part in helping Indians imagine an entity binding them together, i.e. the Indian Nation.

The Earlier Trends

If we consider the early movies that were made, we realize that Hindi cinema has played a big part in creating a bond of oneness. Most of the movies that were made during the first couple of decades after independence show a strong influence of Nehruvian socialism which was deeply invested in the idea of a deep sense of nationalism that’s all inclusive.

A few relevant films from the era that made a great impacting context of true Nationalism were- Andaz (1949), NayaDaur (1957), Mother India (1957), and Howrah Bridge (1958).

These films were most certainly true to India’s first prime minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru’s ideals of modern India—developing cities, roads, dams, bridges, doctors, and engineers being the emblem of modernity.

However, there is no denying that the Indian film Industry experienced a metamorphosis of sorts around the ‘90s. Well, if we analyze Hindi cinema closely, we observe that the 1990s proved to be the tipping point with Nehruvian socialism making way for economic liberalization in India.

As the Indian economy gradually opened up to the world, the Hindi cinema started catering to the growing influence of the Indian diaspora. Later on, filmmakers like Vishal Bhardwaj, Anurag Kashyap, and Tigmanshu Dhulia made efforts to make films set in the Hindi heartland.

Representation of “Otherness”

However, in the recent years, this industry witnessed a new wave of Nationalism. So, how is this new brand of nationalism different in comparison to the kind of nationalism previously seen in the earlier times or the films that followed them over the decades?

Well, one clear difference is that the majority of the nationalistic films made today tend to embrace an extreme form of patriotism that can best be described as ‘jingoistic’ in nature.

There are many troubling concerns with jingoism but none more worrisome than the fact that it can often lead to “Alienation” of certain communities.

Some of the most prominent examples that are worth mentioning are- Padmaavat (2018), Kesari(2019), and Tanhaji (2020). These films celebrate the valor of the Sikhs, the Rajputs, and the Marathas, respectively. But the primary antagonists are either Muslims or Hindus serving Muslims.

Therefore, consciously or unconsciously, these films tend to alienate one particular community by portraying them as the other (evil/villain). In fact, a lot of critics have accused these films of promoting Islamophobia. This is in great contrast to all those nationalistic films that featured Manoj Kumar, Raj Kumar, and Nana Patekar.

The Bottom Line

The Nationalism that is being promoted today is a distortion and polarisation of the historical narrative. Jingoism maybe selling well for now but it’s certainly not a healthy routine to follow in the longer run.

Indian Cinema are not solely politically motivated, nor are they entirely devoid of nationalist/anti-colonialist content; however, they are ideologically loaded. Many critics suggest that many Indian movies today endorse nationalist projects that centralise the ideal upper middle-class Hindu male and mark the Muslim man as a sexualized, violent other.

For obvious reasons we don’t want our cinema to just have local and ephemeral relevance. We want our films to travel and travel well. But that will only happen if our subjects are objectively backed up by a strong historical research. There is no denying that watching a film like Tanhaji can be great fun but its unbalanced politics and the misrepresentation of history isn’t something to be proud of.