Three recent Hindi films — Jhund, Gangubai Kathiawadi and The Kashmir Files — suggest that Bollywood’s conventional cinematic temperament is witnessing a bold change. These films are based on real-life stories, narrate the unnerving struggles of minority social groups, and reprimand dominant social taboos. The box office success of these films, especially of The Kashmir Files, may inspire filmmakers to make more films on crucial social realities and sensitive historical events. Though The Kashmir Files has received growing support from the state, civil society and filmgoers, it is the other two films that have effectively challenged Bollywood’s conventional narrative style. By showcasing the heroic tales of the most disadvantaged (the Dalits, in Jhund) and vulnerable (sex workers, in Gangubai Kathiawadi) sections on the silver screen, Bollywood has offered its own version of social justice.
The song-and-dance routine
Compared to artistic ‘world cinema’, Bollywood has been unapologetic for serving its audience melodramatic films infused with banal songs, dance and action. The logic of commercial success has often disallowed filmmakers from engaging with sensitive or controversial subjects. Though early Hindi cinema presented the stories of the poor working class (Do Bigha Zamin), migrants (Jagte Raho), patriarchal maladies (Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam), and political turmoil (Garm Hava), the logic of mainstream cinema has largely revolved around the commercial interests and values of the upper caste elites. Cinematic genres depicting social and religious fissures with serious intellectual and creative abilities have been rare or have often been referred to as ‘art house cinema’ or ‘parallel cinema’. Films depicting caste-based social divisions or highlighting the exploitation of Adivasis have been far and few.
