How 'RRR' exposed Western media bias towards India?
Ace filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli recently gave a befitting reply to the Western media when asked about 'RRR' promoting 'Hindu nationalism', the phrase most of the foreign media is using to target India since PM Modi-led BJP came to power in 2014, and more specifically the Ram Charan and Junior NTR-starrer movie now.
"I don't have any kind of hidden agenda... I make films for people who are willing to pay their hard-earned money on the film ticket," he said when asked about the polarisation of debate in India that does not allow for a middle ground. "Any extreme point of view, I oppose," he stated in the interview to AFP.
He further stated, "I like to get them entertained, make them feel dramatic about the characters, about the situations. I want them to have a good time, go back and live their lives."
Citing Rights campaigners, a section of the media claimed that actors like Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan are facing pressure under the 'Hindu nationalist' government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These references clearly expose the hidden agenda of the section of the media.
How
did
'Pathaan'
became
a
hit
then?
At
first,
the
article
or
the
interview
did
not
mention
what
sort
of
pressure
the
"minority" stars
are
facing
in
India.
Secondly,
the
story
did
not
take
into
account
Shah
Rukh
Khan's
recent
movie
'Pathaan'
which
according
to
trade
trackers
has
collected
over
Rs
1,000
crore
at
the
box
office.
If
the
actors
were
under
"pressure",
how
did
Khan's
latest
movie
mint
such
a
big
buck?
Rather it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who advised his party workers "not to make unnecessary comments" against movies while addressing the BJP National Executive meeting, just ahead of Pathaan's release.
However, the AFP is not the only media house that has a problem with 'RRR'. Many Western media outlets have brazenly called 'RRR' a controversial film and targeted it for allegedly promoting Hindu nationalism, whatever does that mean.
The critic from New Yorker in his review said, "The film's mythologized telling of Bheem and Raju's historic freedom fighters. They point to the fact that Raju, who belongs to a privileged caste, is ultimately elevated in the narrative above Bheem, a leader of the Gond tribe, who declares himself a humble student of Raju's teachings. They point to how this story line replicates hierarchical relationships from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which Rajamouli has cited as sources of inspiration, and especially to the film's patriotic final number, "Etthara Jenda" (Raise the Flag), which celebrates certain historic figures favoured by the Hindutva movement while leaving out founding fathers such as Mahatma Gandhi," the reviewer said.
Many Western reviewers were not happy with the scene where Ram Charan appears in a saffron-clad avatar, killing the Britishers with his arrows. "Several scenes then have a slightly chilling quality to viewers living under the constant threat of Hindutva authoritarianism. When Ram's father tells him that 'every hand will have a weapon,' he may have well been talking about paramilitary organizations like the RSS which have made militarizing Hindus a key part of their agenda. In the movie's final uplifting song extolling the virtues of nationalist struggles, several freedom fighters from the Indian independence movement are referenced," the reviewer in 'Thrillist' said.
He questioned why Gandhi, Nehru and Ambedkar were not part of the film's final song. "Yet three of the biggest names are conspicuously missing: Gandhi, whose secular and non-violent Hinduism was at odds with the BJP's and was murdered by a right-wing Hindu ideologue; Ambedkar, a member of the formerly untouchable caste and was instrumental in leading mass protests against the caste system and father of the Indian Constitution; and Nehru, India's first Prime Minister whose image Narendra Modi, the current Prime Minister, is, in a one-sided battle, to topple," the critic said.
In Vox, the critic went one step ahead and called 'RRR' a "casteist Hindu wash of history and the independence struggle." These are just samples and one will find more such criticisms of 'RRR' on the internet.
Is
'RRR'
a
Controversial
Film?
In
a
country
of
140
crore
population,
'RRR'
did
not
create
any
controversy.
The
movie
neither
degraded
any
community
nor
had
any
objectionable
scenes
(at
least
for
Indians).
Yet
for
the
Western
media,
it
is
a
controversial
movie.
The
amusing
part
of
the
story
is
they
have
found
a
problem
with
Ram
Charan
appearing
like
Lord
Rama
and
Indians,
like
other
freedom
struggle
films,
emerged
victorious
in
the
end.
This
victory
was
celebrated
by
the
fans
and
till
these
Leftists
or
Western
media
pointed
out,
the
thoughts
of
Hindu
nationalism
had
not
come
to
mind
for
the
normal
cine-goers.
It is unfortunate that the same set of critics will never object when actors do 'namaz' or visit churches in other movies. However, wearing a saffron and shooting arrows can make them give the tag of 'Hindu nationalism' for a film.
Should
We
Care?
It
is
high
time
Indians
do
not
give
a
damn
to
the
Western
media
which
want
everyone
to
comply
with
their
values
and
standards.
Last
month,
External
Affairs
Minister
S.
Jaishankar
had
rightly
reprimanded
foreign
newspapers
for
reserving
adjectives
like
"Hindu
nationalist" for
the
Indian
government.
"If you read foreign newspapers, they use words like Hindu nationalist government. In America or Europe, they won't say Christian nationalist... These adjectives are reserved for us. They don't understand that this country is ready to do more with the world and not less with the world," said Jaishankar.
In his words, "We are one-fifth of the world's population, the fifth or sixth largest economy in the world...we are entitled to weigh our own side." Hence, there is no need for us to please others for recognition if we have approval from our own people.
In short, the movie has exposed the Western media's bias towards India and its indigenous culture and ethos.