Bollywood cinema, which is based in Mumbai, is the main film industry in India. Bollywood films represents 43% of the net box office revenue in India and the language of Bollywood cinema is Hindi. Bollywood films are best known for their length (averaging around 2-3 hours per film), blend of different genres into a single film (particularly romance and action) and frequently breaking out into an unrealistic song and dance which, is nevertheless colourful and entertaining. Despite all the vibrancy, energy and enthusiasm in Bollywood films, like most other things, there exists a dark side too…
Gender Inequality
In traditional Bollywood films, the old cultural ideology that males are superior to females is at the core of the narrative. In the classic Bollywood films, females lack autonomy and independence. They are often under the rule of their family, particularly their father which emphasises the patriarchal nature of Indian society. When they rebel, such as falling in love with someone who the family doesn’t approve of, they are often threatened. However, many contemporary Bollywood films no longer conform to this stereotype and females are often permitted a greater sense of freedom, although not as much as their male counterparts.
The gender hierarchy is not only present in Bollywood films, but the industry as a whole. Females are paid lower than their male counterparts. According to Forbes, Bollywood actors are paid 5 times more than their actress co-stars, despite the roles being of equal prominence. In an interview with Glamour, Priyanka Chopra stated that she’s ‘still used to being paid – like most actresses around the world – a lot less than the boys’. In an interview with the BBC, Chopra said that a film with a male lead generally make $40 million at the box office, films with female leads make less than a quarter. Chopra describes the roles of the ‘subservient’ mother, sister and girlfriend as ‘the ‘weak’ stereotype’ that must be addressed in Bollywood.
So not only are females presented as inferior to males on screen, actresses are also undervalued as they are paid significantly less than their male counterparts.
Mental Health
Mental health is sometimes portrayed in Bollywood film, but rather than creating awareness of it or shedding light onto solutions, it is used as a tick box exercise and a bait to attract audiences to theatres. An example of this is Anjaana Anajanni, which shows the story of male and female strangers who are attempting to commit suicide but end up falling in love with each other, resulting in a romanticised film rather than an actual realistic exploration of mental health and suicide. In other films, mental illness is classified as madness and characters are incorporated into films to be laughed at rather than to be taken seriously.
Not only are screen based depictions of mental health problematic, but mental health amongst actors/actresses is often brushed under the carpet. This issue recently came to the surface with the passing of Sushant Singh Rajput, a 34 year old Bollywood actor, who sadly took his own life due to the pressures of the industry that he was working in.
Unfortunately, mental health in Indian culture is still perceived as a taboo and there isn’t even a name for depression or anxiety in Indian languages – it’s simply not addressed. However, some figures in Bollywood are taking to the stage when it comes to highlighting mental health by sharing their own stories, such as Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma, who made their stories of dealing with depression public. Padukone also has gone onto becoming the brand ambassador for the Indian Psychiatric Society.
Let’s hope that more support for mental health in Bollywood is created and that on screen representations of mental illness is accurate and realistic.
Nepotism
In Bollywood it is sometimes not down to talent, but family name and money. It’s easier for children of actors to break into the industry and become successful, resulting in those who weren’t born into a family with acting history being left far behind. Again, like the issue above this is something which is not often spoken up against. Those who do speak up against Nepotism risk being suppressed and ridiculed, which further damages their career prospects in such a complex industry.
Despite nepotism making it harder for actors/actress to climb the ladder, some have argued against this by using the examples of top actresses Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra who are at the forefront of the industry, but did not have an prior family connection to Bollywood.
There are arguments from both parties regarding the nepotism and those actors/actresses whose family members are established in the industry make it clear how they are not granted privileges like people assume. Rather they often face pressure to be successful and get to the same level as their family members due to their family name.
Westernisation
Since the British colonised and ruled India during the British Raj, some English styles and mannerisms have become more favourable compared to Indian ones. This is evident in many Bollywood films where Westernisation can be seen from characters’ dress, attitudes and speech.
Despite most dialogue in Bollywood films being in Hindi, there is increasing incorporation of English words, phrases and even chunks of speech. Those who speak English are presented as being more intellectual and superior than their Indian counterparts. This can also be seen in the contrast between the urban city and rural villages; the city is often synonymous with English and characters in the villages speak Hindi or other Indian languages.
Traveling to Western countries, especially the UK, USA and Canada, has become a popular option for film makers, which creates an ideology of the West being a magical place full of wonder and opportunities – in short, it’s represented as being way better than India.
Not only does language and location appear to be fixated on the West, so does clothing and style. Many characters now ditch the traditional Indian attire for Westernised clothing. This is especially evident in female characters who wear short skirts, revealing tops, excessive makeup and Western jewellery. These characters are seen as more modern and progressive compared to other characters who wear traditional Indian attire. This implicit reinforcement of Westernisation being more favourable to Indian culture certainly stems from colonisation as the British ways still lingers in Indian culture, despite India becoming independent from British rule in 1947.
Colourism
On top of all that, skin colour seems to be a serious issue in Bollywood. India has a wide range of skin colours, ranging from lighter tones to darker shades, however the majority of most actors and actresses are light skinned. This has been critiqued as Bollywood discriminating against those with darker skin tones, which is evident further with actresses featuring in beauty marketing campaigns promoting skin products which lighten skin tone. The famous actress Aishwarya Rai featured in an advert for the Unilever face cream named ‘Fair and Lovely’, which lightens the tone of your skin. This reinforcement of fair skin being associated with beauty and goodness, especially coming from a top Bollywood actresses, had caused detrimental effects amongst young Indian females who often purchase skin lightening creams which actually causes long term damage to their skin.
In light of the recent Black Live Matter campaign, Unilever have faced increasing pressure from people about their ‘Fair and Lovely’ skin lightening cream and have decided to drop the word ‘Fair’. According to the BBC, ‘Fair and Lovely’ is India’s most popular lightening skin cream which created an annual revenue of 24bn rupees, which is $317m and £256m. In June 2020, three change.org petitions were created across the globe demanding that Unilever bans the cream from being sold in Asia markets and Asian shops in the West. Johnson and Johnson have also recently announced that they will be withdrawing some of their fair skin products from Asian markets.
Even Bollywood song lyrics have been accused of colourism. Songs which describe a female character often refer to her as ‘gori’ meaning ‘white female’. Whether it’s her face, her wrists or any other part of her body, brown or dark skin is never referred to. Not only is this reiterating the obsession with whiteness as signifying beauty but creates a sense of insecurity amongst those with dark skin tones.
This is not only an issue in Bollywood, but Indian culture as a whole. For example, most paintings, idols and artwork featuring Hindu Gods and Goddesses portray them as being pale skinned, despite the scriptures referring to the darkness of their skin. This has even extended to the Hindu elephant God Ganesh, who is also white, despite the fact that elephants have never been white. To counteract this bias towards colourism, a project called Dark is Divine has been created, which presents Hindu Gods and Goddesses as darker.
So there you have it, some of the dark sides of Bollywood. But on the bright side, campaigns, initiative and awareness is being raised across the globe to work on eradicating the negative ideas, perceptions and views that people have towards issues such as mental health, colourism, nepotism and gender.