Swara Bhasker‘s mother and film scholar Ira Bhaskar has criticised Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar while discussing the politics of contemporary Indian cinema during a recent panel conversation hosted by activist-writer Harsh Mander on his YouTube channel Karwan e Mohabbat.The discussion also featured Harish Wankhede, Assistant Professor at the Centre for Political Science at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and examined how politics, ideology and representation intersect in Indian films today.
‘This is an example of a filmmaker ideologically convinced by Hindutva’
During the conversation, Bhaskar pointed to the commercial success of Dhurandhar while questioning the ideological messaging she believes the film promotes.“Let me give the example of Dhurandhar, which is earning crores at the box office. Since it’s the most recent example of this, also doing very well at the box office. This is an example of a film made by a filmmaker who is ideologically convinced by Hindutva and the ideology of Hindutva,” she said.At the same time, Bhaskar acknowledged Dhar’s filmmaking ability and described him as a competent director, while maintaining that the film reflects a clear ideological position.Bhaskar also questioned whether a film’s technical craft can be separated from the ideas it conveys.“But what is technical, you know, I mean, how is technique to be divorced from and how is form to be divorced from content,” she said, arguing that form and content in cinema cannot be viewed in isolation.
‘You don’t see any normal Muslim there’
The scholar further criticised the way Muslims are portrayed in the film, saying the narrative reinforces certain stereotypes.“It’s extremely violent. And its violence is at the service of a belief structure of an ideology that Muslims are very violent people. Pakistan is a very violent nation. You don’t see any normal Muslim there. Everyone is a terrorist or a gangster,” Bhaskar said.She also argued that films claiming to be inspired by real events often selectively present facts.“It’s a fiction film based on true events, supposedly. And it’s selective as all these films are. It will only selectively choose what to put together in order to serve the ideology,” she added. The discussion also touched upon the portrayal of Dalits and Muslims in Indian cinema and what these depictions reveal about the country’s political and cultural climate. The panel reflected on whether films centred on themes of humanism, secularism and social equality continue to find space in the current landscape of Indian filmmaking.Meanwhile, after the blockbuster success of Dhurandhar, its sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, is set to release in theatres on March 19, with paid previews scheduled for March 18.