Hindi cinema’s appalling descent into Islamophobia and Hindu nationalism

IF CINEMATIC NARRATIVES have long been intertwined with nationalism and jingoism, contemporary Indian cinema has surpassed earlier precedents. The much-hyped Dhurandhar – the latest Bollywood blockbuster to ignite nationalist sentiment – represents the culmination of a decades-long project to cast Hindu nationalism as the antidote to an unreliable, “terrorist” and inherently evil Pakistan. It is unlikely to be the last such effort – Dhurandhar: The Revenge, a sequel releasing this week, promises more of the same – but it unmistakably crossed the proverbial Rubicon when it comes to cinematic propaganda in India.

Dhurandhar celebrates an incursion of Indian intelligence operatives into Pakistani territory.  Specifically, this happens in Lyari – a large, turbulent settlement in Karachi, marked for its large Baloch population as well as its cultural diversity and inclusive atmosphere – where an agent from the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s external intelligence agency, is ostensibly able to blend seamlessly into the milieu. The Indian operative infiltrates a gang led by Rehman Dakait, a character loosely based on a real-life Lyari gangster of the same name, aiming to destroy the terror infrastructure within Karachi’s underworld. In the process, he falls in love, gets married and ultimately destroys the gang, which is also linked to the notorious 2008 Islamist attacks on Mumbai. The film does not conclusively establish whether this lovestruck Indian spy manages to halt the terror attacks – perhaps leaving that for the forthcoming sequel.