🎥🛕Bollywood’s descent into Hindu nationalism – Southasia Weekly #110

Eid Mubarak to all our readers who celebrate! In Colombo, preparations have been a little quieter than usual. A friend I bumped into said he was buying food for Eid in advance, expecting prices to rise due to the ongoing war in West Asia. Many have shared Google Maps screenshots on social media featuring tell-tale red lines showing snaking queues outside petrol stations, despite fuel-rationing being in place in Sri Lanka. But while Southasia (and the world) is grappling with the impact of the war in West Asia, few are paying attention to a war closer to home. This week, an air-strike struck a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, with hundreds of lives lost, as Pakistan continued waging war on Afghanistan for not cracking down on militancy. But maybe that’s a futile thing for Pakistan to expect from the Taliban. Scroll on to read more, plus a deep-dive into how Bollywood is increasingly embracing Hindutva politics as Dhurandhar: The Revenge releases in cinemas. We’re here to bring you the latest on politics and culture from across the region, and if you find our coverage insightful, you should become a paying supporter, so we can bring you more. S

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This week in Himal

Raza Rumi writes about how Hindi cinema is increasingly aligning with Hindutva politics, with the recently-released Dhurandhar: The Revenge being a case in point.

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