This study investigates the representations of Hindu-Muslim relationship in
Bollywood movies from 2008 to 2018. It is assumed that after 2008 Mumbai
terrorist attacks, which are known as 26/11, conflicts between Hindus and
Muslims have escalated. Since Indian people are extreme fans of movies,
especially Bollywood movies, in this regard, it is expected that media could play
a significant role in increasing or alleviating the conflicts by influencing people’s
attitudes and opinions. This research seeks to examine the extent and modality of
the representation of Hindu-Muslim relationships in Bollywood after the 2008
Mumbai attacks. The study was conducted through a content analysis of 11
Bollywood movies, which were selected from 70 Muslim-characters-based
movies. Favorable, unfavorable, neutral and unclear were the four factors
through which the movies’ contents were analyzed. The overall analysis of these
factors indicate that 66.17% of the scenes were favorable, 14.70% were
unfavorable, 2.94% were neutral, and 16.17% presented unclear images of
Hindu-Muslim relationship in Bollywood movies. The results also indicate that
Bollywood is not only depicting a positive image of this relationship, but also
tries to tighten the bonds of the two religions, and in a broader sense, ties the two
neighboring countries, Pakistan and India.
Source: Journal of WORLD SOCIOPOLITICAL STUDIES
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