Attacks on Hindi films for alleged misrepresentation of a particular religion is not uncommon anymore. We have seen that earlier this year with the outrage over the Padmaavat and the subsequent turn of events that led to the movie being stalled for sometime. One saw the same happen recently to Kedarnath, with ‘Love Jihad’ being the bone of contention. In the film Sara Ali Khan plays a Hindu girl in the holy city who falls in love with a Muslim boy played by Sushant Singh Rajput.
What is to be noted is the fact that most love stories present the opposite, a Hindu boy in love with a Muslim girl. The depiction of romance between protagonists of these two religions, is a subject that filmmakers have to tread very carefully because of a possible backlash.
This exploration of inter-religious romances has been a sub-genre in Bollywood, and lends itself beautifully to drama, conflict and hopefully a resolution. As Kedarnath hits the screens today, we look back at some of Bollywood’s best Hindu-Muslim love stories.
1. Bombay (1995)
This was Mani Ratnam’s second film in his trilogy of love stories set against a political backdrop, and was preceded by Roja (1992) and followed by Dil Se (1998). Arvind Swamy played Shekhar - born in an orthodox Hindu family in Tamil Nadu and was studying journalism in Bombay. On one of his trips back home he falls in love with Shaila Banu (Manisha Koirala) and the feeling is strong enough for him to elope with her to Bombay, a more cosmopolitan city. That coincides with the Babri Masjid massacre in 1993 followed by the gut-wrenching riots, and communal tension comes knocking at their door.
Mani Ratnam’s film feels just as radical even now, and even though the riots in the film nearly tear the couple apart, the end is not as grim with their respective families finally accepting their marriage. Ratnam creates a feeling of religious tolerance between the couple with touches like giving their twins inter-faith names. The highlight though is AR Rahman’s melodious soundtrack; “Kehna Hi Kya” and “Tu Hi Re” are just as magical even today.
2. Veer-Zaara (2004)
Yash Chopra’s second-last film was an ode to timeless romance and undying love. Veer-Zaara starred Shah Rukh Khan as Veer Pratap Singh, the leader of a Squadron who falls in love with Zaara (Preity Zinta) from Pakistan, on her visit to India. The film was a quintessential Yash Chopra romance with both lovers pining for each other. Veer gets framed by Zaara’s fiancee on his visit to Pakistan as a spy and is arrested and kept in jail. Zaara waits for him for years, only to be re-united by a determined lawyer (Rani Mukerji). It seems idealistic, but nothing beats a solider waiting in prison for years for the woman he loves. Chopra also re-created the iconic music director duo Madan-Mohan’s music, their melody only accentuating the old world charm of the film.
3. Jodhaa Akbar (2008)
The Ashutosh Gowariker directorial was a film that dwelled on the relationship between King Akbar and Jodhaa Bai. Akbar was known to be an Emperor who didn’t believe in communal divides and shunned the mixing of politics with religion. He went on to marry Jodhaa a Rajput Hindu woman, initially as a peace offering from the Rajput king but then slowly falls in love with her. Starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai the film went on to become one of the biggest hits of the year and also became an example for religious tolerance. The film also benefitted from some fabulous music again by AR Rahman.
Much before the protests against Padmaavat happened, the Karni Sena expressed their displeasure on the portrayal of Rajputs in the film and burnt it’s posters in Jaipur and also took the makers to court.
4. Mr and Mrs Iyer (2002)
There’s a scene in Mr. and Mrs. Iyer when an elderly couple on a bus reprimands a bunch of young girls for making noise. The same girls then protest when Hindu fundamentalists enter the bus and cunningly try to kill the couple. Meenakshi Iyer (played perfectly by Konkona Sen Sharma) is travelling back home with her son and is introduced to Raja (Rahul Bose). The two undertake the bus journey together at at time when communal tension was strife in the country. While Meenakshi is initially uneasy with the fact that she is travelling with a Muslim man, when the rioters barge in she quickly places her son on his lap and says, “He’s my husband, Mr Iyer.”
Sen explores the prejudices we have as a society and the devastation caused by the riots. There are telling scenes in the film, like where Meenakshi curses herself for drinking water offered to her by a Muslim man, or when she revolts when she has to share a premise with him. The film ends though with Meenakshi gaining a richer understanding of religion and its significance, her religious prejudices shattered. If only a bus ride could do that to the rest of us.
6. My Name is Khan (2010)
My Name is Khan looked at the impact of the 9/11 attacks on an Indian couple living in America. Rizwan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) marries Mandira (Kajol), a single mother living with her son from a previous marriage in San Francisco. Soon after their wedding, her son gets into a racially motivated argument in his school yard with a bunch of older kids. He’s beaten up really badly and succumbs to the injuries. The couple’s quiet, happy life suddenly gets disrupted. Mandira in a fit of anger blames Rizwan for the death of her son and scratches the communal surface of the relationship. In one scene Mandira turns to Rizwan angrily and says, “If my son’s surname was not Khan, he would still be alive.” How the couple then survives the aftermath of the incident forms the rest of the story.
5. Pinjar (2003)
Another lens of looking at the Hindu-Muslim angle is by placing the story during Partition. Pinjar is the story of a happily married Hindu woman Puro (Urmila Matondkar) who gets kidnapped by a Muslim man (Manoj Bajpayee). Puro’s family had a long standing dispute with Rashid’s family and could not help rescue her. Rashid finds that he can’t do anything to harm Puro as he begins to fall for her. The film breaks the religious divide between the two communities as Puro slowly find safety and love in Rashid. It starts off as a case of Stockholm syndrome but eventually becomes more real.
7. Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001)
The film is again set during the time of Partition, and chronicled the devastating murders and rapes that took place during that period. But amidst all this was a gentle love story between Tara Singh( Sunny Deol) and Sakeena Ali (Ameesha Patel). Both face the brunt of the massive religious tension in the country but end up fighting it together and emerging triumphant.
8. Bajirao Mastani
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s take on the relationship between Peshwa Bajirao I (Ranveer Singh) and his second wife Mastani (Deepika Padukone) toed the line between fact and fiction, giving us a sense of their tragic romance. One sees Peshwa initially as someone who would go to any extent to destroy a Muslim kingdom, but post his alliance with Mastani he softens. He also begins to notice the intolerance towards Islam within his family, particularly by his mother who treats Mastani like dirt. Bhansali’s star crossed lovers tried their best to live together, but could not escape a tragic end.
Before the film released it was embroiled in a bunch of controversies, with descendants of Peshwa and Mastani claiming that the depiction was incorrect and vulgar.
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