Hinduism

Brian Forsyth

Dr. Manuel A. Pérez Tejada

English 1102

16 April 2009

Indian Films: A Cast of Different Castes

India produces more films per year than any other country. These films are influenced by the Hinduism religion, which leads to the prevalent portrayal of the caste system in many of them. However, many films subtly criticize this caste system by having characters who do not understand the caste system and go against it, representing the change of ideals as a result of westernization. The films Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai(2000) and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge(1995) show the lifestyle of Hindu people and the status of the different castes through different filming techniques as well as question whether the levels of the different castes are decreasing to create a more unified Hindu population.

Hinduism is the most dominant religion in India, with about 80 percent of Indians following Hindu teachings. Hinduism teaches that three Lords rule the world: Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver; and Shiva, the destroyer. Even though Hindus believe in the three Lords along with many other gods, they believe in only one supreme God, and all the different gods are various forms of one universal being. The caste system is very important to the Hindu religion and greatly affects the country as a whole. Four main castes exist in the religion: Brahman, the priest caste; Kshatria, the warrior caste; Vaishya, the business people; and Sudra, the common peasants and workers. The people below these castes are the untouchables, and any members of the four castes are not to come in physical contact with these people. Each caste is divided into sub-castes depending on a person’s profession within the caste. Members of each caste are only supposed to marry within their caste and interact socially with those in the same caste. People are born into a caste and it cannot be changed. The caste system was abolished in 1949, but it can still be seen throughout the Hindu people of India (Robinson). Bollywood films tend to feature love interests between members of different castes to create the tension of a forbidden love.

Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai tells the story of the relationship between Sonia, the daughter of a high caste millionaire, and a lower caste car salesman, Rohit. Rohit encounters Sonia when he drops off a new car for her birthday present and he decides to sing for her at her party. Initially, all of the higher caste partygoers observe Rohit from a high angle shot, while Rohit observes the party from a low angle. The utilization of the camera angles to show the higher caste looking down at the lower, and the lower looking up at the higher, is very important to show the separation between the lovers. As the song progresses, everyone is on the same level, dancing together – and everyone is equal, which shows subtle criticism of the caste system. The younger generation does not follow the rules of the caste system as strictly as the older generations, which shows the trend toward a population of greater equality. Sonia’s father represents the staunch adherence to the values of Hinduism of the older generation through his great outrage that this love ever came to be. After the intermission, the movie takes a big turn when the action ends up in New Zealand, which digresses from the Indian and Hindu culture other than the Indian characters in that portion of the story. I will not discuss that part of the plot since it lacks pertinence to this analysis.

Films must be certified by the Central Board of Film Certification, which was created by the Cinematograph Act of 1952, to be screened in India (“Cinema in India”). This board is an extremely controversial subject because it has the power to deny certification “on grounds that it may affect law & order, foreign relations and security or integrity of the country” (Sharma). These particular reasons allow the government the power to declare that a certain part of a movie might offend a person, which could cause political unrest. The certification is based solely on the opinion of the Board. Many foreign films do not get certifications because the Board wants to keep Indian films in the country, so people will put money back into the economy instead of flowing to other countries; however, the Board has a lot of influence over the domestic films as well. A more concrete censorship exists as well that outlaws sexual scenes, instead of leaving the censorship to the opinion of the Board. Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai maneuvers around this censorship by implying more intimate scenes through the use of the cut scene. When Sonia is drinking in the lifeboat, Rohit comes over and takes her bottle of alcohol. The scene starts during the night, and Sonia says “if you finish my bottle off . . . I’ll finish off you.” She pushes him to the floor of the boat, the camera focuses on the cable holding the boat being let out, then a cut scene advances the plot to a sunny day where the pair wakes up away from the boat in the ocean alone near an island. Use of the cut scene implies the intimate moment that resumes when they profess their love to each other on the island.

The role of the woman in the family is very important to Hindu culture. In a typical family, the woman acts “as [a man’s] servant in duty” (V). Both movies show this aspect of the Hindu family life. In Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, Rohit’s aunt does all of the housework and cooking. Normally, the man is responsible for earning money, but since Rohit’s uncle is retired, he now gets to relax, but the role of the woman stays the same in relation to her previous duties. In Dilwale Dulhania Le Jeyenge, the grandmother and the mother help with the housework and cooking. A Hindu family “usually [consists] of three or four generations living together,” which is clearly represented through the very large family that welcomes Simran back from Europe (“Heart of Hinduism”).

Child Marriage is another common practice of Hindu families (“Heart of Hinduism”). The problem of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jeyenge results from Simran’s father arranging her marriage to his friend’s son, Kuljeet. Simran goes on vacation before her wedding and falls in love with Raj, an Indian she meets during trip. This new love is very problematic because Simran was only allowed to go on the trip under the condition that she would not betray her father’s trust, which she clearly did through this new love interest. The problem that arises from this situation is criticism of the practice of girls being arranged to marry strangers they have never met. The arranged marriage shows the father’s adherence to the older beliefs of the Hindu culture, whereas Simran wanting to fall in love shows the influence of westernization on the younger generation of the Hindu culture. The man is the ruler of the house, though, so he really has the final say as to whether or not to cancel the wedding that had been arranged at her birth. Simran and her mother follow the traditional role of the subservient woman who adheres to the wishes of the male head of house.

These contemporary Indian films also show the influence of Hollywood, which appeals to the general population in India as well as a wide number of people around the world. Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai especially demonstrates the influence of Hollywood through its fast paced action sequences involving Rohit. The globalization of this cinematic style makes Indian films much more successful on screen in other countries. The Hinduism religion and government are unable to prevent the distribution of films to other countries, and they would be unlikely to refuse to grant a certificate to films from India, because the Board wants to keep money spent on film viewings within the country. Unless some highly offensive scene occurs in a movie, the censorship is more likely to apply to movies coming into the country rather than the Indian films produced in the country.

The Hinduism religion plays an important role in different qualities of Indian cinema. The caste system is still a prevalent issue in terms of marriage and relationships, even though it was abolished in 1949, as Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai shows. An important element to note is that the younger generations have changing beliefs from the older generations due largely to westernization, which reduces the affect of the caste system, but they still maintain the fundamental ideals of the Hindu religion. Even though about 80 percent of the entire population of India is Hindu, the government is secular and censors movies based more on moral values such as sexual scenes, as well as scenes that might provoke a problem within the country. Films coming in from other countries are much more likely to be censored than those produced within India. The depiction of family life is derived from the everyday lives of the citizens, who live with large extended families that have specific roles and places for men and women. These two contemporary Bollywood films depict lifestyles of the Hindu culture similiarly, to the extent that most of the age-old values are still being followed – with some changes due to westernization.

Works Cited

"Cinema in India~ Film Censorship." Encyclopedia of Indian Culture,India's Culture,Art and Architecture,Cultures of India,Culture and Heritage of India,Customs and Culture of India,Culture of Indian People,Indian Culture and Heritage,Cultures of India. Culturopedia. 15 Apr. 2009 .

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Dir. Aditya Chopra. Perf. Shahrukh Khan and Kajol. DVD. Yash Raj Films, 1995.

"Heart of Hinduism." Welcome to the Heart of Hinduism. 2004. ISKCON Educational Services. 15 Apr. 2009 .

Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai. Dir. Rakesh Roshan. Perf. Hrithik Roshan and Amisha Patel. DVD. Film Kraft, 2000.

Rakesh, Sharma. "An Appeal to the Government of India." Letter to Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Govenment of India. 12 Oct. 2005.

Robinson, B. A. "Two Negative Behaviors by Hindus: The Caste System & Denigration of Women." ReligiousTolerance.org by the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 7 Oct. 2007. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 15 Apr. 2009 .

V, Jayaram. "The Status of Women in Hinduism." Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism and Other Resources. 2007. 15 Apr. 2009 .