The success of movies reminds us of the empire-state-that India once had
PUNE:
The popularity of Shah Rukh Khan is unknown in South Asia. Most famous for redefining homosexuality among the generations born in the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s, its popularity, especially among its boys artistic angst is on the rise. Shranyana Bhattacharya in his book, Check Out Shah Rukhexplores, in a series of interviews, how women navigate the challenges of work, family, love, and friendship through the diverse and sometimes arid landscape of known as Shah Rukh.
Their love for Shah Rukh changes and adapts itself to reinvent the meaning of life, as they move from his films to his interviews. His films of the past decade have had none of their original luster or charm. Movies like Jab Harry Meets Sejal (2017) and Dilwale (2016) are nothing more than caricatures of the quintessential SRK role. ZERO (2018), his last feature film Patan failed at the box office.
Just as Shah Rukh’s failures and successes at the box office mean more to India than just numbers, his latest film cannot be separated from the genre of today’s history. in the famous Hindi cinema, which contributes to jingoism and the revival of history. it fits the Hindutva narrative.
Shah Rukh stayed away from this genre and it is unlikely that this genre in its modern form in the Hindi film industry requires non-Muslims and stars in the lead roles. But after a long four year hiatus, he is back on the Indian screens with Patanan espionage and suspense melodrama with him in the role of a spy, working with a Pakistani agent Rubai, played by Deepika Padukone.
Shah Rukh and Padukone have faced their share of hardships in the current administration, where Padukone was targeted for a visit to Jawaharlal Nehru University, during protests against the Civil Rights Act. Citizens of India. He received a significant political response after this situation and his film Chhapaak (2020) is based on the life of an acid attack survivor, recorded in the box office. Khan’s pain worsened. He has been under political attack since 2016 after his cautious comments on India’s secularism and the constitutional commitments of all Indian citizens.
The intolerance against Khan only grew after this, even if he refrained from making further comments on the growing intolerance of India towards its minorities. With this level of revenge against India’s most Muslim, his middle-class roots, joint marriage to a Hindu woman and the openness of India’s secular and multiculturalism, Shah Rukh’s latest film. Patan has broken all previous records by becoming the highest grossing film of Bollywood.
Patan from the very beginning to criticize institutions. Jim, played by John Abraham, is an Indian agent who has become a freelancer who works for money. Jimi did not turn an enemy without reason and his hatred for his country has an explanation behind the death of his pregnant wife by terrorists when the Indian government refused to negotiate with terrorists.
The plot follows India’s abrogation of article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The film celebrates the abrogation of Article 370 but received unprecedented enthusiasm in Kashmir, where many single-screen theaters reopened due to demand for more screenings.
Through these contradictions of escaping rationalism and weak Hindutva messages, Patan it reminds the Indian audience of the secular nation-state that once existed in India. I call it wrong because it was wrong in its position. It remained forgotten about marking questions, gender, and other special institutions in India. It required Muslims to show their patriotism and loyalty, however, this secularism also ensured coexistence with different cultures and religious harmony.
Patan also escape the snobbish pretense of a Pakistani intelligence officer. Rubai is a smart officer who runs, chases, and conquers with Pathaan. In India, Pathaan may have connotations of higher identity, although it is an ethnic identity. But the movie is very interesting to bring in a back story, which is the name of a legend of serving in Afghanistan and saving innocent villages and finding love and a family. He is an orphan who is completely abandoned in a theater.
The persecution of Khan’s family, especially the detention of his son and the acquittal of all drug possession charges; His calm and gentle handling of the situation in the face of insults, earned him sympathy from all sides, especially his female fans. His humble salaams and names as he entered the prison to meet his son, received great sympathy. His calm demeanor could have exposed the right-wing hypocrisy.
During India’s descent into dark times following the persecution of minorities, incidents of lynching and growing intolerance, Pathaan acts as a palliative. It might just be a placebo, but even a placebo works in a damaged heart. Pathaan’s success reminds us of the old, tolerant, India that loves its films regardless of their religious identities.
About the author
Rutuja Deshmukh is a visiting faculty member of the Department of Cinema at Savitribai Phule University Pune, India. He also teaches film and culture at FLAME University, Pune as a visiting faculty member.
Her research interests include early film, documentary, popular cinema, popular culture, and questions of gender and agency in the midst of neoliberalism. He is the co-editor of the book – Historicising Myths in Contemporary India: Cinematic Representations and Nationalist Agendas in Hindi Cinema. He tweeted Alabi Newsrut28.
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