What does India’s government have against Bollywood?
The BJP is menacing the country’s film industry
IF BOLLYWOOD IS India’s secular religion, then the Khans—Aamir, Salman and Shah Rukh—are its holy trinity. The three actors, who are unrelated, have for three decades sat at the top of India’s colossal Hindi-language film industry, their films, their characters and their personas wallpapering the country’s imagination. They are, perhaps as much as the prime minister and the captain of the national cricket team, the most recognisable faces in India. They also happen to be Muslim.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “BJP v Bollywood”
Asia October 30th 2021
- South-East Asia’s regional club faces its greatest tests yet
- Rebels fighting Myanmar’s junta are doing better than expected
- What does India’s government have against Bollywood?
- Australia’s climate policy is all talk and no trousers
- Afghanistan’s economy is collapsing
- A long-delayed royal wedding reveals awkward truths about Japan
More from Asia
AUKUS enters its fifth year. How is the pact faring?
It has weathered two big political changes. What about Donald Trump’s return?
Joe Biden’s mixed legacy on Japan
Security co-operation flourished, but a scuppered steel deal leaves a sour taste
Indonesia nearly has a monopoly on nickel. What next?
Prabowo Subianto, the new president, wants to create an electric car supply chain
What a 472-year-old corpse reveals about India
St Francis Xavier is both venerated and despised
Pakistan’s army puts a former intelligence chief on trial
General Faiz Hameed is an ally of Imran Khan, who is currently behind bars
By resisting arrest, South Korea’s president challenges democracy
His attempt to impose martial law failed. But Yoon Suk Yeol is still causing trouble