By Jessie Yeung and Rhea Mogul,
Mumbai, IndiaCNN — For nearly a century, Bollywood has held a mirror to Indian society, the plotlines of the world’s most prolific movie industry reflecting the changing tides of a vast, developing nation.
India’s multibillion-dollar movie industry produces around 1,500 to 2,000 films per year in over 20 languages – more than any other country. And most of these are Hindi films, meaning Bollywood holds an outsized influence on the country’s culture, identity and economy.
And while the industry is perhaps most famous for its lavish musical productions, many films also tackle the political, religious and social issues of any given era.
But where Hindi cinema once reflected certain secular, democratic values championed by India’s founding fathers, many critics say the industry has veered toward the right over the past decade – coinciding with the populist rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Alarmed liberals and some industry insiders point to a string of recent blockbusters that they say perpetuate anti-Muslim stereotypes and sideline opposition views. While they only represent a fraction of movies produced each year, they receive outsized publicity and sometimes government support – and critics worry they serve as propaganda tools for the BJP as it aims to win a third straight term in ongoing nationwide elections.
Observers and insiders say the change is profound – as if Hollywood was increasingly pandering to the Republican party’s most right-wing sensibilities.
This story was originally published in cnn.com. Read the full story here.
