Brahmins in bollywood films

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I know only about bollywood films.

In films, a brahmin is almost NEVER shown as a positive role. Best, it would be neutral. They are shown as greedy, scheming, maniulating, lying, gluttonous etc. Think of a negative, you will find it attached to Brahmins. If you believe bollywood, poojaris routinely commit rapes and murders right inside the temples. A more communal, spreading sectarian hatred cannot be found. They always address Oye Pandit, etc. Oye Poojari. Ordered about like menials.

An imam or a padri?? Ah. A more humane, kind, merciful, secular and PATRIOT was never born in this accursed land India, but is not Bharat. An imam is always an immam sahib, padri a Father!!

 

[sangom]

I know only about bollywood films.

In films, a brahmin is almost NEVER shown as a positive role. Best, it would be neutral. They are shown as greedy, scheming, maniulating, lying, gluttonous etc. Think of a negative, you will find it attached to Brahmins. If you believe bollywood, poojaris routinely commit rapes and murders right inside the temples. A more communal, spreading sectarian hatred cannot be found. They always address Oye Pandit, etc. Oye Poojari. Ordered about like menials.

An imam or a padri?? Ah. A more humane, kind, merciful, secular and PATRIOT was never born in this accursed land India, but is not Bharat. An imam is always an immam sahib, padri a Father!!

The trend started IMO with the very earliest talkie, Raja Hariscandra in 1913 itself in which Narada was portrayed as constantly chanting "narayana" with certain mannerism. It continued in subsequent tamil religious films also. Since our puranas depict many of our gods (deities) as jealous, cunning and even mean at times, there was a general tendency to picturize all things hindu with a certain amount of irreverence. This assured mass appeal because the lower castes who were the main cinema audience in those days, relished seeing brahmins being made fun off at least in the films (since they dared not do any such thing in actual life, they derived some vicarious satisfaction too).

Now, unless some Hindus begin like Muslims to oppose vehemently and, if necessary, even by terrorist means, we will not be able to stop this trend.

 

[R. Ramanujan]

u c frnd u r partially rite. but in films like prahaar where brah was portraid in good way. and film like maqbool where muslim had a negative role. its probably coz they are more non hindus than hindus in bollywood they are in majority. When it comes to a non hindu role they would portray it perfectly. If its a sikh then they will wear him kadas,pagri, kirpan etc etc. but when it comes to hindu character they would not even do it. eg in asoka shah rukh never wears poonal forget poonal he even does wear tikka or sacred red thread. So there is hyphocracy. They say if they do wear it then non hindus will feel uncomfortable and its a secular nation. Well if thats the case then it should work the other way round also. Amazing isnt it.

 

[kr subramanian]

Upper class/cast is always viewed by lower cast/class as someone tobe hated. Any bad to him/her even in screen is acceptable to lower class/cast.
Is it not habit of mankind? Have not we, our forefathers, who had hatred towards British rules used the word LONDON to going for natures second call?
In kerala in many pictures we can see Christian father portrayed sarcastically. Even leading comedian artist like Jagathy Sreekumar/ Janardhanan have protrayed these characters.

 

[Brahmanyan]

Upper class/cast is always viewed by lower cast/class as someone tobe hated. Any bad to him/her even in screen is acceptable to lower class/cast.
Is it not habit of mankind? Have not we, our forefathers, who had hatred towards British rules used the word LONDON to going for natures second call?
In kerala in many pictures we can see Christian father portrayed sarcastically. Even leading comedian artist like Jagathy Sreekumar/ Janardhanan have protrayed these characters.

Dear Sri Subramanian,

I agree with your views. In Cinemas and dramas there is always a tendency to exaggerate and ridicule the mistakes of upper class / caste. This is a cheap ploy employed to wet the taste of common viewers. You will find the same tendency now spreading in the portrayal of Police and Government officials as well.
In spite of this growing tendency, there are some films which portray efficiency and goodness of upper caste characters , mostly seen in Malayalam pictures.

Regards,
Brahmanyan.

 

[happyhindu]

I know only about bollywood films.

In films, a brahmin is almost NEVER shown as a positive role. Best, it would be neutral. They are shown as greedy, scheming, maniulating, lying, gluttonous etc. Think of a negative, you will find it attached to Brahmins. If you believe bollywood, poojaris routinely commit rapes and murders right inside the temples. A more communal, spreading sectarian hatred cannot be found. They always address Oye Pandit, etc. Oye Poojari. Ordered about like menials.

An imam or a padri?? Ah. A more humane, kind, merciful, secular and PATRIOT was never born in this accursed land India, but is not Bharat. An imam is always an immam sahib, padri a Father!!

Did you have certain movies in mind when your wrote this? When i was growing up, the genre of bollywood movies like 'Black' and such art-like commercial cinema (or any form of sensible cinema for that matter) was nearly unknown. We grew up on the heaviest dose of movies of this pattern only:

1) Boy meets girl.
2) Boy and girl sing and dance around trees.
3) Villan tries to seperate them.
4) Hero fights the villian and his goons.
5) Villan gets reformed / killed.
6) Boy and girl live happily ever after.

So where does a brahmin come in between here?

 

[sangom]

Did you have certain movies in mind when your wrote this? When i was growing up, the genre of bollywood movies like 'Black' and such art-like commercial cinema (or any form of sensible cinema for that matter) was nearly unknown. We grew up on the heaviest dose of movies of this pattern only:

1) Boy meets girl.
2) Boy and girl sing and dance around trees.
3) Villan tries to seperate them.
4) Hero fights the villian and his goons.
5) Villan gets reformed / killed.
6) Boy and girl live happily ever after.

So where does a brahmin come in between here?

Happy,

I am not a cinema expert nor have I seen many movies but there were a number of movies in which the typical comic brahmin was there. One instance that readily comes to my mind is "Padosan".

 

[saarangam]

Even in Tamil Films the case is not much different. In most of the marriage scenes the Brahmin priest is depicted as a comic character,
the bride's/groom's father ordering him- ayyarE manthratthai sollum etc.

 

[happyhindu]

Dear Sangom Sir and Saarangam Sir,

Padosan is a v.old movie i think. I have not seen the movie, but i have seen the famous song picturized on the heroine who lives across the hero's window.

As a v.small kid, i watched Amitabh (the biggest Bachchan), Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna and sometimes Sanjeev Kapoor. But for the longest part of my life i have been watching Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Sharukh Khan, and now ofcourse its the new-age cinema now...i must say i do not remember having seen a brahmin in bollywood movies, except as someone who gets the hero-heroine married.

Of all the Tamil movies i have watched so far, the only movie coming to my mind right now, consisting of brahmins was Dasavatharam by Kamal (i loved the old time-period picturization part).

Kamal Hassan is my all time favorite and i usually like all his movies. My most favorite was Unnaipol Oruvan. After seeing that movie, i felt Tamil cinema has finally coming of age. No running around trees, no hero bashing up villans, no silly crazy antics (like vijaykant type), just a proper sensible movie that wud have made any indian think and ponder about the "system" of our country..

Hope someone makes a movie on how reservations are affecting the economically-poor meritorious deserving students of all castes (who do not get reservations)...

Regards.

 

[Raghy]

'Padosan' was 'அடுத்த வீட்டுப் பெண்'. Although I don't understand (!) I love this song...

YouTube - Mere Samne Wali Khidki - Sunil Dutt, Saira Banu & Kishore Kumar - Padosan


The same song in Tamizh....அடுத்த வீட்டுப் பெண்..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4UPXbuN9Ms&feature=related

Cheers!

 

[Raghy]

I know only about bollywood films.

In films, a brahmin is almost NEVER shown as a positive role. Best, it would be neutral. They are shown as greedy, scheming, maniulating, lying, gluttonous etc. Think of a negative, you will find it attached to Brahmins. If you believe bollywood, poojaris routinely commit rapes and murders right inside the temples. A more communal, spreading sectarian hatred cannot be found. They always address Oye Pandit, etc. Oye Poojari. Ordered about like menials.

An imam or a padri?? Ah. A more humane, kind, merciful, secular and PATRIOT was never born in this accursed land India, but is not Bharat. An imam is always an immam sahib, padri a Father!!

Greetings. I don't know too much about bollywood mivies. In Tamil movies, in the 1980s through to late 1990s, the trend was like you mentioned. But I have seenmany movies where a Brahmin was shown as a very decent charecter. Malayalam movies are very different. I seldom see such cheap projections about Barhmins. In fact, I have seen some movies where brahmins were portrayed with atmost respect ( I think I have posted a movie or two in different threads).

Cheers!

 

[kr subramanian]

Are we so narrow minded? Why cannot we laugh it out. Sardarjis on whom most of jokes aremade laugh it away. Namboodiris in Kerala were used to make fun of themselves. and the sarcastic remarksw ere applauded by all. IN bollywook every south indians (all south indians are SAALA MADRISI) ARE PORTRAYED as comics.
In the same way Pakistan was our illian in every patriotic filims which trend is changing now.
Every politicians, some Policemen are now targets.
Such things goes on . Take it lightly and leave it. Every picture shows wet heroine and under dressed girls dancing . It isnot there in real life.

 

[happyhindu]

In Tamil movies, in the 1980s through to late 1990s, the trend was like you mentioned.

Ah ok, Raghy sir, maybe that is what i had missed. My exposure to tamil movies was very less. Before marriage i hardly saw about 5-6 Tamil movies (i still remember some names: Indian, Annamalai, Thevar Magan and Thalapathi).

People say that the old movies of Rajanikanth and Kamal are very good but i have yet to see them. So i suppose i am speaking of my exposure to tamil movies from around year 2000 onwards. But even those, i must say, are not too many.

Movies i have seen (that come to my mind now) are Vasool Raja, Thenali, Chandramukhi, Muthu, Padayappa, Shivaji, Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu, Nala Damayanti, Parthale Paravasam, Anbe Sivam, Dasavatharam, Vettaikaran, Gilli, Raavan, Anniyan, Kanthasamy, Unnipol Oruvan, Aayirathil oruvan, Vinaithandi Varuvaya...) - i must say i do not remember having seen a brahmin in these movies either except dasavatharam.

However, i do not understand the stance of the thread initiator with ref to bollywood movies. Apart from the Padosan song, am still trying to think where have i seen a brahmin in Hindi movies ? At the most, a brahmin wud be shown in Hindi movies for about 2-3 seconds in a shot where a couple gets married.

 

[prasanth1]

happy hindu, the best of Tamil movies are all from 1980s to early 1990s. I think there are very few afterwards that are worth watching. That was when there was a presence of good directors (balachander, balu mahendra), good music (ilaiyraja) and good actors (kamal, revathy, etc). nowaday's we are losing most of these.

someone mentioned malayalam films not being negative about brahmins. Well, brahmin presence in Kerala is very small. Thus there is not as much bad history and politics existing between such groups. Also Malayalam films of the 80s and 90s were the best in India - so whether a brahmin was a positive role or not, it would only be due to the story itself rather than scoring cheap points with audience.

as the poster above said, there is something called overreacting. for example, some people might be offended at Kamal's comedy about a brahmin household in "avvai shanmugi", but myself I thought it was quite funny.

 

[kunjuppu]

prasanth,

i think tamil movies have evolved away from their tear jerker joint family village centred romanticism to more realistic stuff in many ways (barring the dappang kuthu dances).

i do not watch tamil movies - but recently happened to see back to back, vinnai thaandi varuvaaya, raavanan. vtv ventured into new grounds, and vikram was awesome in ravanan. also madrasapattanam - again breaking new grounds...

i realized that tamil movies were breaknig the mould, when i saw pudhuppettai a few years back. awesome in its realism. but i can understand our community shunning such 'porukki' movies. these are a reflection of our insularity and prejudice. we have to open up our minds and hearts.

 

[prasanth1]

to kunjuppu,

to be fair I am not much of a cinemagoer these days. but i disagree that tamil films are becoming more realistic. things like shooting songs in switzerland are definitely not realistic nor is the increasing vulgarity...and I feel films like ravaanan are just an exception and not typical. as for vtv, they are just trying too hard to be like western movies and imitate western culture.

while old movies might sometimes have been "family village centered tear jerkers" I felt that there were more original, seriously told stories in the 80s/early 90s than there are in today's commercial film market..

 

[Raghy]

Sow.Sri.Happy Hindu said -

Movies i have seen (that come to my mind now) are Vasool Raja, Thenali, Chandramukhi, Muthu, Padayappa, Shivaji, Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu, Nala Damayanti, Parthale Paravasam, Anbe Sivam, Dasavatharam, Vettaikaran, Gilli, Raavan, Anniyan, Kanthasamy, Unnipol Oruvan, Aayirathil oruvan, Vinaithandi Varuvaya...) - i must say i do not remember having seen a brahmin in these movies either except dasavatharam.

Sow.Happy Hindu,

Greetings. The movies mentioned in the quotation are hand picked, nice movies. None of the movies employed any cheap attractions in the name of comedy. I remember in 'Karnan' movie, slighting of smartha brahmins; also in 'Sri Raghavendra'! In those days it was a fomula. I have not seen many Hindi movies. So, I don't know much about the stance of the thread initiator.

Cheers!

 

[hoover]

once a condemned and barred profession of stage art for girls of respected families is now main attraction and means of easy mony for brhmin girls more and more brhamin girls choosing that.
In these days brhmin girls esp. in bollywood industry are working. they are at same place where once women known as 'courtisan' worked. page3 culture is grewing fastly. thanks to liberal attitude of brahmin families. finally many of them end in high class prostitution, inter religious marriages, drugs and liquer, live in relationship etc. etc.

 

[kunjuppu]

once a condemned and barred profession of stage art for girls of respected families is now main attraction and means of easy mony for brhmin girls more and more brhamin girls choosing that.
In these days brhmin girls esp. in bollywood industry are working. they are at same place where once women known as 'courtisan' worked. page3 culture is grewing fastly. thanks to liberal attitude of brahmin families. finally many of them end in high class prostitution, inter religious marriages, drugs and liquer, live in relationship etc. etc.

hoover,

in all your posts, you excel yourself in upholding the strictures of erstwhile traditional brahminism, with words like purity of blood, genes, honour, respect etc thrown randomely.

i wish to say that you are slightly off the mark for this century. perhaps for a millenium in your thinking.

these years are a rejoicement for our women for our pudhumai penns dreamt by bharathiar. Take any profession – our women (TB women) can do as well or better than any men of any caste or creed. Is that not a reason to rejoice? Would you rather have a third rate choplangi son to be preferred over a first rate top notch daughter? If your answer is yes, I wish you pleasant time travel to a millennium or beyond that. you will find happiness there.

for cinema: this is a relatively new medium of art. The fact that, in your opinion, the early females to act, were derived from certain sections of society which you hold in despise, is more a reflection of your narrowness of mind and prejudice, and does not reflect on the guts of these ladies, to venture into new and strange medium, and contribute significantly to its growth and maturity.

I used to find the height of hypocracy of folks like S.Balachander, who made half decent suspense tamil movies (aping Hitchcoc), yet used to despise it as ‘corrupt’, while considering his veena skills as ‘divinie’, and whose height of clarity and timbre he used to excel only with good shots of alcohol (!). same goes for gnb, who had no qualms acting with MS, but probably went about mocking her antecedents, because she refused his advances… such hypocracy!!! All in the name of religion, tradition, caste and sanctity?

Hoover, it is high time, you cast away your dirty clothes, and come to us. Let us clad you in purety born of reformation and a revived caste free Hinduism and liberated women..

 

[hoover]

kunjuppu you have not said a word about my later four lines. if free prostitution, drugs, live in relationship is the marks of better socity. then I praise to god let me take up early. because on earth people are giving preferance to drugs, prostituion, unethical relationship, than higher persuits like study of maths physics philosophy, music etc. sorry, these are condemned proffessions now by standards of ghor Kalyuga !!!

 

[kunjuppu]

hoover,

i do not understand which 4 lines you mean. also, i am unable to comment on all your posts. my apologies to you for not living upto your expectations re replies.

i do feel very strongly for you. i have not seen too many of people here in this forum, with such a hopelessness in their views of modern brahmin tamil society.

it makes me wonder if you are TB at all. for most of the TBs i know, are survivors. they know when to do what to do, in order to 'get on' with lives - some more so than the others. but to negate right across the board the way you do, not many left. so you are indeed a vanishing breed, and i am not so sure how we could preserve the likes of you and where we do safely refuge you to ponder over your blightness.

life is not so bad. we have not had any personal info about you. that might a starters to understand the vehemence and steadfast uncompromising positions that you have taken against every progress, change and effort to cast away dirt of the past casteism. such attitudes, i can understand, can be of immense handicap, even in a survival mode, in modern indian society. perhaps if you emigrate to the west or to singapore, you would find more of your liking.

i would say more to singapore, for even in the west there is a lot of intermingling. singapore is a patrician braminism run society even though the brahmins there have slanted eyes. confucius is not to far removed from manu in some respects. except confucius did not talk of caste.

in singapore, the communities do not mingle and marry. the malays, chinese, whites and tamils keep to themselves. the tamil brahmins have their own brahmana sabha, which perhaps you might find a club of like minded brahmins, who while diligently climb up the corporate ladder, do so with kudumis, komanams and sandhyavandhanams. God Bless you.

 

[sangom]

kunjuppu you have not said a word about my later four lines. if free prostitution, drugs, live in relationship is the marks of better socity. then I praise to god let me take up early. because on earth people are giving preferance to drugs, prostituion, unethical relationship, than higher persuits like study of maths physics philosophy, music etc. sorry, these are condemned proffessions now by standards of ghor Kalyuga !!!

Shri Hoover,

In another thread, "India is super power stuff" you have written as under:

"3. why the country calling itself of pure aryan blood is the most devloped and gives social securiy pension equqal to payment of our IAS. produces machinary which we use to manufacture goods and have brands like nike, puma, mercedes, wholkswagan, bosch, siemens and so on. and their roads known as autobahn are an example which all other countries appreciate. If you want a copy of pure Rugveda, you will have to buy it from german publishers. why they are so enthsiastic of knowledge of every kind. note that much of the scientific discoveries are on their account and not only scientific they are leading in philosophy and music also. which are known as higher human persuits. these are facts worth mentioning.
4. why there is a commen trend and wish to settle in countries of white population. everyone wants to migrate to US, UK, Germany and so on. and not in ethiopia, liberia, chili, bangladesh, mongolia, tibet etc. etc."

There you conveniently forget that the very same superb West has enough and more of drugs, prositution, unethical relationships, the arms culture and so on. Why should you have such double standards?

I strongly suspect that your hatred of many things Indian arises from an intense desire to emigrate to the West and be a part of that society. I wish that your desire gets fulfilled soon.