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Journal of Social Sciences and Media Studies (JOSSAMS) Volume 5, Issue 2, 2021
ISSN: 2518-8046
43
Analyzing Muslim’s Representation in Bollywood Films through the Lens of Ferdinand De
Saussure’s theory of Semiotics
Dr.Moneeba Iftikhar1, *Dr. Anjum Zia2, Naveed Iqbal3 and Samia Javed4
1,3,4Department of Mass Communication, Lahore College for Women University,Lahore. Pakistan
2School of Media and Communication Studies.University of Management and Technology
*Corresponding author, e-mail:anjumzia@umt.edu.pk
Abstract
Film media is considered a powerful tool to influence the thought process. This study examines the portrayal of
Muslims in South Asia's most significant film industry. Semiotic Analysis has been adopted to analyze five Bollywood
films from 2017 to 2018 based on the Muslim protagonist. This study uses Ferdinand De Saussure's theory of Semiotics
based on signs, visuals, and pictures to reconnoiter how Muslims are connoted in Bollywood movies. The ideologically
constructed messages used in films assert Muslims' specific identity and portray this identity naturally to the viewers.
This research serves as a catalyst for change by building a knowledge base and raising awareness regarding the role
of Indian cinema in portraying Muslims by advocating the roles of Muslims and contributing to Muslims' positive
identity in and through the media. This study also aims to help filmmakers recognize the need on the production side
to produce films regarding Indian Muslims' representation and offer a solution to resolve the Muslims' waning image.
Keywords: Portrayal, Bollywood, Muslims, Semiotic Analysis, Characters
Introduction
Bollywood is one of the world's largest film industries. It makes over half times more films than the Hollywood film
industry does. When describing Bollywood, Khan, Ashraf & Bukhari (2011) explain, "film, generally, has a significant
impact on societies. Films not only build opinions but also reshape opinions. If one idea prevails strongly in a society,
it can be transmitted from one society to another. Among the film industries worldwide, Bollywood is one of the most
famous and vigorous film industries (Gaikar, Marakarkandy, & Dasgupta, 2015). Bollywood's influence and
substantial impact have increased and almost reached the hegemonic level (Tripathi, 2017).
This study examines how Muslim characters' ideology as "terrorists" and "anti-social" is constructed and represented
in and through Bollywood films. Their work attempts to analyze how the medium of film is used to build specific
identities of Muslims (specifically the Muslims of the subcontinent) and how Muslims are represented in the Hindi-
based Indian cinema of Bollywood. For this purpose, five Bollywood films, through purposive sampling, are selected
to analyze different characters and their roles in the movies. The films selected to analyze are works of different
directors, such as Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Apoorva Lakhia, Anubhav Sinha, and Hansal Mehta. Bollywood has a
massive viewership (IBID, 2017), around the globe, especially in Pakistan. In their films, the messages constructed
about Muslims of the subcontinent reach the masses, proving their dominance. Bollywood cinema is altering and
reshaping the Muslim culture and identity through films. These films are creating detailed images of Muslims in front
of the world not only in terms of hidden meaning but also in terms of physical appearance, using the stereotypical
imagery of beards, scarves, antimony, prayer cap, abaya (cloaks) and showing it as the ultimate identity of Muslims
of the subcontinent. This cultural misrepresentation threatens an unbiased perception of a typical Muslim. It can be
said that the subjects of Bollywood films revolve around a few subjects, and Muslims are among them (Ali, Chaudhry
& Faridi, 2012). The consistent existence of a Muslim character in the film and its depiction shows the Indian cinema's
priority. This study aims to understand the messages about Muslims through the sugar-coated message in Indian films.
According to Gupta (2019), Muslim characters in Bollywood have four phases. One phase spans the early 60s when
Muslims have shown in more powerful characters like the Kings of the Mughal Dynasty. The other phase was the 70s
and 80s, when Muslims were shown as romantic beings who wore a sherwani (traditional male dress) and recited
ghazals (a form of Urdu poetry). The third phase is the phase of the '90s, the phase of the angry young man like
Amitabh Bachan films, and then came the phase of 9/11, the terrorism phase where the image of Muslims in
Bollywood films changed drastically, and Muslims were painted as terrorists, bad-guys, Pakistani's (Zafar, & Amjad,
2015). The incident of 9/11 changed the course of history and circumstances for Muslims as the films after 9/11 depict
a different and diverted image of Muslims. Major film industries like Bollywood and Hollywood set specific
representations of Muslims and started showing Muslim characters with a specific ideology.
This contemporary study helps the reader understand Bollywood's current situation and how they portray Muslims in
their films over the past two years under the shadow of entertainment. Also, this study will reveal the changing trends
of Bollywood regarding the portrayal of Muslims. They typically symbolize extremists, evil, terrorists, and harmful
to society. The researcher desires to explore the nature and range of this representation of Muslims in Bollywood,
focusing on 2017 to 2018. It aims to examine the canvas of positivity and negativity in Muslim characters in
Journal of Social Sciences and Media Studies (JOSSAMS) Volume 5, Issue 2, 2021
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Bollywood to see whether Muslims are portrayed negatively or in a supplementary manner or just a perception. This
study also aims to help Muslims identify their current representation in Bollywood films and their intensity.
Literature Review
The films and the images of scenes have a stronger effect on the mind of viewers. Films, which are works of fiction,
create fantasy and fantastical worlds and take the viewer to the world of imagination. The impact of films on the mind
of the viewer is unavoidable. Movies not only build the image but also deform and distort it according to per agenda.
This media medium is used to implement specific propaganda to distort the watcher from reality (Ali, Chaudhary &
Faridi, 2012).
According to Negi (1998), "The conflict and riots between Hindus and Muslims dated back many centuries, and such
matters are always the subject of most Indian movies and revolve around the topic of negative images of Muslims."
Similarly, Khan, Ashraf & Bukhari (2011) argued that Bollywood is following the footsteps of western Hollywood
and collapsing the character of Muslims vastly by depicting them as terrorists. Generally, many movies were made to
portray Muslims as a villain and presented as extremists, terrorists, and dangerous people not only for India but also
for the whole world. In Bollywood, Muslims are shown as conspirators, terrorists, traitors, and disloyal, uncivilized,
and cruel people."
On the other hand, Hirji (2008) stated, "Islam is an obligatory organ of Bollywood and is always portrayed
scandalously and horribly. Terrorism, violence, and intercultural misunderstanding are associated with Islam. Islam
has the longest history of presence in India until now, which is enough reason to give Islam global meaning through
films. Islam plays a significant role in popular Indian cinema in altered form."
Brown, Brown & Richard (2015) discuss "The way British Media is representing Muslim countries and the Muslim
student take it as the Muslims being old-fashioned, conserved, and economically backward. This media representation
is making the viewers of different countries who are hosting Muslims believe that the Muslims are distrustful and find
Muslims as suspicious beings."
Balraj (2011) stated, "Until today, Media associate every second any act of violence and terrorism with Muslims and
connected its root with the foundation of Islam and such links with Muslims and Islam are based on typical rigid
stereotypes set by media against Islam. Islam and Muslims historically do not have good and positive relations with
the West and Middle Asia. Stereotypes about Islam are not new to Western culture."
Media plays a vital role in constructing images and using media as a weapon to build people's perception of social
reality. Media immensely generate certain images which change the complete thinking of individuals about the world.
Most of the time, media use the power of information and representation to complete social and political goals, and
such media images greatly change the viewers' mindset about political and social scenarios (Gamson, Croteau,
Hoynes, & Sasson, 1992).
Ahmed (2014) designates that "Indian most important media, i.e., film, show the bombardment of cultural
misrepresentation by portraying Muslims with the stereotypical image. The basic symbols include the "beard" and
"cap" besides portraying them as negative or antagonists. The image of Muslims constructed by Bollywood films is
not only displayed within the country or restricted to the Indian population, but it is reaching the masses and consumed
by different communities worldwide."
On the other hand, Aguayo (2009) stated, "The critical overview of Hollywood cinema shows that there is massive
use of representational codes and politics in film after 9/11. Hollywood has a complex planned script depicting
Muslims as uncivilized, violent, and dangerous people who are backward. This deconstruction of Muslim images
shows the racial mindset of Hollywood."
Islam (2007) said, "Very few films in Indian cinema show religious or communal harmony. The filmmakers made
fewer stories based on Muslims' actual condition in India and what type of economic and social crisis they are facing
in India. They present Muslims as more loyal to foreign countries, specifically Islamic countries, and are loyal to their
religion rather than their territory."
Master (2010) put forward the notion that "Rather, we examine Bollywood fiction film or the film based on the
partition; both are far from reality. The film's narrative is far from the partition of true stories written in literature. The
state-based history of India is widely influenced by the specific ideology set by specific stakeholders. The films based
on partition show only one side of the story and neglect other parties' perceptive. Many registered films are directed
to change the whole course of well-documented history. It shows a hegemonic mindset of Indian cinema."
Dwyer (2006) believed that "Indian cinema has a sub-genre for Islamic movies widely known as Islamicate film, in
which the Muslims and their social and cultural lives are represented. They are concerned with Islam as part of
Muslims' everyday lives rather than the religion itself. These films mixed up the religion with the cultural framework,
Journal of Social Sciences and Media Studies (JOSSAMS) Volume 5, Issue 2, 2021
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which often creates a complex depiction of Muslims, which is hard to understand Islam as a religion and to understand
Muslims."
Malhotra and Alagh (2004) said, "The Domestic Hindi films post-1990 consistently divide various religious
communities. Hindus are consistently shown as wealthy, related to the ruling class, and masculine, who follow their
traditions and are pure. While the other communities were shown as minorities such as Muslims and Christians and
seemed to be off from the scenario."
Mubaraki (2014), stated that the "Film Jodha Akbar is based on historical characters and promotes the idea that in
relationships, Muslim males have to absorb the religion of Hinduism, while the Hindu female shows no acceptance of
the Muslim male and its religion. She only accepts him if Muslim males accept her religious needs and perform cultural
rituals to access her. The cultural hegemony is highlighted through cinema."
Drucker (1972), while studying the theory of ideology, stated, "The concept of ideology plays an important role in
modern-day social and political thinking. The relationship between the idea of a person and what society made him
think about a certain issue are two different things."
According to Molaei & Babaeithe (2020), anti-Muslim activities due to the political unrest between Hindus and
Muslims cause various media and cultural products to increasingly portraying Hindu-Muslim relations in bad light.
Importantly, Indian films demonstrating Muslims as ‘others’, ‘terrorists’ and ‘violent’ are increasing. Particularly
since 2016, Bollywood has turned to producing historical epics such as Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Manikarnika,
Panipat and Tanhaji.
Khatun (2020), said that criticizers in India believe that what Bollywood depicts’ is not India’s history, but rather the
history of Hindus. The recent wave of historical stories in Bollywood focuses on highlighting stories that "have never
been seen before". We cannot ignore the importance of media and its role in representing the concerns and issues of
the public and certain communities. The most influential institution, which is also the pillar of the state, uses the
platform to put the matters into debate, shape, and reshape public opinions and set the path to thinking about various
things.
Kumar (2011), "Indian cinema is widely influenced by Hindutva ideology. The Hindutva ideology is promoted in the
name of entertainment, influencing the viewer in many ways. This influence is exhibited mainly in popular Bollywood
culture and shows biases toward Muslims.
Solik (2014), in the article, "Semiotic approach to the analysis of advertising. European Journal of Science and
Theology," says that "Semiotics refers to the explanation of apparatuses and functions of the text as well as visual
communicators and gives us a chance of better understanding of the nature of the social processes."
Baudrillard (2016), in "The consumer society: Myths and structures," has been critical of mass media due to its impact
on society. He argued that signs, images, and representations dominate the contemporary world, and this domination
is of such a degree that the line of distinction between the sign and its referent, the natural world, has blurred."
RQ1: Do Bollywood movies with Muslim characters portray Muslims positively or negatively?
R2Q: What are the dominant symbols in the films?
Method
To answer research questions, method of semiotic analysis was used to determine how the effective medium of films
portrays Muslims of the subcontinent and how it differs from Muslims' actual identity. Ferdinand De Saussure's theory
of Semiotics (Ma'arif, Jatmika, & Marlinda, 2022; Velmezova & Fadda, 2022) was used for analysis as a qualitative
method to examine the frames from the main scenes of films with Muslim characters. Film semiotics are considered
a hybrid version of media and language. As a study of signs, semiotics are related with contextual symbols, different
forms of words, images, sounds, and art objects etc. All are relating to films, because films grab hold of all signs or
symbols for audience to reach connotations that are usually communicated through semiotic systems (Alawi, 2021).
Therefore, as qualitative analysis, semiotics is plumped for digging out the ideologies hidden in the representation of
Muslims in Indian cinema. The main focus was the screen and background elements, such as dressing, lights, makeup,
expressions, and colors. According to Ferdinand de Saussure, “Semiotics is the study of the life of signs within
society.” A sign is an action or presence which stand for something other than itself or the situation" (Krampen, 1987).
The main scenes of films with Muslim characters in action were extracted to be analysed through semiotics. The
research population resides in prominent Indian stream feature films selected through purposive sampling. These films
were released from 2017 to 2018. All these films consist of Muslim characters in prominent roles. The primary purpose
is to analyze the ideology behind the production of these (Persada, 2019). The unit of analysis for semiotics was screen
elements and background elements such as expressions, gestures, make-up, dressing, set design, and colors. Goffman's
scales of semiotic analysis, sign, signifier, and signified, have been adopted for this study. The images in the films
have been based on (Goffman's Scale) of visual components scales (Goffman, 1976), introns it focused on colors,
Journal of Social Sciences and Media Studies (JOSSAMS) Volume 5, Issue 2, 2021
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screen elements, background, dressing, and expressions. Specific frames are shot within the scenes of films selected
systematically for analysis. Another purpose behind selected films is that these films present the different levels of
Muslims' appearance in different roles, characters, and perspectives.
The primary categories for semiotics were signifiers and signified. As theory suggests, the signifier indicates the
finger, the word, and the sound image. A word is simply a junk of literacies. It is in the explanation of the signifier
that association is generated. Similarly, the signified is the idea and interpretation symbolized by the signifier. It
requires not to be a 'real object' but is some referent that the signifier denotes. The thing signified is created in the
perceiver and is internal to them. Whereas we share impressions, we formulate through signifiers. Even as the signifier
is more constant, the signified fluctuates between people and circumstances. The signifier becomes constant with
custom as the signifier prompts beliefs and images (Key & Pheiffer Noble, 2017).The researcher select the issue of
construction of Muslims identity in Bollywood films and its portrayal in Bollywood movies. The Bollywood films are
not only the major source of entertainment, but also shaping and reshaping the images and identity of Muslims not
only living in Indian community but the Muslims living all over the world.
Figure 1.
Haseena Parkar
Semiotic Analysis
The film is based on the biopic of Haseena Parkar (sister of one of India's most wanted Underworld dons). The film
revolves around the darker side of India's Muslims, who are involved in anti-social and criminal activities. Their link
with the underworld is the subject matter, including the dress, makeup, color scheme, environment, set design, and
actions communicate much more than just a cinematic element. The Muslim involvement in violent activities is an
apparent reference to Muslims controlling the whole Indian underworld. The analysis shows various color schemes
that portray a darker side of Muslims. The use of black, green, and darker color schemes shows that it is all planned
to set the film's feel and tone. From wearing antimony to wearing gold necklaces and bracelets, prayer caps, and
amulets, these elements distinguish Muslims from non-Muslims. It is here to mention that gold jewelry and amulets
for men are restricted in Islam, while the prayer cap is used to offer prayers. Islam is only portrayed as part of the daily
social life of Muslims rather than a religion itself. According to the theory of ideology, "Ideas control the people;
people are not controlling the ideas." That is how Indian cinema is reshaping people's perspectives on Muslim identity.
(Felluga, 2019).
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Figure 2.
Mulk
Semiotic Analysis
The film shows a happy Muslim family living in peace and harmony in one of India's small towns. They are living
everyday life. Everything is going well until the Muslim boy is portrayed as being involved in terrorist activity. The
whole family faces a trial as their family member is labeled a terrorist. Aarti is a Hindu girl married to a Muslim boy
in her family. She decides to defend the case of her family member. The father of Shahid is kept in jail, and the police
continuously ask him about the terrorist group they are involved. Things turned against him in court. Bilal, already
tired, ashamed, confused, saddened, tortured, and humiliated, suffers a massive heart attack and passes away on his
way to the hospital.
The movie reflects the story of most Muslims in India. It shows that even if they have no association with terrorism,
they are still blamed for their faith. The consequences they face worldwide after being accused of terrorism are difficult
to narrate. The so-called independent media sets the ideology of Muslims as terrorists, so they are looked down upon
by other religious communities. However, the film ends by proving the Muslims were innocent; its terrorism-oriented
theme makes it look against Muslims' positive image from the start instigating more hatred towards Muslims.
However, as the end is positive, it tries subtly to show how it is tolerant.
The film communicates that Muslims must prove themselves innocent, patriotic, and loyal to the state. The dress code
and appearance seem to be okay, but the same-eyes, Shalwar kameez, wearing an amulet and prayer cap comes under
the category of Muslims' generic representation. The scenario shows that the film again associates terrorism and
extremism with Islam and Muslims. This film shows that Muslims are not loyal even to each other. They are disloyal
and always involved in activities against India and humanity. This film set a theme of showing Muslims as disloyal,
distrusted, and conservative. They are seen as a danger to society and involved in anti-social activities, and they are
always the ones to blame.
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Figure 3.
Omerta
Semiotic analysis
In this film analysis, the story is open-ended and does not have a promising and clear beginning or end. Omerta, the
word itself, stands for silent terror. The films revolve around three real-life events related to the life of terrorist Omar
Saeed Sheikh. Viewers easily associate fights and bloodshed with him. There is a clear association of terrorism with
states like Pakistan and Afghanistan, representing all Muslims as terrorists. The film is not just the biopic of an
extremist. However, it also lacks narrating the whole ideology behind the person who was a normal lively human
being and became radicalistic. The circumstances under which he decided to join a terrorist organization are not noted.
The film is an apparent attack on Islam and Muslims worldwide. It labels Islam as the religion that promotes terrorism
and shows its followers are spreading their ideology through terror.
Nevertheless, the reality is the complete opposite. Islam condemns any act of violence and condemns the killing of
innocent people. The people who promote this negative agenda and ideology in Islam are not Muslims. It is the
defamation of Islam as a religion and Muslims.
The Muslims portrayed in the film are conservative extremists, jihadists, terrorists, psychopaths, and mysterious evil
beings. Bernard Lewis has tried to prove that the Islamic teachings on jihad against all non-Muslims are a tool of
Muslim domination worldwide. Although the movie is based on actual events, the storyline is somehow weak, and
the researcher has found that it has been done intentionally to make the story in such a manner. The story is one-sided
and is not an accurate representation of Muslims around the world. Muslims are also victims of terrorism around the
world. Such films hurt Muslims' sentiments when they watch themselves portrayed as terrorists, jihadists, and
extremists. The use of Taqbeer "Allah ho Akbar" is a direct attack on the religious sentiments of Muslims.
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Figure 4.
Padmavati
Semiotic Analysis
“Padmavat” is a story based not only on the war epic but also on the evident distortion of the historical Muslim
personality. Allauddin Khilji is a well-documented Muslim personality from the 12th century and the ruler of the
sultanate of Delhi. However, the film's character is far away from the actual representation of the Muslim leader.
Sultan Alauddin Khilji retreats into a ridiculous figure who is mistreating his queen, lusting after someone else's wife,
and engaging in every possible chance of being promiscuous to fulfill his ambitions. 'Bhansali's Padmavat is all about
glamourizing Padmavati (Deepika Padukone) and Rawal Ratan Singh's (Shahid Kapoor) innocence and sacrifice. The
film shows scenes of eating meat weirdly, oddly violent behavior, and sexually exploiting multiple women. These are
all Islamophobiac ideas of Muslims. The screen elements, colors, and background; each component has specific
symbolism.
The element of false consciousness is visible here by using an excess of Black to represent the presence of evil and
negativity. The use of the Kesari color signifies the absorption in Indian traditions. The dull and dark theme also
creates the idea of fear, mystery, and some hidden terror. The reddish blur effects are consistently observed in the
film. Muslim architecture is shown in dim light to minimize the effect of majesticness. However, we have evidence
that Muslim architecture is expansive, airy, and full of light in our cultural heritage. The framework of history is used
to create the idea that Muslims are bloodthirsty, violent, feudal, and uncivilized from the beginning. Even the Sultan
ordered his army to fight to achieve a woman whom the Sultan was lustful over. It signifies that Muslims have no
clear ambition in their life. They fight for women and go beyond limits to achieve that goal, but they do not have a
worthy goal in life.
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According to the Media representation theory by David Buckingham and Stuart Hall (Gandin, 2015), "The media do
not just offer us a transparent window on the world, but a mediated version of the world." Media does not merely
present reality; it represents it. This theory defines how media create a false reality. They show another version of
reality and portray the media as false and accurate (Buckingham, 1998).
Figure 5.
Raees
Semiotic Analysis
The Film's analysis shows the typical Indian action-crime film based on the life of a gangster involved in corruption,
misconduct, crime, fraud, and illegal activities. Considering there is also a direct association with Muslims as the lead
protagonist is a Muslim. Raees consists of a stereotypical portrayal of Muslim characters. The film portrays Muslims
as unfavorable and Hindus as lawmakers, civilized people who remove evil (Muslims) from society.
The film is a biased view of an Indian Filmmaker. One of the most important things to discuss here is depicting the
shrine culture in the film. Although it is not new for Muslim-oriented films of Bollywood to associate shrine culture
with Muslims of the subcontinent, the objectionable point is the association of subcontinent Muslim culture with
Islam. Religion and culture are two different things, and this association builds a complex identity of Muslims.
Wearing amulets and going to a shrine for prayers is not Islam. This film portrays Islam as the everyday social life of
Muslims.
Another thing that is depicted in this film is that Muslims are not a minority in India; they are in the majority. The
film reflects the notion that they have separate communities, rights, and points of view. So, Muslims' portrayal is
equivalent to representing the vast majority within India in a negative light. The portrayal of the typical Muslim male
and female relationship in the film is also objectionable. Getting intimate with the opposite sex before marriage is
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neither customary in Muslim culture nor permissible in Islam. The association of crime and violence with sectarianism
is also part of the debate. The film also depicts the modified version of Arabian Night Fantasies by adding item
numbers performed by Sunny Leone and Muslims' involvement in the culturally and religiously abstained activity.
Cultural hegemony is widely observed in Bollywood films. As Gramsci said, cultural hegemony shapes the ideology
of people. It terminates the true spirit of authentic culture and ideas. It deforms the original cultural contexts. It serves
the interests of the ruling class (Cole, 2019).
Discussion
This research work examines the portrayal of Muslims in Bollywood movies. Visual metaphors and pictorial
depictions can say thousands of words and create numerous impacts (Batool, Iftikhar, & Mashal, 2020). The research
is comprised of semiotic analysis. Semiotics communicate their specific messages (Iftikhar, Aziz, & Latif, 2011;
Iftikhar & Islam, 2017; Velmezova & Fadda, 2022). The study revolves around two main research questions that are
being countered by semiotic analysis through the lens of Ferdinand de Saussure's theory (Yakin & Totu, 2014).
The core research question is R1: Do Bollywood movies with Muslim characters portray Muslims positively or
negatively? What are the dominant symbols in the films? Moreover, R2: The core research question was "Does
Bollywood Films with Muslim characters portray Muslims negatively or positively?" It is that Muslims has been
negatively portrayed in Bollywood film under study.
Most Muslim characters selected from the films are shown in controversial roles in contrast with Islamic teachings
during 2017-2018, as mentioned earlier (Zafar & Amjad, 2015). The Indian films distort the image of Muslims and
their culture and create an identity crisis for Muslims. Not only this, but they are also deforming the realities of well-
documented history. They labeled Muslims as terrorists, evil, uncivilized, economically backward, brutal,
fundamentalists, extremists, gangsters, conservative, and violent. Each film selected for research revolves around these
themes; this aligns with a study regarding Hollywood movies, as stated by Aguayo (2009). Where deteriorated Muslim
image racial mindset of Hollywood."
The current study goes contrary to the findings of Islam (2007), the conclusion that fewer stories are based on Muslims'
actual condition in India and what type of economic and social crisis they are facing in India.
Master (2010) put forward the notion that "Rather, we examine Bollywood fiction film or the film based on the
partition; both are far from reality. The film's narrative is far from the partition of true stories written in literature. The
state-based history of India is widely influenced by the specific ideology set by specific stakeholders. The films based
on partition show only one side of the story and neglect other parties' perceptive. Many registered films are directed
to change the whole course of well-documented history. It shows a hegemonic mindset of Indian cinema."
The dominant symbols used in the films were dress codes used in the films typical, such as males with beards, prayer
caps, shalwar kameez, amulets, and antimony in eyes, and Muslim women as an oppressed being. All these
characteristics are stereotypically used to portray Muslim identity, which is aligned with the findings of Ali,
Chaudhary & Faridi in 2012. One thing that needs to be addressed is that some of these films are based on biopics,
while others claim to be based on true stories, as mentioned by Mubaraki in 2014 in the study based on "Jodha Akbar."
The label of a film based on true stories or events proves the authenticity of the film's information. Now the series of
biopics and true stories have been consistently released through Bollywood cinema for a decade, and these films also
cover the stories from the life of Muslims. These films are inaccurate depictions of Muslims, ideologically disputed,
and distort reality, contrary to Khatun's findings in 2020. These findings also prove the analysis of Dwyer (2006) that
Indian cinema has a sub-genre for Islamic movies widely known as Islamicate film, in which the Muslims and their
social and cultural lives create a complex depiction of Muslims while Hindus are consistently shown grander.
There are not nearly enough Muslim roles, and few Muslim characters mainly strangely deal with them. The way these
characters are dressed, how they speak, and the understated religious references associate the Muslim characters more
with their religious identity than the individual. Finding a recurring character who happens to be a Muslim is sporadic.
Most of the time, it is a stereotypical, distorted, and extravagant version of them. Semiotics of the sample films
highlight a few things which can be categorized throughout, like the use of the same dress code, language, method of
portraying Muslims as evil and harmful, violence, ill-manner, distortion of reality, and lust all these are just different
names, different directors, different characters, locations and periods. The use of dull dark themes and connotations
of black with the portrayal of Muslims remains the same throughout the sample films. These essential findings align
with Malhotra and Alagh (2004).
Conclusion
Many studies have been conducted to answer similar research questions; by adopting various research methods.
Nevertheless, it is indeed eye-opening through the lens of semiotics that within one year, five Bollywood movies'
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treatment of Muslim characters in the manner researched is discrimination and censuring. The underlying reason
behind this portrayal is the political unrest between two states, Indo-Pak, and between Hindus and Muslims within
India. The political ideology depicts through movies (Jha, 2020). It puts a question after introspecting why not they
depict more realistic roles for Muslim characters instead of attacking them at any chance to get by accusing them of
being what they are not. Semiotics of sample films highlight a few things, which are categorized throughout that is
similar dress code, comparable language, the same method of portraying Muslims as evil and harmful, identical
violence, alike ill-mannered, same distortion of reality, same lust, just different names, different directors, different
characters, locations and time (Goffman, 1976). The dull dark theme and the connotation of black with the portrayal
of Muslims remain the same throughout the sample films. The Bollywood industry is worldwide one of the most
popular industries, and millions of Muslims live in India. Also, films are a creative and influential medium used for
more innovative purposes, rather than a propaganda medium or a medium for the distortion of history and reality. It
is a moral responsibility for Indian filmmakers who belong to an acclaimed secular state to act responsibly and promote
a positive view of any religion or sector of the population, especially in today's times when extremist sentiments are
creating tensions in society.
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