It is not a revelation, that India is an enchanting melting pot of cultures, and the Hindi Film Industry, much like the whole of India, continues to seek different cultures to add flavour to its content. It is another matter, that neither India nor Bollywood, are very good at accepting and representing all these diverse cultures. While India is adamant in her belief of the fact that Hindi is her national language, Bollywood is a veteran when it comes to making caricatures out of different ethnicities, and using their traits as comic relief. Nevertheless, it is true that our films seek to reach every nook and cranny of the country, and there's a desire to make every Indian, irrespective of their culture, feel seen. However, regardless of how important representation is, it is only accurate and authentic representation that will ever take us anywhere.
If you keep tabs on the latest Hindi films, then you know that one of the most exciting upcoming films is Jayeshbhai Jordaar, a Ranveer Singh starrer that will hit the theatres on the 13 May. The film as the title suggests, and the trailer confirms, is set somewhere in a Gujarati village. Just from the look of it, Jayeshbhai Jordaar seems like a treat to watch out for given the stellar cast, and meaty premise. Singh’s character name and accent are enough to tell you that this Jayeshbhai, is a quintessential Gujarati, something that you can make out the instant he and the other characters begin speaking.
All that said, Jayeshbhai Jordaar from the look of it seems quite contrary to the usual Bollywood trope of using caricaturish traits as an element of mockery. The upcoming social comedy seems to be using the Gujarati background for the right reasons, which is to provide an identity to a narrative and its character. The characters in Jayeshbhai Jordaar, are people before cultures, and therefore are more believable and real. Yes, there’s a pronounced accent, but it’s not for comic relief, which says a lot about the intention about having it in the first place. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for a plethora of Hindi films that seek only humour in Gujaratis and reduce them to silly accents and habits.
I, however, hate to break it to you, but if we were to ever meet someday then there is minimal possibility of you figuring that I am a Gujarati unless I tell you so myself because despite all that Bollywood has taught you, not all of us talk in such a pronounced Gujarati accent, and neither do we fumble with our enunciations of the letter ‘s’. We don’t interchange snacks with snakes or pronounce Shakespeare as Saxpeare. Of course, like any culture or part of India, we too are a mixed bunch of people, who vary when it comes to these traits, but the gross generalisation that Bollywood has been inflicting upon us year after year, is at the very least, painful to endure.
Take, for example, Imtiaz Ali’s Jab Harry Met Sejal, where one of its titular characters has an excruciating Gujarati accent, that pulls a disappearing act whenever it wishes, which makes one think about why there was a need to have it in the first place? Remember Kamli, aka Kamlesh from Sanju? Ever wondered why he had the physical inability to pronounce certain words? Well, you’re not alone, because even though it feels like I am repeating myself, the fact of the matter is that we don’t talk like that, and neither are we all about dholka, fafda and gathiya. We don’t halooo and break into Garba at every instance, no matter how fond we are of it, and trust me we are.
There’s also the famous Gujju song of Kal Ho Na Ho, which gives me nightmares to date. Once again, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but most of us aren’t that loud, and ostentatious. Most of us are quite well aware of public etiquette and aren’t such an embarrassment to mankind. There’s also, Kantaben in the same film whose homophobia aside, is another stereotypical portrayal of how Gujaratis behave. The cliche-ridden mess up between hole and hall, is far from being comical, but who cares because it’s all fun and games right? Unfortunately though, this constant depiction of Gujaratis as clowns and halfwits is hurtful, to say the least, because as you can evidently make out, most of us are quite competent and discerning.
That said, there have also been films that have not shown Gujarat, as a laughing stock, and if there ever was to be a torchbearer for such representation, then without a doubt, it would be Sanjay Leela Bhansali, partially because he is, himself a Gujarati, and a clever one, not to mention. From Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam to Ram Leela, and now his most recent venture, Gangubai Kathiawadi, Bhansali’s love for Gujarat is more than obvious. He establishes the Gujarati-ness flamboyantly through elaborate ghagra-cholis and beautifully choreographed Garba sequences. However, no matter how majestic and alluring, Bhansali’s Gujarati worlds are, once again, reductive when it comes to cultural representation. You see, we have more to us than just chaniya-cholis, garba, and dhoklas.
It seems as if Bollywood cannot see us separately from our ethnicity. We cannot be a normal, working person who is first a character, and then a walking talking poster of Gujarat.
We’re good at math (again, not all of us, I am miserable at it), and business. We’re good at other things too, like medicine, architecture, or journalism, thereby, is it that difficult to rise above the accents and costumes, and represent cultures (not just Gujarat, but every culture ) without reducing them to a caricature or stereotype?
All said and done, movies are made for entertainment, however, subconsciously they penetrate our social beliefs and norms. The caricaturish portrayal of not just Gujarati culture, but any other culture is daft and uninspiring. If Bollywood truly wishes to make an impact, that it knows it can, then it must do it by making people of all cultures, and backgrounds visible, not as mere motifs, but as humans, in many ways like what Hansal Mehta has done in Scam 1992, or what Mani Ratnam has done in Guru. Given that both Scam 1992 and Guru are based on real-life personalities, Harshad Mehta and Dhirubhai Ambani respectively, you can see that with the right story, and the right treatment, how people from different cultures can be people first, and their ethnicity later.
For the melting pot of cultures that India is, and Bollywood can be, we truly have the potential to break the glass ceilings in terms of representation of cultures. Scam 1992, Guru and now hopefully Jayeshbhai Jordaar, seem to be a step forward when it comes to veracious character sketches.
Jayeshbhai Jordaar releases in cinemas on 13 May.
Takshi Mehta is a freelance journalist and writer. She firmly believes that we are what we stand up for, and thus you'll always find her wielding a pen.
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