Framing Analysis of Indian Muslims in Bollywood Movies

Muzmmil Hussain^1*, Abdul Ghani², and Muhammad Ashfaq³

¹Center for Media and Communication Studies, University of Gujrat, Pakistan

²School of Media and Communication Studies, Minhaj University Lahore Pakistan

³Department of Media Studies, Bahria University, Karachi Campus, Pakistan

*Corresponding Author: [email protected]

Abstract

The current research attempted to examine the depiction of Indian Muslims in Bollywood films in the year 2012. The research questions were answered through a quantitative analysis of all the scenes involving Indian Muslims. The current research analyzed how Indian films portrayed Muslims by using both episodic and thematic structures. The variables and categories were developed in the context of episodic and thematic frames to assess the positive and negative depiction of Indian Muslims. The theory of framing believes that the thoughts of every individual are organized in a certain way. Intentional frames are created and sometimes the reader makes one of these frames for himself. The results showed that all three types of Indian Muslim characters—father, sister, and teacher—were portrayed negatively.

Keywords: Bollywood movies, episodic frames, framing analysis, Muslim, quantitative study, thematic frames

Introduction

The essence of a film, movie, or a motion picture is based on the narration of its story by using moving images. This form of art not only reflects but it also interprets and critiques the societal norms and values. It draws upon both real and fantastic sources to create its stories. The effects of this type of narration on society are formative, transformative, and elevating. The production of motion pictures is now considered as a legitimate global economic force. It tends to appeal everyone in many ways. Films are embedded with enchanting stories and these stories help to keep the interest of the audience alive till the very end. These stories serve to emphasize both the similarities and the differences between societies. Their colors represent the spectrum of human culture (Cook, 2007).

In today's globalized world, films have become a vital means of communication. To put it simply, films are a popular pastime for a lot of people. It is considered as an entertaining and refreshing activity around the globe. Moreover, it is also a powerful tool for propagandizing and indoctrinating the populace. Additionally, films provide a wealth of information to viewers. It plays a leading role in the global media system, while the film industry plays an equally important role in delivering messages pertaining to specific agendas to a wide audience. Audiences, who can intellectualize the manifestation of any stratum, appear to be influenced greatly by the actions and messages conveyed in films. These films and messages conveyed through them leave a profound impact on the psyche of a common soldier while disseminating new ideas as well. It kicks off the masses' two-step into the world of heated debates, cutting-edge fashions, and polarizing viewpoints.

The cinematic medium is characterized by narratives that contain personal observations with psychological messages (Maisuwong, 2012). The best examples of cinematic "social dramas" are those that enact and critique contemporary sociopolitical realities, conflicts, and dilemmas" (Tzanelli, 2005). Dramatic, nuanced, and dependable handling of social issues, introducing viewers to real people and genuine emotions, lie beneath the assumptions, prejudices, and generalizations of people.

Literature Review

According to Cottle (2006), whether it is a broad or narrow topic of discussion, media can effectively communicate, describe, and articulate it. Media has the power to accurately portray minorities or to misrepresent them. Many Muslim minorities were portrayed negatively and often as terrorists in Bollywood films, especially in the years following 9/11. Bollywood films stereotypically portray and render Muslims as responsible for all violence acts. Muslim stereotypes have a long history in India and in Indian cinema. Bollywood is setting a bad example when it comes to portraying Muslims as terrorists, a trend that has spread from Hollywood films after borrowing the idea from Western media (Khan & Bokhari, 2011). Muslims now see Indian cinema as their enemy because of the negative portrayal they have seen there (Siddiqi, 1999).

Bollywood, according to Islam (2007), helped to spread the idea that Muslims should be viewed with suspicion and distrust. This reinforces a common stereotype about Indian Muslims that they are more committed to their faith than to their country and sympathetic to an enemy power. Similarly, Muslim characters in Indian films are often portrayed as terrorists, gangsters, or feudal lords and are given stereotypical cultural symbols, such as beards and caps.

Oft times, these codes are imposed in an effort to create a fantastical stereotype that can be promoted as an ideal form (Islam, 2007). Thus, the media has its own clientele, and the industry that creates images for them plays to the satisfaction of that clientele (Hussain, 2007).

Ahmad (2014) studied the impact of Indian cinema on the portrayal of Muslims. A critical and scientific examination of film content may provide more details as to how Indian cinema is distorting and altering the image of Islam. In order to classify Indian films that feature Muslims or Islamic culture, the researcher has designed four catagories.. This research tries to i study the perceptions of people regarding the portryal of Islam in Indian cinema and . Indian cinema has portrayed many faces of Islam, particularly in Hindi films. The current study examined the question of how far these depictions contribute to the growth of a positive and negative Islamic identity. Islam, the second most popular religion in the subcontinent, has sparked a wide range of explications. Some of these explications have stoked public conflict, while others have improved life for the majority of people there.

It was concluded that Muslims and Islam have both received an unfavorable representation by Indian cinema. Following the events of 9/11, media outlets around the world portrayed Muslims in a negative light. Moreover, Indian film studios also joined in by making numerous films about Islam and Muslims that stereotyped them as violent fundamentalists. Muslims in Indian cinema are often portrayed negatively, for instance, as feudal landlords, gangsters, and smugglers wearing distinctive clothes and head coverings.

Additionally, the impact of Indian cinema's depiction of Muslims extends far beyond the country's borders to spark widespread backlash against the country's Muslim minority. The construction of Muslims' image in such a context generates political discourse linking them with terrorism, anti-national, and extremist acts. Muslims have been portrayed negatively in Hindi films as unenlightened, antiquated, feudal, terroristic, extremist, villainous, and unsociable characters. The issue of "missing Muslims" was also brought up during this period of increased secularism and internationalization.

Sheikh (2013) criticized a series of films for their mocking portrayal of Muslims. This skewed portrayal has reached its apex at the same time that Muslims, especially young Muslims, are unfairly accused of being terrorists. Sheikh analyzed two sets of films to learn how Muslims are portrayed in Bollywood. One set of films depicted Muslims in a negative light, while the other set attempted to mitigate the stereotype's impact by providing a counter description. These films attempted to redress the stereotypical portrayal of Muslims by presenting them as devout, thoughtful, morally upstanding, and otherwise average citizens.

He divided them into two categories, the first containing Qayamat: City under threat (2003), Dhoka (2007), and Bhindi Bazar (2010), and the second containing Chak day India (2007), Amir (2008), and My Name Is Khan (2010). In film Qayamat from the year 2003, he spoke about friendship and thievery of Ali, Abbas (brothers), and Rachit (characters). Rachit left the profession due to love, however, Ali and Abbas continued their criminal activities. They kept blackmailing the Indian government by releasing 213 prisoners and infecting 3 missiles with deadly viruses. Rachit refrained from engaging in such a heartless act. Ali and Abbas locked up their buddy in the cellar. Thereafter, Rachit aided the commando team and CBI to eliminate Ali and Abbas. There is another fact that Ali and Abbas shared a cruel and wicked girlfriend. Sheikh claimed that the film portrayed Muslims as traitors who would sell out their own people for the sake of money. While, Hindus were portrayed as ultimately patriotic and willing to sacrifice for their country, no matter how corrupt they may be.

One film that helped to study attitudes and behaviors towards research subjects was Chak Day India (2007). Muslim characters are often portrayed as patriotic but they face skepticism from general public. The film's director, Simit Amin, portrayed Muslims' lack of trust and prejudice in mainstream society. In Aamir (2008), the protagonist, Dr. Aamir Ali, was threatened with the death of his family unless he boards a crowded bus and plants a suitcase bomb in it. However, when he remembers that there are passengers on board, he pulls the suitcase from the ground and clutches it to his body. The media, then portrays him as a suicide bomber who aborts his mission.

According to a research conducted by Khan and Bokhari (2011), the portrayal of Muslims in Indian cinema has been quite negative. They examined how Indian film industry portrayed Muslims both before and after 9/11. Muslims have been stereotyped as suspicious, radicals, and extremists, especially since 9/11. Indian films portrayed Muslims in a negative light in order to conform to the American viewpoint. They wanted to determine the negative portrayal of Muslims in Indian cinema, therefore this study was conducted. About 50 Indian films, starring Muslims, were chosen (released during 2002-08). Ten factors were eliminated to facilitate hypothesis testing. A coding sheet was created to help with the data collection process and the results were viewed from three different perspectives: positive, negative, or neutral. The movie content analysis revealed a disproportionately higher amount of negative depiction (65.2%) as compared to positive depiction (4. This demonstrates how Indian film industry portrays Muslims with a biased attitude and how this affects their image in other countries. According to a research conducted by Khan and Bokhari, anti-Muslim propaganda is increasing in both India and abroad.

. There are many films with a negative message, but not many of them conveys a positive one. This analysis clearly shows lack of positive depiction of Muslims as well as respect and esteem for them in Indian cinema. The findings corroborate the hypothesis that Muslims in Indian cinema would be portrayed more negatively than positively. The Muslim characters are portrayed as villains who are unfamiliar with cultural norms, such as tolerance and peaceful coexistence. Muslims in Indian cinema were analyzed in terms of how films portrayed them and it was agreed upon that Bollywood is reflective of everyday life in India. All types of Muslim characters, from the king and the Nawabs to the rogues and the terrorists, are portrayed in a consistent and regular manner. Their research was based on the blockbuster Indian films of the last decade. A planned sampling strategy was used to determine their assumptions. There are positive, negative, and ambiguous examples to choose from. About 75.6% of Muslim stereotypes are negative, while only 12.1% are positive, according to the data. "Veer Zaara," a film by Yash Chopra, tells the story of a Muslim girl named Zara Hayat who falls in love with a Hindu boy named Veer Partab Singh. Resultantly, she stops caring about her own culture and society and instead adopts many of Hindu society's norms and practices. Moreover, Muslims in the film were portrayed in a demeaning way. Hindus' actions have been portrayed favorably, while Muslims' have been ascribed negative connotations, such as lust, greed, evil, and weakness of will.

Theoretical Framework

The current study employed framing theory to analyze the depiction of Muslims by Indian films. With the help of this theory, a number of representation-related variables can be packaged neatly (Flood, 2009). Using this theory, the researchers were able to put a numerical value on how the Muslim community in India is portrayed by media. This study employed content analysis to evaluate the degree of framing in the depiction and construction of Muslims' image in Indian cinema.

According to the nature of the study, two major categories and 10 sub-categories were created which are as follows:

Every category has been made operational with a coding sheet, therefore now, films that portray Muslims positively (heroes, open-minded characters, happy people, wealthy citizens) are given a plus sign (++). Terrorist, barbaric, fundamentalist, violent, and mysterious depictions of Muslims in films are frowned upon (-).

The term "media framing" refers to the effects on audience interaction or perspective formed by the presentation of information in the media. The media used to manipulate public opinion to serve their own agenda. Media's duty to present all sides of a story fairly and objectively is sometimes neglected. Entman, an American political scientist and media scholar, sheds light on framing by explaining that it involves selection and salience. To endorse the explanation of a specific problem, root understanding, proper evaluation, and treatment recommendation, a text may employ a frame to select the feature of perceived certainty and make them more observable/prominent.

The concept of "framing" is attaining popularity and it is crucial to understand how media "ripens" the issues and frames to advance a particular agenda.

There are times when transnational culture is used in the framing and other times when framing is used to achieve a certain goal. Over the past few years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people who use media. Today, hundreds of millions of people rely on media for their daily dose of news and information. The media's ability to present events in a particular light is its most potent tool. After the advent of electronic media, discussions about framing have become more common in academic circles because they help researchers and scholars investigate, comprehend, understand, and relate the effects of media content.

By shortening certain stages of mass communication, framing makes it a more dynamic process. Understanding the sender, the message, the recipient, and their interpretation of the message is all made possible through the use of framing. Communication always had a framed component. The fundamental components of communication are the message, the audience, the messenger, the medium, the context, and most importantly the theoretical frame. Every time a sentence is framed, the language used to frame it has an effect. Communication only reveals the first layer of framing but that layer is crucial in shaping a group's culture and norms (Lakoff, 2009).

Filmmakers engage in framing when they use ideas, words, expressions, and sentences that theoretically strengthen and reinforce facts or outcomes to emphasize certain aspects of realism in scenes as in contradiction to other motive. The current study was bolstered by framing theory which allowed the investigator to test whether or not Indian movies accurately portray Indian Muslims.

Method

The current study employed content analysis to quantitatively examine the portrayal of Muslims in Indian cinema. The participants were chosen randomly to conduct the current study. Bollywood films from the year 2012 were selected due to how Muslims were portrayed. His method is "a technique for the objective, organized, and quantitative depiction of the obvious communication content," as Berelson (1952) outlined.

Content Analysis

Media content and structure are the primary foci of content analysis, a research method. It is used to find instances of a particular word, idea, theme, phrase, character, and sentence within a piece of content. content analysis is a systematic method of examining the data (Walizer & Wienir, 1978). It is a method of measuring communication variables that are systematic, quantitative, and objective (Kerlinger, 1979).

Content analysis is a method that is used to determine the meaning, logic, or significance of a piece of communication. Most often, content analysis is used as a method of analysis in social sciences. Content analysis refers to the study of recorded sources, such as books, websites, TV shows, movies, paintings, and laws (Barr et al., 2001). Scholars use content analysis to decipher the deeper meanings of social communications. According to Holsti, content analysis is a method of drawing conclusions in a methodical, scientific, and logical way.

Words, themes, and ideas can all be studied quantitatively, along with their implications, to help decipher the meaning of a given text or image.

Academics have sorted content analysis into two broad classes: conceptual and relational. Words and ideas are used conceptually, for instance, a belief that Hollywood movies portray Muslims as terrorists. Counting the number of films that feature Muslims in a negative light or having a plotline that involves Muslims as terrorists may help draw that conclusion. Understanding how ideas in a text relate to one another is the focus of relational analysis. Using the previous Hollywood movie example, relational analysis can be used to determine what other images appear in movies about Muslims and various meanings that arise from exploiting such assets.

Each film was coded for all of the variables, so that they could be compared for any instances of possible framing of Indian Muslims. Sampling, validity, and reliability among coders, and framing methods were among the variables considered. The findings have been presented in numerical form.

Categories

Character analysis has been conducted in the current study, for instance, how Muslim characters have been shown in the films. Two major and 10 sub-categories were formed.

1. Protagonist
2. Antagonist

Protagonists

Protagonists refer to the category which defines role in a movie that support Indian Muslims

Following variables were analysed in this category;

• Civilized
• Wealthy
• Joyful
• Open minded
• Hero

Antagonists

According to the current study, antagonists refer to the category which defines role in a movie that contends with or opposes Indian Muslims

Following variables were analysed in this category;

• Mysterious
• Violent
• Fundamentalist
• Barbaric
• Terrorist

Results

The collected data was analyzed by using SPSS. The findings and conclusions were displayed through tables and graphs. These results shed light on the depiction of Indian Muslims in Bollywood movies.

Table 1

Frequency and Percent of Indian Muslim's Scenes in Movies.

According to Table 1, out of total 335 scenes, 71 were from the film ‘Gangs of Wasseypur' (51.0%), while 58 were from the film ‘Chakravyuh' (17.3%). Both of these movies focused on the lives of Indian Muslims. There were 43 instances where Muslims were depicted in "Bol Bachan" (12.8%). These three movies featured Muslims in prominent roles the most. The Bollywood Hungama website reports that out of total 159 Hindi films, 33 featured Muslim characters; from this pool, and 10 were chosen for further examination.

RQ1: How Bollywood frame Indian Muslims?

Table 2

Framing of Indian Muslims in Bollywood

The answer to RQ1 is shown in Table 2. The Hollywood films used both episodic and thematic frames in almost equal amounts while depicting Muslims. About 165 (or 49.3%) of the scenes in those films used episodic frames, while 170 (or 50.7) used thematic frames.

RQ 2: How Indian Muslims appeared in Bollywood movies?

Table 3

Appearance of Indian Muslims in Movies.

Table 3 shows the response to RQ2, which reveals that Muslims have played supporting roles in movies 210 times out of total 335. Muslims played the lead or female lead role in 113 scenes, while they appeared in 210 supporting roles.

RQ3: What characters of Indian Muslims are shown in Bollywood?

Table 4

Characters of Indian Muslims in Bollywood Movies

Table 4 shows that out of 335 responses to RQ 3, Muslims favored assigning negative characters to 189 occasions (56.4%), while assigning positive characters to 121 occasions (36.1%). Muslims were portrayed as villains in Indian films, both globally and within Indian culture.

More surprisingly, only 3.7% of Indian Muslims played the role of a hero or heroine, while 62.7% played a supporting role, and 1.8% played the role of a villain. About 56.4% were portrayed negatively, while 7.5% were depicted as having a gray or ambiguous moral stance.

Table 5

Framing of Indian Muslim Characters.

Table 5 provides a more precise response to RQ 3 by revealing the frequency with which Muslims were portrayed negatively in 2012 films; specifically, 123 times (36.7%). They were depicted as violent characters, either directly engaging in terrorist acts or associated with groups that cause social unrest. Furthermore, they were also portrayed as civilized 89 times out of 335 scenes (26.6%), and as humorous 11 times out of 335 scenes (11.3%).

RQ4: What roles are associated with Indian Muslims in Bollywood movies?

Table 6

Roles Associated with Indian Muslims

RQ4 is answered in Table 6, which demonstrates the wide variety of Muslim characters seen in Bollywood films. Only a marginal percentage difference is found across all the roles studied here. The answers to RQs 1 and 2 show positive portrayal of Hindus and Sikhs, while RQ 3 reveals negative portrayal of Muslims. This means that almost every character was portrayed in an unfavorable light.

Table 7

Role Specification of Indian Muslim Characters in Movies

The data in Table 7 helps to clarify the situation. For instance, Muslims played only minor supporting roles (42.1%), were in a leading role in only 29% of scenes, and were portrayed negatively in 29% of those.

RQ5: What professions are associated with Indian Muslims in Bollywood movies?

Table 8

Professions Associated with Indian Muslims in Movies

The data for RQ 5 is listed in Table 8. It reveals that Muslims were most often depicted in 133 scenes (39.7%), in which a gangster was involved. They were less likely associated with positive occupations, such as doctors, police officers, and lawyers than they were with the negative occupation of "gangster." According to this and previous research, Muslims in Bollywood are more often portrayed negatively than positively.

RQ6: What kind of language is used by Indian Muslims in Bollywood?

Table 9

Language used by Indian Muslims in Bollywood

According to Table 9, only 2.4%, or 8 scenes out of 335, feature Indian Muslims using decent language in their dialogues. This is in contrast to the 61.5% of Muslim characters who use normal language in their dialogues. Additionally, roughly equal numbers of scenes (60 and 61, or 17.9 and 18.2%) featured the use of harsh and slang language.

Table 10

Appearance of Indian Muslims and their Character Framing

Table 10 displays the results of a cross tabulation of two variables. According to the results, Muslim heroes or heroines were depicted in 113 (33.73%) of 335 total scenes, and were portrayed favorably 58 (51.32%) times out of 121 total positive scenes for all hero/heroine characters. Muslims appeared (62.68 percent), with 135 (64.28 percent) portraying them negatively and only 60 (28.57 percent) positively. Muslims appeared in 15 (7.14%) scenes with an ambiguous or neutral tone.

Discussion

Over the course of hundreds of years, India has been home to countless diverse group of people. Maintaining one's cultural traditions, preaching one's faith, and adhering to one's social and moral codes are among the rights that every society should have. Indian Muslims are facing a tough time right now. They have a lot of issues and problems to deal with. Some of these issues have been self-inflicted, while others have been passed down through the generations. However, these issues have grown due to an inevitable progression of time.

The religious persecution of Muslims in India intensified after 9/11. Since then, news reports, TV shows, cartoons, talk shows, and movies all started portrayed Muslims in a negative way. The Hollywood film industry produces a wide variety of films. The current study attempted to analyze the representation of Muslims in Bollywood films since the year 2012 till date.

Findings indicate that Muslims, in Bollywood movies, were portrayed negatively, for instance as criminals, terrorists, and barbaric savages. In this regard, the film "Gangs of Wasseypur" provides a superb representation of stereotypical Muslim roles. Young Muslim men in the film are depicted as committing criminal acts and using foul language being part of gangs. These criminal organizations/gangs kidnap for the sake of ransom, murder for profit, and engage in turf wars with their rival organizations. The media portrays them as savages who had no regard for human life or civilized norms. It is incredible that the highest rated movie on IMDB (a website) portrayed Indian Muslims in such a negative light. They used subliminal messaging in this film. The central point of the story focused on the idea that Muslims are a rapacious nation who would do anything to increase their wealth.

Kahaani, the second film, received an 8.3 out of 10 points but it only showed Muslims for 13 of the film's 122 total minutes. As a positive, civilized, and dominant character, A.Khan, an intelligence officer, was presented to the audience.

The third film was called "Oh my God" and it received an 8.3/10 rating, however, it was only 2m29s long out of a total of 124m. In the film, Om Puri played the role of Advocate Hanif Qureshi, a decent-spoken and optimistic character. Imam Masjid, another main character, was portrayed harshly.

The film ‘Talaash' was the study's fourth entry in which a Muslim character was portrayed negatively in only 10 short scenes. This character was disabled, a pimp, portrayed as poor and greedy, and ultimately met his end as a result of his own greed. He played a supporting character.

In the fifth film, ‘Jab Tak Hai Jan', the famous Indian Actor Rishi Kapoor, appeared as Imran for a few seconds in a negative portrayal of a domineering role after falling in love with a married Hindu woman and moving in with her. The film received a rating of 7 out of 10. Moreover, a female Muslim physician also appears in the movie who is presented in a positive light. The Muslim character is portrayed positively as a tolerant, open-minded person who is having a good time in the film, but unfavorably as the man responsible for the end of a happy marriage and the separation of a mother and her 12-year-old daughter.

. A Muslim villain was depicted in this film. Rauf Lala, the gangster, was the head of the drug cartel and was also involved in the trafficking of young women. He was portrayed as the evilest and violent person. The names of two sons of Rauf Lala were Mazhar and Azhar lala. One of them was mentally retarded, while the other was an active member of the drug mafia, smugglers of ammunition and narcotics, and other illegal activities. All the Muslims in the film played minor roles who showed little or no regard for human life or social norms. They were framed as gangsters or terrorists and mostly used rough or slang language. Muslim characters in this film used a variety of Islamic terms and expressions, including "Asslam o Alikum," "Allah," "Allaha ki madad hamaray sath hai," "Inshallaa," "Mashallah," and "Amin,". Moreover, these characters sported traditional Islamic garb, such as Shalwar Kamiz, a head scarf, and a turban. After their terrorist acts, they would typically utter the phrase "Shukar Allaha ka k ham ko Allah Pak nay Kamyabi di hai." Muslims in the film were portrayed as extremely inflexible in their behavior. This film's scene framing was episodic.

The film "Chakaravyuh," with a score of 6.9 out of 10, was the second-largest sample of films in terms of the number of scenes depicting Indian Muslims. In the beginning of the film, SP Adin Khan and his friend Kabir play the roles of good guys and civilized, honest police officers. Kabir's only consistency in life has been his loyalty and friendship with the heroic police officer Sp Adil Khan. However, Kabir's personality eventually took on a more muted tone. He was thought to have the right idea but implemented it wrongly. To put it another way, Kabir starts learning about various realities. He was portrayed as a violent and savage gangster. He was painted as a character who was disloyal to both his friend and his country.

The entire movie of "Jannat 2," which received a 6/10, consists of only 13 scenes totaling a few minutes. Bali was the hero's loyal friend and a collaborator in his criminal endeavors. Sarfaraz was a member of the criminal underworld and a weapon dealer. His pictures engaging in criminal acts were accompanied by graphic depictions of violence and savagery.

The ninth film was "Rowdy Rathore," which showed Muslim-related content for three minutes only. One of the few positive Muslim characters, Inspector Razia Khan, was presented in a very civilized context. She played a secondary character in the movie.

The most recently released film "Bol Bachan," was a comedy movie that received a 5.5/10 rating and featured 43 scenes centered on Indian Muslims. Abbas Ali and Sania Ali played the roles of siblings. At first, they were portrayed as quite cultured and spoke in a respectable manner. The accidental conversion of Abbas to Hinduism allowed him to open a Hindu temple despite being a Muslim, thereby avoiding any potential religious tensions. By fooling their boss, Abheshak proved his worth. The film featured a huge cast and most of whom presented a positive but Muslim image. Abheshak, on the other hand, was portrayed as having good intentions but actually being a liar. Although, the film was structured episodically, the Muslim characters were portrayed in a nuanced gray.

A study conducted on cinematic content revealed that only 21% of the content featured Indian Muslims, with a ratio of 1406:295. Some 43% of the time, negative characters were depicted as violent and barbaric, while only 26% were shown to be civilized. While, 41% of the scenes depicted Muslim characters as gangsters and terrorists, only 12-13% depicted reasonable professions, such as doctors, police officers, or lawyers. Bollywood tends to paint a negative picture of the Indian Muslims and even when they are portrayed positively, their appearance in films is statistically infrequent.

Conclusion

The Indian media is responsible for spreading the Indian culture in other countries. Indian news outlets have perfected the art of national pride promotion. As a result of its massive population, India has been using the media to try to educate its citizens better. Bollywood and Indian media has a wide audience and they use it to spread hate speech and stereotypes against Muslims. However, some films from Bollywood industry appear to promote religious intolerance between Muslims and other faiths. Most of the times, Muslims are portrayed in a negative light, as barbarians who are brutal, arrogant, ruthless, and deformed both physically and mentally, and are clearly shown to be a negative aspect of Indian society.

The stereotypes of Muslims depicted in these images are a reflection of real-life discrimination in India.

One social crisis and one economic crisis have aided the necessary adjustment in India. Due to the negative portrayal of Muslims in Bollywood films, there is less trust between Muslims and Hindu Indians, contributing to the country's social problems. In 2012, Bollywood casted the Muslims in all sorts of negative roles, from parents to educators to law enforcement officials to healthcare providers. There have also been more nuanced portrayals, in which, Muslims played a positive character but they also had a negative role in criminal activity.

Muslims in India are facing police brutality and official injustice currently. They do not feel safe in their own country. Indian films have also contributed to the perpetuation of negative stereotypes of Muslims as extremists and potential terrorists.

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