The most relevant character throughout today’s Indian cinematic landscape has to be God. Almost every other film depicts God, not always according to the religious text but mostly according to the script’s requirements.
There are many ways in which filmmakers choose to portray these gods or god-men, and naturally, due to India’s politically and religiously charged audiences, some portrayals tend to offend people.
The latest social media uproar seems to be about the same: how the Indian film industry seems to be abusing God for business.
People across social media platforms have raised issues with movies like Kantara, RRR, Pushpa, and many more for their depiction of religious figures.
According to them, God’s portrayal in these films is limited to being a fight master with ultimate god-power, with which they can destroy almost every obstacle in their path.
One of the most frequently asked questions is why, in so many of these films, God accepts the anti-hero or vice versa, even when the character hasn’t done a single good deed.
Now, there’s no clear answer to why the filmmakers chose to depict these figures in a certain way, but some believe that itself is the answer.
Many people argue that filmmaking is all about interpretation; the way one filmmaker adopts a character won’t be the same for someone else, and any average moviegoer can understand that difference.
On the other hand, a story is all about how a character changes. In RRR, for example, Ram Charan doesn’t suddenly get god-like power; they build up his character up to the point where his cause aligns with that of Lord Rama, where his sole motive is to protect his people and land.
There’s no rule book in filmmaking on how one should depict religion or religious figures; it’s completely the producers and the filmmakers’ decision to showcase a character that a vast range of audiences can relate to.
Indian cinema is surely facing a downfall when it comes to nuance and character building, but totally dismissing films that are trying to depict a different take than the usual good vs bad isn’t entirely justified.
