In ‘Naya Bollywood’, Words Mean Nothing

By claiming to uncover the ‘truth’ behind the 2002 Godhra riots, especially in a time when most films skip mentioning the incident altogether to avoid troll armies at their doorstep, the film already hinted at its political leanings. Supposed to release earlier in the year, its release was delayed for unknown reasons. Then director Ranjan Chandel spoke about his decision to step back from the film due to ‘creative differences’. “There were few ideas by the makers which were additions in the film. I didn't agree with those changes as the film deals with a sensitive subject,” he told Hindustan Times, suggesting that the film was ‘fixed’ to be come more incendiary. After all, Bollywood’s bar for crudeness has risen to unsettling levels in the last few years.

In the week leading up to the film’s release, many sound-bytes from the film’s primary cast—especially Massey (the most recognisable face on the poster) circulated on social media, which steered away from calling it a ‘political film’—instead choosing to call it an investigative thriller. Advertising his secular credentials (Massey mentioned how his mother is Christian, father is a Punjabi, and his brother converted to Islam), Massey spoke about how he received life threats for opting to do the film, and producer Ektaa Kapoor guaranteed that the film was fact-based, balanced and without agendas. Fair-minded journalists (like Faye D’Souza), who are obviously fond of Massey as an actor, tip-toed around the film’s murky politics. Massey, a well-spoken actor with the unique ability to sound sincere while doing the most insane verbal and logical gymnastics, did well to deflect. The gist of his (and fellow actors’) rebuttals was—don’t judge the film before you’ve seen it, and, don’t join the powers that wish to censor the truth.

‘Truth’ can be a loaded word, especially when employed by anyone in the vicinity of Bollywood these days. Any doubt about the film being ‘fair’ and ‘balanced’ was cleared up the moment Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah endorsed the film, a day before its release. Other recent films to have gotten their endorsement include—The Kashmir Files (2022), The Kerala Story (2023), Article 370 (2024) and Swatantrya Veer Savarkar (2024)—all accused of being communal and hateful to varying degrees. The Sabarmati Report was never going to be a critical view of the incident and its bloody aftermath, something we should’ve gauged from actors specifying that the film was focused on the ‘genesis’ of the 2002 riots, rather than the riots—which have been depicted in films like Firaaq (2008), Parzania (2007) and Kai Po Che (2013). Many reviews critical of Massey’s film noted how it conflates the communal disharmony with the chasm between English-speaking newsreaders and Hindi-speaking stringers.

But what’s enjoyable is going back in time, and rewatching all of Massey’s impassioned pleas to sell the film to an audience. It didn’t matter who was sitting across from him, Massey made sure to do his job as a professional. In an interview with News24, he made tone-deaf statements like—“people talk about the Muslim victims of the Godhra carnage. No one talks about the 59 karsevaks who died on Sabarmati Express, they’re just a statistic.” Ektaa Kapoor spoke about how she was bullied into not wearing the tilak on her forehead, because of the jokes around it. In another podcast, he said—“nobody in India is in danger, and that India is the best country to live in right now.” At one point, Massey argued how actors were unfairly put on a stand and quizzed about social, political, economic issues. But no one asked him about how celebrities (like him, here) don’t shy away from using political populism to further their careers, wealth, fame, and overall profile.

And it’s not just Massey, it would be unfair to pick on just him. Only a few months back, Hindi cinema’s blue-eyed boy Ranbir Kapoor spoke about his belief in sanatan dharma (Hinduism, as an eternal religion)—coincidentally around the time he’s shooting for an adaptation of Ramayan. Vicky Kaushal, who is about to star as Maratha warrior Sambhaji against ‘evil’ Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (played by Akshaye Khanna) in Laxman Utekar’s Chhava—has also signed Amar Kaushik’s Mahavatar. In the latter, he will be essaying the character of Parashuram—defined by the makers as the ‘eternal warrior of dharma’.

There might have been a saffron strain in Bollywood films for more than a decade, but it’s gone from the fringe to dominating the very core of the industry today. We might have unfairly empathised with Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Alia Bhatt among others, attending the Ram Janmabhoomi inauguration ceremony (because what choice do they really have?) Turns out they’ve really embraced the saffron era and are going to use it to make a fortune out of it.These are no longer simply aging stars (Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar), or desperate filmmakers (Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shetty) trying to game the system for an ‘easy’ superhit. It’s far more insidious.

Early in the year, Hrithik Roshan—an actor with one of the most self-conscious, manicured public images in the industry—delivered the most vile, communal speech of his career in Siddharth Anand’s Fighter (2024). When asked about it in an interview, he said it will be his burden to bear for the rest of his days. Kapoor and Kaushal, who seemed sensible and socially conscientious, have switched sides. Even leftist-hardliners like Piyush Mishra starred in a film called Jahangir National University (JNU)—where he also contributed poetry. Only recently he had publicly spoken about his disillusionment with the leftist ideology and one can now hear him sing jingles about his love for whiskey—probably a by-product of him discovering his love for wealth. Maybe we shouldn’t be too hard on Massey and his co-stars in his latest.

Bollywood is playing with fire, and what’s surprising is how clear-eyed it seems. It’s like even the most level-headed folks have given up on things changing in the immediate future. Hence, they’ll embrace and reflect society’s bigotry at large and try to turn this period into the most lucrative period of their careers. While promoting these films, they will do/say anything to defend these films and try to steer the conversation another way with needless whataboutery.

The plan seems to be—since nothing makes sense anymore, why should anyone (especially the flippant folks of Bollywood) be accountable. Therefore, words are no longer words—it’s just noise to get through a day, depending on who is sitting across from them. Even when you confront them about their choices, they’ll probably hear you, plead guilty and then continue to do whatever makes them the most money, or affords them most power by association.

What these celebrities are banking on is their moral flexibility will be forgotten on the day when things change. When it does, they’ll be candid and sincerely talk about how they felt pressured and cornered. At that time, we must remember how these folks consciously poisoned the roots of an entire generation; all for some money, fame and a few more years of longevity. And that they would do it again, if things took a turn again. No amount of on-screen magic will do anything to dilute their blatant dishonesty.