Actors, Filmmakers, Writers on Bollywood’s Silence and Political Apathy

Actors, filmmakers, writers on Bollywood's role and responsibility in contemporary Indian politics

Swara Bhasker, Varun Grover, Anubhav Sinha, Renuka Shahane, and Neeraj Ghaywan at The Quint’s Films & Politics Roundtable.

(Photo Courtesy: The Quint)

As questions are being raised on Bollywood's studied silence over Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan's controversial arrest by the Narcotics Control Bureau, let's rewind to what Swara Bhasker, Varun Grover, Anubhav Sinha, Renuka Shahane, and Neeraj Ghaywan had to say to The Quint on Bollywood's role in contemporary Indian politics in December 2019.

At a time when massive protests against CAA and NRC swept the country the previous year, we deliberated upon the question of whether film industry professionals have a responsibility to speak up at times of political unrest.

The Quint’s Films & Politics Roundtable discussed if the pressure and expectations on Bollywood is an unfair burden or an active responsibility, the fear of backlash, and the silence from the industry on serious issues.

Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha called the pressure and acknowledged that the film industry has not spoken up when it needed to, while also addressing the sanitised tweets made by some celebrities.

Talking about tweets, he said “my anger wasn’t directed towards Aamir, Shah Rukh, and Salman at all. I don’t think those three can afford to speak.

"But you have seen what happened to Shah Rukh when he merely used a word like “intolerance”. Or to Aamir when he was telling a benign story about his wife. You are suddenly identified by your religion and belief. I’m not saying it’s impossible to speak up, but I fully understand why they can’t, or maybe they shouldn’t."

Anubhav Sinha, Filmmaker

Swara Bhasker expressed that she experienced rare solidarity during the CAA protests. However, in all other instances, she had faced severe backlash.

“In the past when I was trolled for the Kathua placard campaign—that was a very lonely experience. Speaking out is a choice you make and you live with the consequences of that. Not speaking out is also a choice you make. We assume the people not speaking out are easy with themselves. Maybe they're not. Maybe they are bothered by their own silence.”

Swara Bhasker, Actor

Actor and filmmaker Renuka Shahane added, "I think all of us have spoken up at various times when we have felt very strongly about certain things. We can't feel strongly each and every time something happens, which is what is expected. But that doesn't mean your heart is not in the right place.”

Varun Grover chimed in by explaining that everybody should have the right to choose to voice their opinion or not. “Everyone forms an opinion when they're hearing about something everywhere. After that, those who speak out are doing so because they feel they cannot stay silent. Those who are not are doing so because they don't feel the need to. I think that is absolutely fine", he elaborated.

Filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan expressed that he is on the fence about the subject. He pointed out that the onus is specially placed on Bollywood, while similar expectations are not directed towards the dot-com or the IT biggies with millions of followers.

"When we tweet or put out an opinion, you are automatically taking in the 400 people associated with a single film. The wins or most likely the losses are distributed among those people as well."

Neeraj Ghaywan, Filmmaker

“I feel rather ashamed that in this country where Deepika Padukone—one of the most successful stars—has a bounty on her head being talked about on national television. How is it even allowed?”, Ghaywan added.

Of course, your silence is yours. I think it should be. You’re answerable to a lot of people and which is what Bollywood goes through. I don’t think that pressure should be a stipulation. Because then you’re asked to speak up at every point. It is my prerogative to speak up or not”, the filmmaker concluded.

You can watch the full video here: