Boycott Bollywood And PM Modi's Advice To BJP Bandwagon: A Look At Boycott Trends

While addressing the second day of the BJP's National Executive meeting in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday gave stern remarks to the party leaders and workers to not indulge in unnecessary remarks on irrelevant issues such as movies. Modi added that doing so pushes the party's development agenda to the back burner.

PM Modi's Warning To BJP Bandwagon

Modi's warning to the party bandwagon against making "unnecessary comments on irrelevant subjects like movies", that has been received loud and clear, indicated senior BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh minister Narottam Mishra, who has also been one of the loudest critics of the Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika Padukone starrer upcoming Pathaan.

When enquired about reports that the Prime Minister had apparently remarked that a minister keeps commenting on films. Mr Mishra said no name was taken. "His every word and every sentence is important to us. That's why all the workers have brought inspiration from there. Our conduct and behaviour have been filled with their guidance and energy, and will continue to be filled," he told the media.

In the last few years, the country has witnessed a soar in boycott calls against various movies, web series, and songs by a section of the right-wing outfits. The recent most being Pathaan which was attacked after the release of its song Besharam Rang.

Objecting to the orange bikini sported by Deepika Padukone in the video song, critics contended that the song "hurts religious sentiments". Multiple petitions were filed in court and in one, the petitioner demanded that a police case be filed against the lead actors of the film.   

That the song reflects a "dirty mindset," Narottam Mishra had even called the title "objectionable". "Also, the way the colours saffron and green have been used in the costumes is objectionable. Changes need to be made, failing which we will take a call on whether the film should be screened in Madhya Pradesh," said the Madhya Pradesh Home Minister.

A look at B'wood Boycott calls

A number of big-budget movies as well as web series were charged with boycott calls, sometimes over the star casts, other times because of the treatment of certain subjects and issues.

1. Laal Singh Chaddha: The Kareena Kapoor, Amir Khan starrer was an adaptation of Tom Hanks' much-applauded Hollywood flick Forrest Gump. The 2022 release suffered due to boycott calls, poor reviews as well as the cancellation of many shows on the first day. The film addressed multiple political issues like the killing of former Indian PM Indira Gandhi, Operation Blue Star and the Babri Masjid demolition which rubbed the right-wing fanatics in the wrong place. It was later released on Netflix and garnered much love from the OTT audience.

2. Brahmastra: The Ayan Mukherji directorial with an ensemble star cast was one of the most awaited and hyped movies of 2022. The big-budget fantasy adventure drew boycott calls as soon as the movie trailer dropped in. A shot showed Ranbir Kapoor apparently entering a temple with his shoes on drew backlash on social media. Both Ranbir and Alia Bhatt were trolled and vilified foer the movie. Upon its release though, the movie became one of the highest grosser of the year.

3. Liger: 'Boycott Liger' started to trend on social media shortly after the film's lead star Vijay Deverakonda vocally exhibited support for Amir Khan's Laal Singh Chaddha. Falling victim to the boycott trend, also starring Ananya Pandey, the film crashed massively at the box office. As per an India Today report, filmmaker Ram Gopal Verma remarked that Karan Johar's association with the project also became leading cause for the boycott, other than Deverakonda's aggressive nature.

4. Raksha Bandhan: Despite starring Akshay Kumar in the lead role, the film flopped at the box office after 'Boycott Raksha Bandhan' started to trend on social media. Also starring Bhumi Pednekar, Sahejmeen Kaur, and others in lead roles, the film was accused of plagiarism and copying a Pakistani movie. Boycott trends soared after the film's writer Kanika Dhillon's old tweets surfaced online where she was vocal about gau mutra, hijab ban and communal lynching.

5. Sadak 2: The sequel to Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt starrer 1991 box office hit Sadak, Sadak 2 featured Sanjay Dutt, Alia Bhatt, and Aditya Roy Kapur. The movie's trailer dropped in August 2020 on YouTube soon becoming the second most disliked video on the platform. The movie was surrounded by the much-debated nepotism controversy.

6. Vikram Vedha: Starring Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan, the Hindi remake of a Tamil movie by the same name starring Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathy suffered boycott calls. The 2022 release was compared with the original movie, while many fans also urged cinephiles to watch Ponniyin Selvan which was released around the same time.

7. Dobara: The Anurag Kashyap directorial starring Tapsee Pannu was doomed to boycott trend as the duo have been vocal in expressing their displeasure over the growing intolerance, and government policies as well as taking jibes at the right-wing IT cells. Speaking to India Today for the movie promotions, Taapsee Pannu said, “Please everyone boycott our film, Dobaaraa. I want to be in the same league as Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha and Akshay Kumar’s Raksha Bandhan. I feel left out.” Pannu also added that those who do not go to watch movies in the theatres' spearhead boycott trends on Twitter.

8. Lipstick Under My Burkha: Released in 2016 with Ratna Pathak Shah, Konkona Sen Sharma, and Vikrant Massey among others in poignant roles, the film explored the themes of sexual and social liberation of women. It faced a boycott from the All India  Muslim Tehwar Committee which had objected to the portrayal of  Muslim women and cited that the movie hurt religious sentiments. The committee even called for legal action against the film. Also a sharp commentary on patriarchy, the film was rejected by conservative and right-wing outfits alike.

9. Padmaava: The 2018 Sanjay Leela Bhansali period drama starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in the lead was embroiled in several controversies both before and after its release. The film set was attacked by religious extremist groups and faced vandalisation during promotions. While the movie was a hit at the box office, BJP's Haryana Chief Media Coordinator Suraj Pal Amu announced a Rs 10 crore bounty for anyone beheading Deepika Padukone and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

10. Shamshera: While Shamshera actor Ranbir Kapoor told media that the movie flopped due to insufficient and unsatisfactory content, also starring Vaani Kapoor, the movie was accused of hurting Hindu sentiments. Boycott Shamshera also trended on Twitter and other social media platforms for showing the villain, played by Dutt sporting a tilak on his forehead. The film was charged by Hindu groups for allegedly villainizing Hindus.

11. Bonus: Not only mainstream Hollywood but web series like Paatal Lok and Leila were also attacked by social media users for their alleged anti-Hindu rhetoric. The Anushka Sharma-produced Paatal Lok streamed on Amazon Prime was charged for promoting Hinduphobic sentiments while Twitter users demanded for a ban on the series. The crime-thriller series however was a smashing hit with Hathoda Tyagi becoming a household name for the show viewers.

The Boycott Trend And New Hopes

The 'Boycott Bollywood' hashtag first began trending in the year 2020 following the demise of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. It shortly after escalated into a political controversy, nepotism debate, and witch-hunting of celebrities. Vicious social media campaigns around certain movies were carefully orchestrated, spawning lakhs of tweets.

News Laundry identified a number of "low-stooping politicians" who constantly divulged and encouraged boycott calls like VHP’s Sadhvi Prachi, BJP leaders like Sadhvi Pragya, Dinesh Pratap Singh, Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, and Vaishali Poddar, who also engaged with the hashtag. Certain “influencers” like  Vivek Agnihotri, Anand Ranganathan, Iskcon spokesperson Radharamn Das, businessman Arun Pudur and venture capitalist Asha Motwani were also among those who offered “support for the cause”.

Filmmaker Kallol Mukherjee told Outlook that boycott trends have not only incurred the Hindi film industry massive losses but might have also affected government revenues. "Both the state and Centre benefit from revenues generated by movies. PM Narendra Modi's recent remarks have lit a torch of hope for filmmakers and actors who are now fearful of releasing big-budget movies on the big screen", Mukherjee said adding that maybe the remarks will also change the ongoing boycott trend and how audiences perceive cinematic liberty.