President Arif Alvi and British Muslim actor Riz Ahmed, both expressed their disappointment over Islamophobic content in the recent Bollywood production Sooryavanshi starring Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Ranveer Singh and Ajay Devgan.
Following the blockbuster success of the Bollywood film, which is currently making waves in Indian theatres, the film has received widespread criticism for being “yet another exercise in criminal Islamophobia that seeks to normalise Narendra Modi’s anti Muslim agenda.”
One of the biggest films that is making waves in Indian theatres, is yet another exercise in criminal Islamophobia that seeks to normalise Narendra Modi’s anti Muslim agenda. My latest on #Sooryavanashi that feeds into the Muslim as the terrorist narrativehttps://t.co/gntfJyPb2k
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) November 15, 2021
Filmmaker Rohit Shetty responded to claims of Sooryavanshi being Islamophobic, refuting the idea. Talking to The Quint, about criticism of Muslim villains in ‘Sooryavanshi’, Shetty said that (in many of his other films) “‘Singham’, ‘Singham Returns’, and ‘Simmba’, negative forces were Hindu. Why wasn’t that a problem?'”. He assured that there was no specific agenda behind making villains out of a certain group or religion.
Meanwhile both Arif Alvi as well as Riz Ahmed, shared an article published by The Washington Post, on their Twitter accounts, which goes on to explain why Sooryavanshi’s success at the box office should worry us all.
Alvi shared the article writing, “Dangerous for India. In this Islamophobic hatred, India will destroy itself. No less, I hope and pray that sane elements within Indian society prevent this.” He explained that this could be one of the first few steps towards erasing India’s multicultural and shared Hindu-Muslim history, which could go on to destroy India’s cultural memory and identity.
Dangerous for India. In this Islamophobic hatred India will destroy itself, no less. I hope & pray that sane elements within Indian society prevent this.
Milton Kandera wrote that ‘the first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory. Destroy its books, its culture, https://t.co/gcyX1sNnIE— Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) November 16, 2021
Meanwhile, Riz Ahmed also shared the article, making a disgusted face
— Riz Ahmed (@rizwanahmed) November 15, 2021
What are your opinions on stories, agendas and mindsets that incite Hindu-Muslim animosity on both sides of the border? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
