REPRESENTATION OF SIKH CHARACTER IN BOLLYWOOD MOVIES:A STUDY ON SELECTIVE BOLLYWOOD MOVIES

Abstract

Sikhs have been ordinarily spoken to in mainstream Hindi film either as courageous warriors or as classless rustics. In the patriot message in which the envisioned was an urban North Indian, Hindu male, Sikh characters were uprooted and made to give entertainment. Bollywood stars have donned the turban to turn Sikh cool, Sikhs view the representation of the community in Bollywood as demeaning and have attempted to revive the Punjabi film industry as an attempt at authentic self-representation. But with the passage of time the Bollywood makers experimented with the role and images of Sikh character. Sunny Deol's starrer movie Border and Gadar led a foundation of Sikh identity and real image of Sikh community and open the doors for others. This paper examines representation of Sikhs in new Bollywood films to inquire if the romanticization of Sikhs as representing rustic authenticity is a clever marketing tactic used by the Bollywood.