Page - 96 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 06/01

in namāz facing Mecca within the colonnaded sandstone temple, arms stretched in prayerful supplication as his erstwhile partner lies at death’s door (fig 5). One might interpret this frame as evidence of tolerant Hindu pluralism – and maybe it is. But one could also argue that a more detailed inspection reveals something else more troubling, now made clearer by the passage of time, in light of Hindutva. For there, to Gafur’s left, is an ancient carving of Lord Śiva in his yogic posture, silent witness to the man’s prayers. Although the film was released in the 1960s, perhaps this im- age provides an apt metaphor for a Hindu vision of contemporary India. As tolerant as it may be, the religious Other always dwells under the Hindu gaze, resting on a Hindu foundation, by the grace and beneficence of the Hindu. This more troubling interpretation cannot be separated from later filmic rep- resentations now given Hindu nationalist ascendance. If love is the dharma as Raju claimed, it is here one of the more conditional varieties, wherein the minority must never forget that they live by the beneficence of the majority. It is the kind of major- itarian love that puts the song Vande Mātaram (“Hail, Mother!”) in a Muslim wom- an’s mouth – as in Fanaa – assuring the audience that she is the acceptable, safe kind of Muslim – even though everyone knows of Indian Muslim discomfort with of- Fig. 5: Anwar Hussain plays the character Gafur, who does namāz under Shiva’s gaze, Guide (Vijay Anand, IN 1965), 02:42:12. Dharma and the Religious Other in Hindi Popular Cinema | 95www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/1, 73–102