Page - 98 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 06/01

the actual marriage of neo-liberal economics and trademarked religion. There is, it would seem – and contrary to most dhārmik instincts – no struggle required at all. Capitalism has proffered its notorious choice with the ruse that such choices are basically unnecessary.48 Indian capitalism and the films it spawns sing a familiar tune only in new vernacular languages. The subtext is that one need not choose between social justice and material prosperity, God and lucre. One can drive to the temple in that Corolla, emerge dhoti-clad for pūjā (worship), later pick up some KFC after by- passing the required low-caste security guard, and finally return home in time for a Yash Raj film on Sony TV. Rani Mukherjee may wear miniskirts, but she can still sing a heartfelt bhajan (hymn) to an acceptable deity. Such is the complicity of upper-mid- dle class Bollywood elites who continually deny their own responsibility in the new economic dispensation while hiding behind stock disclaimers about what is desired by the Indian public. Yet one must wonder whether Indian audiences really need a repetition of Vande Mātaram, the favorite ditty of the Hindu nationalist Vishva Hindu Parishad, when a character ventures to the exotic West (Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham (Sometimes Hap- py, Sometimes Sad, Karan Johar, IN 2001))? Are Indians so in danger of forgetting their cultural moorings that they require a reminder when life in the West looks just a bit too attractive, too transgressive? And speaking of contradictions, when Hrithik Roshan dances his way through London landmarks with blonde, high-skirted Euro- pean sex objects in tow in Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham or when Amitabh Bacchan is thanked for his sexual prowess by a Western prostitute in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, what is being accomplished and for whom exactly? In Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Pardes or in Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham, British or American Indians voice their dis- content with their adopted country as if to assuage Indian audiences that they need not envy these Non-Resident Indians. But why do Indian audiences require assur- ances that British or American Indians pine to return to the land of their forebears? What psychosocial fears lurk behind such pandering? It is often argued by the Hindi-film industry that it is simply giving Indian viewers what they want. In fact, Indian audiences are more sophisticated than the purvey- ors of popular cinema as it exists in the early 21st century. The masses that threw out the BJP-led coalition in 2004 and then returned that BJP a decade later are also the children of South Asians who have long used, shaped, disseminated, and ar- 48 Take, for example, the rise of Ramdev, the leader of multibillion-dollar Patanjali Ayurveda Ltd. The hirsute yogi is the ubiquitous spokesperson for a company that sells shampoo, tea tree oil, and at least 500 other Ayurvedic products. You can find Ramdev leading thousands for national yoga day with Prime Minister Modi, or filing a report against a political leader for having the temerity to link Hinduism with violence, or firing members of his company striking for payment of the minimum wage. Dharma and the Religious Other in Hindi Popular Cinema | 97www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/1, 73–102