Bollywood plays an important supporting role in Indian elections

As the Largest electorate in history goes to polls in India From April 19 to June 1, 2024, political parties seek to influence voters' decisions through cinema.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, seeking a third term under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has rolled out the cinema, more than othersto disseminate the party's objectives and ideas.

The BJP claims India as a Hindu nation. The Modi government openly supports films that promote the ideology of the BJP through provide tax relief and remove regulatory restrictionsespecially when these films are strategically timed to hit theaters before the election. Swatantrya Veer Savarkara biopic about a staunch advocate of a purely Hindu nation, was released weeks before voting began for the 2024 elections.

The Indian entertainment film industry is a complex giant with an output of around 1,500 outings per year and a fan base that extends across the globe. Fabulously choreographed dance routines, catchy lyrics, memorable dialogues and historical and religious imagery make it a preferred means of communication even for political parties.

The use of popular Indian cinema for political purposes has a long history that which predates the independence of India. As an art historianI documented how cinematic imagery was used to produce a heroic aura around political figures in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu in my 2009 book. Celluloid Deities: The Visual Culture of Cinema and Politics in South India.

The connection between cinema and politics has made it the main vehicle for the long careers of many charismatic politicians, some being film screenwriters and producers, others leading actors and actresses. Since the 1980s, it has also sparked a national trend of using cinematic means to capture voters' attention.

Mobilizing moviegoers for election campaigns

Watching movies in theaters is an eventful and enjoyable experience that attracts a mass audience. As a sociologist Lakshmi Srinivas described in his 2016 book Full house, the release of highly anticipated blockbusters is akin to a festival. Most striking is the enthusiasm of the audience as they recite the dialogues, dance to the lyrics and salute the stars as they appear on the screen.

In the Indian context, the impact of cinemas extends from the cinema hall to the street in the form of advertisements, fashion and film music that dominate public spaces. Art historian Shalini Kakar maintains that the spectacle of cinema elicits passionate responses to watch masses that closely resemble religious emotions. She discusses case studies of movie buffs who even worship their favorite celebrities as deities by creating temples to their honor in residential and commercial spaces. These fans organize religious ceremonies and public festivities for their favorite stars.

But more often than not, fans are part of a large and noisy collective. Media theorist SV Srinivas I found this movie fans can make or break stars' careers and lives. If a star decides to enter politics, these movie fans can become active participants in the star's political campaigns. But if the star does something that fans disapprove of, they will easily boycott his films and even destroy his career.

An alignment of cinema and politics

The Tamil Nadu film industry, more than any other in India, has evolved in close collaboration with political and social developments in the region since the 1940s. The ideals of Tamil nationalism, a political movement that changed the course of history in Tamil Nadu, have been powerfully communicated through entertainment films. Often, the personalities associated with these films were physically present alongside politicians during party meetings.

In my research, I found that the alignment of cinema and politics in Tamil Nadu was facilitated by the use of identical advertising mediums. Political parties regularly ask advertisers to produce star images politicians. One of the favored advertising mediums of the film industry and party members was the hand-painted plywood cutout. These full-length portraits, measuring between 20 and 100 feet in height, featured charismatic leaders of Tamil nationalist parties such as Mr. Karunanidhia prolific and influential screenwriter, and J. Jayalalithaaa famous movie star turned politician.

Although these political portraits were meant to be realistic rather than melodramatic, the style and scale of these portraits resembled the image of a movie star. They thus contributed to transferring the power of movie star image like the leader.

I have argued that these advertisements played an important role in visualizing and shaping the identity politics of Tamil nationalism.

The audience for these images is counted in the millions. When these brightly colored portraits of movie stars and political leaders appeared side by side in public space, they rose above the horizon like celestial beings. Often the images became the center of adulation. They were feted and garlanded, people danced, burst cookies, clapped and gathered around these images and posed next to them for photos.

Charismatic politicians of the Tamil nationalist movement set the trend to combine the brilliance of the star's image, the power of the political portrait and the divine aura of icons in their advertising.

The role of cinemas in a politics of division

Under Modis' leadership, three themes emerge in a cluster of films which promote the objectives and policies of the BJP and are endorsed by the party: claiming credit for social initiatives, instilling Hindu nationalist beliefs in society and increasing tensions between the Hindu majority and Muslim minority communities.

For example, a film released in 2017, Toilets: Ek Prem ki Katha, or Toilets: a love story, tells the story of a couple whose marriage begins to fall apart due to lack of toilets at home. At the start of the film, which is an entertaining musical melodrama, viewers are informed that while Mahatma Gandhi fought for a clean environment, it is Modi who makes this dream a reality by budgeting for the construction of toilets throughout the country.

Another series of films in the biopic genre presents the historical legacy of right-wing Hindu nationalist organizations and their leaders. Prime Minister Narendra Modiwhich reminded voters that prime ministers were rising out of poverty, was due to be released just before the 2019 elections. But the Election Commission of India, an independent body charged with ensuring free and fair elections, ordered that the film could only be released after the elections.

A third, more troubling genre is politically polarizing films. Based on real events with strong ethnic connotations in which communities of Hindus and Muslims clashed, the scripts of these films dramatize highly biased narratives in which Hindus are seen as the victims while Muslims are the evil authors.

Widely viewed examples of this genre include Kashmir Files, which shows the mass exodus of Hindus from the northern Indian state of Kashmir in the early 1990s, when they were the target of a pro-Pakistan armed uprising by Kashmiri Muslims. The film, which demonizes Muslims and shows them committing extremely barbaric and cruel acts, is one of them. publicly approved by the Prime Minister himself.

The film producers and distributors I interviewed for my research were unanimous that it was impossible to accurately predict whether a film would do well at the box office, just like election results are.

However, if the BJP had its way, it would be fair to conclude that part of the hat trick was a clever endorsement of cinema as a party propaganda vehicle.