Bollywood and India elections: When reel and real cross paths - BBC News

Critics says a slew of new films points to an emerging genre that aligns with the ruling BJP’s ideology.

16 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIndia Election 2024Image caption, Three recent films - The Kerala Story, Veer Savarkar and Article 370 - were made on hot-button topicsBy Zoya Mateen and Meryl SebastianBBC News, Delhi"All of Kashmir was, is and will remain a part of India," says actor Kiran Karmarkar in a recent hit film on the government's 2019 decision to revoke Indian-administered Kashmir's autonomy.

A stocky man dressed in a starched white kurta, Karmarkar looks the part as Indian Home Minister Amit Shah in Article 370 - the film named after the constitutional provision that conferred special privileges on the Himalayan region, which is claimed by both India and Pakistan.

The scene is a real-to-reel depiction of Mr Shah's speech in the parliament moments after his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government announced it was doing away with the law.

When the film released in February, some critics called it "thinly veiled" propaganda which "justified many questionable actions" of the government.

But the film was endorsed by top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-68553175

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