5 Bollywood Movies That Were Blatantly Casteist And We Were, Somehow, Okay With It

This is an absurd level of casteism, Bollywood.

1. Dhadak (2018)

Dharma Productions / Via youtu.be

For a movie that was supposed to be a remake of Sairat, which portrays caste discrimination fully and unabashedly, Dhadak not only minimises it, but also equalises it with class-based discrimination. Other than Madhu's (Ishaan Khattar) father mentioning that they belong to an oppressed community a couple of times, caste is completely erased in the film.

2. Khoobsurat (2014)

Walt Disney Pictures India / Via youtu.be

In Khoobsurat, Manju (Kirron Kher) refers to Queen Nirmala Devi Rathore (Ratna Pathak Shah) as "Royal Kanjarkhana". Kanjarkhana literally translates to "a house full of Kanjar people". The Kanjar community is a nomadic tribe and deserve better than to be used as a slur, in this movie. 

Manju, in another scene, defends her daughter's "worthiness" by pointing out that she's a Rajput, just like the Royal family. To put it simply, according to this movie, Rajput = Good but Kanjar = Bad.

3. Padmaavat (2018)

Bhansali Productions / Via youtu.be

The film aggressively asserts Rajput pride and glorifies the caste. Does that not make Padmaavat toxic and casteist at its core? Has a lower caste community ever gotten this kind of space in Indian cinema?

4. Bajirao Mastani (2015)

Bhansali Productions / Via youtube.com

This film is all about the glorification of the Peshwa regime and erases the caste atrocities they committed by further erasing the history of how oppressed castes were treated under his regime.

5. Lagaan (2001)

Aamir Khan Productions

I'll keep it short. The only Dalit character is named "Kachra", as in "garbage".

h/t: Dhadak Is The Latest In A Long List Of Bollywood Films To Erase Caste

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