Over the last century, we made some extraordinary progress in storytelling. From shooting in complete darkness to creating environments and characters from nothing more than pixels, the boundaries are being pushed. Movies are even made on phones. However, while film-making has taken huge strides, we are still held back by a number of stereotypes.
Here’s a list of some of the most flawed representations we’ve come to accept as the norm:
Depiction of Punjabis
From DDLJ and Jab We Met to 2 States and Baar Baar Dekho, the cookie-cutter representation of Punjabis has stayed consistent through the years – they eat, they drink, they dance and they party and, most importantly, they have a pretty good fortune.
Police constable names are either ‘Tambe’ or ‘Shinde’
Just pick any random Bollywood movie, and you’ll find a police constable with the surname ‘Shinde’ or ‘Tambe’.
Casual racism
This is the most uncool stereotype we’ve been witnessing. Nepal, China, and Japan have different cultures and are not the same. Let’s put it straight – they don’t look alike and have different features.
The lead character’s best friend is from the Muslim community
Remember, Aparshakti Khurana as Abbas Sheikh, Guddu’s best friend in Luka Chuppi, and as Fahim Abdul Rizvi, Chintu’s best in Pati Patni Aur Woh? Most recently, in Mimi, the lead’s best friend was Shama played by Sai Tamhankar.
People from Goa always wear floral shirts
Goans in movies are dressed in floral shirts and drink beer round the clock, as if they don’t really have any job and spend their days only on beaches.
Criminals wearing a vest with long hair
Have you ever noticed that criminals usually have long and curly hair? Not to miss, they always wear vests. Why? Is that a dress code?
Chubby people are hopeless romantics
But… They can’t have any romantic prospects unless they lose weight and turn hot.
Doctors are just a call away and everyone in the hospital are surgeons. Really?
We don’t find doctors visiting our homes for small issues and then they’ll just give the patient some ‘neend ki davai’.
Businessmen have daughters with no ambitions
In Student Of The Year, Shanaya Singhania (Alia Bhatt) is the daughter of a rich stepfather who falls in love with Abhimanyu (Sidharth Malhotra), an orphan and a scholarship student, or in Gehraiyaan, Tia has no job but to take care of her boyfriend.
Overweight people used as comic relief
Why? Be it Aamir Khan’s Dil to Shah Rukh Khan’s Kal Ho Na Ho, we’ve always seen overweight women being used as comic relief.
Muslims men wear topi and tabeez
Another stereotype that’s not true is that all Muslim men wear topi and tabeez.
These stereotypes might seem funny to some but are problematic in many ways. It’s time we change these representations. What are other such stereotypes you have noticed? Let us know in the comment section below.
(Featured Image Credits: Instagram)
