Encyclopedia of Islam

cinema

  

147  J

---

international repute). Thus, Muslims maintained 

a strong creative presence in postpartition Indian 

cinema. The late Shahir Ludhianvi continues to be 

the most influential lyricist, and the late Moham-

med Rafi remains, arguably, the most beloved 

male “playback singer.”

Two major genres have focused primarily on 

Muslim life and culture: the Muslim “socials,” 

which range from the reformist Elaan (1947) 

to the swooningly romantic Chaudvin ka Chand

(1960); and spectacular historicals, which look 

back nostalgically to a glorious Islamic past (the 

caliphate, as in Judgment of Allah [1935]; the 

Delhi Sultanate, as in Razia Sultan [1983]; and 

the Mughal Empire, as in Mughal e Azam [1960]). 

In general, though, Muslim characters occupy 

peripheral roles in mainstream Bombay films: 

as sidekicks, smugglers, pimps, courtesans, and 

frequently blind fakirs, or minstrels. Of course, 

one can locate a few significant exceptions to this 

cinematic marginalization, such as Coolie (1983), 

starring the great Amitabh Bachchan.

In the late 1980s, as a resurgent right-wing 

nationalism centered on hindutva, or an essential 

Hinduness, gathered force, it became impera-

tive for a relatively new group of filmmakers 

to explore the place of the mussalman within 

Indian society and polity. Saeed Mirza and Khaled 

Mohammed, for instance, addressed the perplex-

ing question of Muslim-Indian identity in the 

aftermath of the destruction of the Babri mosque 

in December 1992 by the votaries of hindutva and 

the subsequent riots in Bombay in lyrical yet inci-

sive films such as Naseem (1995) and Fiza (2000). 

Meanwhile, the community continues to be an 

indispensable and enigmatic presence in Bombay 

cinema. The three most popular actors of the past 

decade—Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Amir 

Khan—happen to be Muslims.

MuSlIMS IN brITISh AND  

AMErICAN CINEMA

Arabs and Muslims have been represented in 

American and British films since the days of the 

silent movies. Although they have been stereo-

typed as villains, they have also been depicted 

as romantic leads (The Sheik [1921]), a

rabian

n

ights

 heroes (The Thief of Baghdad [1924 and 

1940], The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad [1958], and 

Aladdin [1992]), victims of prejudice or senseless 

warfare (A Passage to India [1984], Three Kings

[1999]), and harem princesses and bellydanc-

ers (Lost in a Harem, 1944). They have appeared 

as important secondary characters in adventure 

films such as The Crusades (1935), Lawrence of 

Arabia (1961), and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

(1991). The depictions of Arabs and Muslims in 

these films often conform to romantic Western 

stereotypes about peoples of the Orient that 

began in the 19th century. In the late 1970s and 

1980s, as the Middle East became a major focal 

point of American interests and suffered several 

intense regional wars, Arabs and Muslims began 

to be increasingly dehumanized and portrayed 

as terrorists, kidnappers, and greedy and cor-

rupt 

oil

 shaykhs. This is evident in such films as 

Protocol (1984), Delta Force (1986), Not without 

My Daughter (1990), Navy SEALs (1990), and 

True Lies (1994). However, there have also been 

a few English-language international films that 

present more favorable views of Arabs and Mus-

lims, such as The Message (1976), an account 

of the life of Muhammad, and Lion of the Desert

(1981), about the Libyan resistance to Italian 

occupation during the 1930s. These were both 

produced by Moustapha Akkad (d. 2005), a Syr-

ian filmmaker.

See also h

indUism

 

and

 i

slam

; o

rientalism

.

Juan E. Campo, Firoozeh Papan-Matin (Iranian 

cinema), Garay Menicucci (Arab cinema), 

Bhaskar Sarkar (Indian cinema)