In a recent release by T-Series Music, a song titled, “Modi hai to Mumkin hai”, created by the Meet Bros has appeared on the scene, with more than a million views on YouTube. The song, an elaborate prostration to the prime minister’s achievements in the ‘development’ of the nation, features Bollywood stars like Rajkummar Rao, Varun Dhawan, Vikrant Massey and Arshad Warsi grooving to its rhythms. With less than a month to go before the Bihar Assembly elections, it is rather obvious why this moment has been chosen for the song’s release.
Though Hindi cinema and its songs may have always played a role in propping up certain regimes, there was always a sharp critique that also got its fair share within these narratives. For a “Dharti Mata Ki” from Mehboob’s superhit film Mother India (1957), a paean to Nehruvian socialism, there was a cultural counternarrative in “Jinhein naaz hai Hind par wo kahan hain” from Pyaasa, also made in the same year.
Nearly 70 years later, however, the diversity of thought and the intellectual capacity to be able to portray and sit with political differences that should have proliferated in cinema, has faltered instead.
Bollywood once questioned the power or at least tried to hold up a mirror to the society. Now, it amplifies one voice. The question is: Will Bollywood ever sing for the people of its country again or stick to singing hymns for the Supreme Leader?
00:00Will Bollywood ever sing for the people of its country again, or stick to singing hymns for the supreme leader?
00:12Did you know, Jawaharlal Nehru wept when Lata Mangeshkar sang Ay Mere Watan Ke Logo in 1963.
00:20During Republic Day, her voice mourned soldiers fallen in the Sino-Indian War.
00:25No name, no leader, no heroes.
00:28Cut to 2025.
00:33We have one name, one hero, all propaganda.
00:42In 2025, Modi Hai Tu Munkin Hai, a T-series track by Meed Bros, is less anthem and more hero worship.
00:49Why must Bollywood sing for the supreme leader and not the nation or its people?
00:53One leader as India's Salvation. With visuals of Ram Temple, Lunar Landing, suspiciously timed for Bihar's polls.
01:02Amid allegations of corruption, vote chori and imprisonment of students, activists and civil society members, this song tries to gloss over these allegations.
01:10Though Hindi cinema and its songs may have always played a role in propping up certain regimes, there was always a sharp critique that also got its fair share within these narratives.
01:21Apeksha Priyadarshini in her article notes that for a dharti maaki from Mehboob's super hit film Mother India, a pain to Nehruvian socialism, there was a cultural counter-narrative in
01:32Jinhe naaz hai hind par wo kahan hain, from Piyasa, also made in the same year.
01:38There was a time, 1988 to be exact, when the country woke up to Mile Sur Mera Tumhara, a melody composed by Pandit Beans and Jushi, which featured musicians and artists from across the states spotlighting unity and diversity in a multicultural India.
01:54This song was promoted by Doordarshan and INB ministry.
01:57When the country was fraught with communal tensions after the demolition of Babri Masjid, director Subhash Ghai rallied Aamir Khan, Jackie Shroff, Naseeruddin Shah along with Rajnikanth and Charanjeevi for Piyar Ki Ganga Bahin.
02:11The song was created to spread the message of brotherhood and now Bollywood kneels.
02:17During the COVID-19 crisis and the lockdown in 2020, as migrants died and the batons cracked, Muskurayega India peddled forced smiles.
02:26Akshay Kumar, framing one leader as hope while bearing despair.
02:31As the ambulance sirens filled the air across the country, the Bollywood gang in a half-baked tent tried to gloss over the police excesses, a crumbling health infrastructure and its impact on India's poor and disenfranchised.
02:47This worship is not just perverse, it's detrimental, erasing dissent and margins.
02:52Bollywood once questioned the power or at least tried to hold up a mirror to the society, now it amplifies one voice.
03:01The question is...
03:04The question is, Mark, why would you like me to go on for a special event?
03:06I'll see you next time.
03:06Alright, I'm fighting today but I'll see you next time.
03:07I will be waiting, I have a question for you.
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