Bollywood\u2019s Muslim stereotype became the hot topic after clips from Neflix India\u2019s newest film Mission Majnu started circulating on social media. The age old visual markers were ticked off \u2014 a man with kohl rimmed eyes who spits adaabs in every sentence with the backdrop of Pakistan manufacturing nuclear weapons. Actor Sanam Saeed spoke to Brut India about this kind of stereotyping and Bollywood\u2019s ban on Pakistani artists, saying she doesn\u2019t get why politics needs to penetrate cultural collaboration.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Zindagi Gulzar Hai<\/em>\u00a0actor shared her favourite Bollywood film \u2014\u00a0Queen<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 terming the relatability factor as the reason. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a spectacle,\u201d she said, as the conversation shifted to the way Muslims are often captured through the Bollywood lens.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, we always make fun of how Muslims are portrayed in Indian films with the\u00a0kajol<\/em>\u00a0[kohl],\u00a0namaz ki topi<\/em>\u00a0[prayer cap] and the green in the background somewhere to show that this is a Muslim person or Muslim community. It gets too political, they\u2019ve always been highlighted as the enemy.\u201d She added that she doesn\u2019t recall seeing any projects where the two nations are friends and are collaborating together. She believes this is far from reality, \u201cwhere collaborations are happening at every level\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n