film genre
A film genre is a stylistic or thematic category for motion pictures based on similarities either in the narrative elements, aesthetic approach, or the emotional response to the film.
Drawing heavily from the theories of literary-genre cri ...
in
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
that portrays Islamic culture in India. It flourished in the 1950s and 1960s and lasted till the early 1980s. Muslim socials are divided into two categories: "classic Muslim socials" that explore
i culture and focus on upper class or elite Muslim families, and "new wave Muslim socials" that portray middle class Muslim families who experience economic problems, discrimination and communal violence. Muslim socials often include
ghazal
The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
s,
qawwali
Qawwali (Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), (Gurmukhi); Urdu: (Nasta'liq); Hindi: क़व्वाली (Devanagari); Bengali: কাওয়ালি ( Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing, originating from the Indian subcontine ...
s, Urdu poetry and expressions, and musical forms commonly associated with
Islamic culture
Islamic culture and Muslim culture refer to cultural practices which are common to historically Islamic people. The early forms of Muslim culture, from the Rashidun Caliphate to the early Umayyad period and the early Abbasid period, were pre ...
. However, lately the label has also been criticized for cultural ghettoization of minority cinema. Director
M.S. Sathyu
Mysore Shrinivas Sathyu ( kn, ಮೈಸೂರು ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ ಸತ್ಯು) (born 6 July 1930) is a leading film director, stage designer and art director from India. He is best known for his directorial ''Garm Hava'' (1973), w ...
who made ''
Garam Hava
''Garm Hava'' (translation: Hot Winds or Scorching Winds) is a 1973 Indian drama film directed by M. S. Sathyu, with Balraj Sahni as the lead. It was written by Kaifi Azmi and Shama Zaidi, based on an unpublished short story by noted Urdu write ...
'' (1973), called it "a skewed way to look at cinema. When there is no Hindu social or Christian social, how can there be a Muslim social".
History
The earliest Muslim socials were made in the 1930s after the advent of
sound
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...
and continued to be popular until the 1980s. The genre's popularity was partly due to the financial success of
Mehboob Khan
Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907 at filmreference.com. – 28 ...
's '' Najma'' (1943), which became the blueprint for Muslim socials that followed, which too delved on social issues around Muslim families, no matter what the setting, giving the genre its title.
Based on the life of
Mughal Emperor
The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled ...
,
Jahangir
Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti.
Ea ...
Sohrab Modi
Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include '' Khoon Ka Khoon'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', '' Sikandar'', ''Pukar'', ''Prithvi V ...
, known for his historicals, is the first notable film in this genre. Soon Hindi cinema based in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
became the hub for Muslim socials, and it employed a large number of Muslim producers, director, screenwriters, music directors, lyricists and actors, most notably
Mehboob Khan
Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907 at filmreference.com. – 28 ...
Kamal Amrohi
Syed Amir Haider Kamal Naqvi (17 January 1918 – 11 February 1993), popularly known as Kamal Amrohi, was an Indian film director and screenwriter. He was also an Urdu and Hindi poet.
His Hindi films include '' Mahal'' (1949), '' Pakeezah'' ...
,
Abrar Alvi
Abrar Alvi (1 July 1927 – 18 November 2009) was an Indian film writer, director and actor. Most of his notable work was done in the 1950s and 1960s with Guru Dutt. He wrote some of the most respected works of Indian cinema, including ''Sahib ...
Sahir Ludhianvi
Abdul Hayee (8 March 1921 – 25 October 1980), popularly known by his pen name ( takhallus) Sahir Ludhianvi, was an Indian poet and film song lyricist who wrote primarily in Urdu in addition to Hindi.
His work influenced Indian cinema, i ...
,
Majrooh Sultanpuri
Asrar ul Hassan Khan (1 October 1919 − 24 May 2000), better known as Majrooh Sultanpuri, was an Indian Urdu poet and lyricist in India's Hindi language film industry. He wrote Hindustani lyrics for numerous Hindi film soundtracks.
He was ...
Mohammed Rafi
Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...
,
Talat Mahmood
Talat Mahmood (24 February 1924 – 9 May 1998) was an Indian playback singer who is considered one of the popular male Indian film song and ghazal singers. Although he tried his luck as a film actor, he did not succeed a great deal in act ...
,
Shamshad Begum
Shamshad Begum (Hindi: शमशाद बेगम, IAST: ''Śamśād Bēgam''; 14 April 1919 – 23 April 2013) was an Indian singer who was one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry. Notable for her distinctive voice and r ...
. Numerous films were made about the Mughals, including ''
Humayun
Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Norther ...
'' (1945) by
Mehboob Khan
Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907 at filmreference.com. – 28 ...
Abdul Rashid Kardar
Abdur Rashid Kardar (1904–1989) was an Indian film actor, director and producer. He is credited with establishing the film industry in the Bhati Gate locality of Lahore, British India (now in Pakistan).Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...
'' (1963) by M. Sadiq, and '' Jahan Ara'' (1964), however the pinnacle of this royalty theme was '' Mughal-e-Azam'' (1960) by K. Asif, about
Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, H ...
, his son Prince Salim (later known as Jahangir), and the courtesan Anarkali, who itself became the theme of other films, like '' Anarkali'' (1953).Ruthven, 189 Another popular theme of the period was centered on the nawabi culture, especially the culture of Awadh, present day
Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divisio ...
, it produced films marked by elaborate production, music and highlighting the sophistication of language and lifestyle, like '' Mirza Ghalib'' (1954), '' Chaudhvin Ka Chand'' (1960), ''
Mere Mehboob
''Mere Mehboob'' ("My Lover") is a 1963 Indian film directed by Harnam Singh Rawail and starring Ashok Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Sadhana, Nimmi, Pran, Johnny Walker and Ameeta. The film became a blockbuster and took the number one position at ...
Kamal Amrohi
Syed Amir Haider Kamal Naqvi (17 January 1918 – 11 February 1993), popularly known as Kamal Amrohi, was an Indian film director and screenwriter. He was also an Urdu and Hindi poet.
His Hindi films include '' Mahal'' (1949), '' Pakeezah'' ...
, starring Meena Kumari, which spent over a decade in making.Gulzar, p. 241
Thereafter the films in this genre shifted from regal that of fading Nawabi culture - '' Bahu Begum'' (1967). After experiencing its height in the 1970s, the genre descended to being a mere stereotypical and kitschy representation complete a ''kotha'' of a courtesan or a nawab stricken with poverty. One exception was '' Umrao Jaan'' (1981) directed by Muzaffar Ali based on 1905 historical novel '' Umrao Jaan Ada'' by Mirza Hadi Ruswa.
Musical romances were also prepared in this genre which included
H. S. Rawail
Harnam Singh Rawail (21 August 1921 – 17 September 2004), often credited as H. S. Rawail, was an Indian filmmaker. He debuted as a director with the 1940 Bollywood film '' Dorangia Daku'' and is best known for romantic films like ''Mere ...
's ''Mere Mehboob'' (1963), '' Mehboob Ki Mehndi'' (1971) and '' Laila Majnu'' (1976). More over reflecting on the changing times, themes shifted regal to middle class
North India
North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Centr ...
n Muslims, and from mainstream Bollywood to parallel cinema or the new wave cinema, starting with '' Dastak'' (1970), '' Garm Hava'' (1973), '' Bazaar'' (1982) and '' Nikaah'' (1982). Besides that Ali made '' Anjuman'' (1986), and
Saeed Akhtar Mirza
Saeed Akhtar Mirza (born 30 June 1943) is an Indian screenwriter and director in Hindi films and television. He is the maker of notable parallel films such as '' Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho!'' (1984), '' Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai'' (1980), ...
made '' Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro'' (1989) and '' Naseem'' (1995). Gradually the genre lost both nuanced depiction of its hey days was imitated by the cinema many Muslim countries, and audiences as well, and few notable additions were made to this genre, and too sporadic.
The genre resurfaced in works of the screenwriter Khalid Mohammed, '' Mammo'' (1994), '' Sardari Begum'' (1996), '' Fiza'' (2000) and '' Zubeidaa'' (2001), Mohammed directed ''Fiza'', while the rest were directed by art film master
Shyam Benegal
Shyam Benegal (born 14 December 1934) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received s ...
, Benegal had previously directed, and '' Junoon'' (1978) set in the
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...
, stories with marked political content. Among recent movies, it is often wondered, should '' Gangs of Wasseypur'' (2012) be added to this glorious list of "Muslim Social" Genre, which may also be considered reflective of the current politico-social milieu of Muslims in India.
Mere Mehboob
''Mere Mehboob'' ("My Lover") is a 1963 Indian film directed by Harnam Singh Rawail and starring Ashok Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Sadhana, Nimmi, Pran, Johnny Walker and Ameeta. The film became a blockbuster and took the number one position at ...
Gazal
The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
'' (1964)
*''
Qawwali Ki Raat
Qawwali (Punjabi: ( Shahmukhi), ( Gurmukhi); Urdu: (Nasta'liq); Hindi: क़व्वाली ( Devanagari); Bengali: কাওয়ালি (Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing, originating from the Indian subcont ...
Coolie
A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent.
The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...
Bewaffa Se Waffa
''Bewaffa Se Waffa'' (lit: ''Loyalty to the disloyal'') is a 1992 Hindi film starring Juhi Chawla , Nagma and Vivek Mushran in lead roles directed and produced by Saawan Kumar Tak. The film was released on 4 September 1992.
Plot
Aslam (Vivek M ...