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]), arabian
nights 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 hindUism and islam; orientalism.
Juan E. Campo, Firoozeh Papan-Matin (Iranian
cinema), Garay Menicucci (Arab cinema),
Bhaskar Sarkar (Indian cinema)Further reading: General: Roy Armes, Third World Film
Making and the West (Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1987); John C. Eisele, “The Wild East: Decon-
structing the Language of Genre in the Hollywood
Eastern.” Cinema Journal 41, 4 (2002): 68–94; Jack
G. Shaheen, Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies aK 148 cinema