It's not our films, really

An appendage to the last post:

Often, the people who demand that Hindi films be banned in 'their ilaaqa', do not dislike Bollywood fare.

But they do dislike the people who represent 'Hindi'.

They don't like being imposed upon by a Hindi-speaking-people dominated central government. They don't like watching their own familiar culture disappearing. They don't like the idea of the music associated with a mother tongue, fading like the dreams of the poor who speak it.

Which is why in Bongaigaon, the Prakash cinema hall closed down.

The ULFA extremists (for lack of a better word) have long been muzzling on theatres in Assam, at least in the areas they control. No Hindi films. No Bollywood.

In Nepal, there is a growing demand for a delay in the release of, if not an outright ban on, Hindi films, to allow the local industry to prosper. In most cities, the demand was disregarded, because there wasn't much anti-Bollywood sentiment.

But, in some areas, there are other voices that want a similar ban, for different reasons. They don't want to be reminded of their dependence on India. They don't want to be reminded of how their own culture is fading, and that the new pop culture is being shaped by exposure to Hindi films and Hindi television soaps.

Most of all, they don't want to be reminded of how great an influence India is, and how much of a Big Brother it likes to be, in the subcontinent. They can't change the situation, but they sure as hell can blow up cinema-theatres that screen Hindi films.