It is said a picture
is worth thousand words and if we extend this proverb, it can be said that a
motion picture is worth thousand pictures. Concepts which may not be understood
by words can be easily depicted in movies and conveyed with great ease even to
the most common person. Thus Movies are a great tool which can influence many
in a short period of time. Like a knife
when used by a surgeon can save people’s life and when used by a robber can
take people’s life, movies can have a similar effect, based on the intentions
behind making movies. Lately In the Bollywood world (Indian Movie Industry)
there have been a couple of movies which have raised some question on religion
and have stirred the sentiments of many. Religion is a sensitive topic and any
ignorant or uninformed claims made about religion can disturb people’s sentiments. It has often seen that people who do not know
much about material science do not dare
to speak or comment in public about them , however when it comes to religion,
every Tom, Dick and Harry has an opinion and they are not afraid to voice
it loud and bold . In this article I am
not trying to condemn the questions that are raised by the movies like “Oh My
God” and “PK” about religion. In fact these questions that are raised are
legitimate and should be asked. Although these movies do a great job in raising
these questions, unfortunately they end up providing inaccurate conclusions,
which many times misleads people and makes them think openly or subtly against religion.
This article, is an attempt to rationally appeal to those who are influenced by
these movies to look for the correct answers to the legitimate questions raised
about religion as presented in modern times.
Influence of Movies
In today’s fast paced world when media and internet have
become lifelines for most of the people, movies play a very important role in
influencing the mindsets of people. Most people in today’s day and age are not
interested with reading or hearing, but are more inclined towards watching. Often
we see a new movie that becomes a hit , soon after that , people want
to look like the characters in the movie or want to talk, speak , dress like
the actors or actress . All the stores are filled with merchandise from the movie
and people are running to get them. People may admit or not, but Television and
Movies have sure impact on our minds some of which may be more evident and some
may be more subtle. From the point of view of outreach, Movies influence many
cultures and groups of people in a very short period of time. With so much of
influence Movies certainly have lot of potential to make or break people’s
beliefs by mass propaganda. When similar concepts are bombarded again and again
on minds of the people, people start doubting their beliefs and start believing
what they are been told. In context to
this article Many people will think that
reactions of religionist to the movies like “Oh My God” and “PK” is fanatical,
certainly responding to them in a
violent and aggressive manner is not a sane approach and will be labelled as
fanatical , however intellectually clarifying the doubts raised by these movies
is essential mainly because of the influencing power the movies have on people especially the youth who are the
future of any nation. Young minds are
intelligently questioning the traditions and a intellectual and practical
response to these questions will restore and increase the confidence of the youth in the spiritual culture.
Motivation behind making movies:
Commercial Movie making is an art and although some may have
a good intention of social service, most of them are made with a mindset of
earning profit. For example , If before the movie was released the crew members
and the actors were told that all the earnings from this movie will be donated
and they are not going to get a single penny , how many will be inspired to
work for that movie for a social cause ? .Movies like “Oh My God” and “PK” are
raising these important questions which may seem to an untrained eye as social
awareness work but by not providing satisfactory answers and giving their
opinions as conclusive truths they are just misleading the people. This proves
that there was not much research done to find out the truth before posing these
questions in the movie. Since Entertainment business flourishes on Controversial
topics, these topics earn them a fortune as everyone is likely to see these
movies because of the controversy. In
short, movie making is a business which is directed towards making money, with
this motivation it is very easy for movie makers to show and depict something
controversial without thoroughly researching the truth behind it providing an
opinion which will be to the liking of common populace, who in general are
innocent and ignorant about the facts and tend to believe what they are shown.
Movies are not the Authority
In every field of study there are authorities, just like in
the field of medicine, doctors are the authority and people do not make medical
decisions on their own. Even though we hear and see many fake doctors and
controversies happening in the field of medicine, still people do not reject
doctors altogether, but in turn they make the necessary effort and use the
intelligence to find out real doctor who can treat them honestly. However when it comes to God, any person on the
street seems to become the authority and starts giving his or her opinion.
Movies like “ Oh My God “ and “ PK” have strong statements against Fake God men
who try to cheat people based on their fears and the conclusion that seems to
be presented in these movies is to not go to any spiritual teachers and try to
find out God ourselves. By trying to preach this gospel these movies themselves are trying to become “God
men” and misdirecting people to
incorrect conclusions, based on the
innocent people’s ignorance about this matter, which just leads to more
confusion and dismay. It is true that
there are many false God men who are making a business of religion, but to say
that all God men are fake is an absolute statement. At least in recent times, I
am yet to find a movie which depicts sadhus and religious people in a
respectful way, all the people playing sadhus or religionist are either
depicted as cheaters or used for humorous scenes, which downgrades their value
in eyes of the common people. Although these movies have raised valid
questions, they fail to provide correct answers to these questions and in guise
of social activist , they are becoming another breed of Fake God men who are
directing the innocent people in the
wrong direction taking advantage of their ignorance. If these movies were
really concerned about providing enlightening answers to the questions like,
why to worship a murti, why we need God men, why do we go to temple when god is
present everywhere, it would have made an attempt to find out the real answers
and present it in the movie rather than leaving them unanswered for people to
speculate and make a mockery of these age old practices, which are practiced
with understanding by millions of well-educated and intellectual people.
Call for Action.
To summarize this article, it is not our intention to defame
any movies or make any judgments about them, but when movies which have
tremendous influence on the minds of the people are used to raise the questions
on wrongs that are going in the field of religion, it is also needed that movie
makers make a reasonable research behind these questions that are raised trying
to understand them with logic and faith. To disregard religious practices and
rituals as foolish and primitive is a great disservice to the society. Some
people who are firm in their faith will disregard these statements in the movie
as irrelevant since they know the truth, some people who are atheist and don’t
care for religion at all, will take this as an assertion to their beliefs, but
many of the people who are innocent will
have many questions and these movies will add to their confusion. Questions
raised by these movies are very important and they should be answered with
logic and philosophy. Fortunately some true God men who are striving for
spiritual success have taken this task and are providing answers to these
questions , after reading and understanding them with open mind, people who are
looking for the truth sincerely will find these questions answered in the most
convincing way . Please find some of the links and books which are written on
this topic at the end of the article. In
the course of studying any subject it is always wise to question and clarify
doubts, in the same way it is very
essential to question and clarify doubts with an inquiring spirit from the
right source and if the answers are received with an open mind it will clear
all the doubts and misleading arguments which such movies propagate.
Resources.
1.
H.G. Chaitanya Carian Prabhu has written a book
called “ Oh my God : Re-Answering the
Questions” , it is available in Pune ISKCON temple or a PDF version is
available on his website
3.
There is a drama done by ISKCON PUNE devotees
based on answering the questions raised by movie “Oh My God “it is called “Oh
My God Returns” which provides logical answers to these challenging questions.
This drama is available on you tube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMxPIY8G6RA
