Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham create a new mythology of nationalism by incorporating the expatriate Indians (the Non-resident Indians or NRI) and a traditional worldview into what it means to be an ‘ideal modern Indian.’ While this sounds like a grand unifying principle, such films champion obedience, family, and hierarchy at the cost of freedom of thought, rebellion, and gender equality. The ‘Amitabh Bachchan’ character in K3G, for example, is a regressive patriarch, a far cry from the ‘angry young man’ roles he played in the 1970s. The ‘Shah Rukh Khan’ character in DDLJ must convince the old patriarch that he is ‘Indian’ and worthy enough to marry the patriarch’s daughter. Women in both films must play along in the conflicts between two generations of men.
write an essay describing the political and social background of new nationalism and patriarchy that Bollywood inaugurated
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