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“Life imitates art far more than art imitates life”
- Oscar Wilde
Cinema is considered one of the most popular forms of art and life does not fail to imitate it, at least not in India. Bollywood is one of the biggest enterprises in the world and yet, at times it fails to uphold the sliver of responsibility it owes to the Indian society. Big numbers and box-office dominance are considered the measure of success but it the impact it creates on people and its repercussions are often forgotten.
Instances violence at the Jamia Millia University in Delhi, Delhi riots, COVID-19 curfew patrol and the most recent, the killing of Jayaraj and Bennicks in Tamil Nadu are all underlined by self-proclaimed power by the police. For a country such as ours where it is easy for the public to be swayed by their favourite celebrity on the big screen, movies involving police brutality must be given a second thought. A cop beating someone black and blue, inside or outside the police station is next to normal. If such a culture exists so easily in our films, it can easily be replicated in real life too.
Over the years, countless films have displayed cops with unlimited power who have taken the law into their own hands to chase down and end the life of the supposed criminal. Their sheer passion and aggression may seem appealing but that is more damaging than entertaining. Among many others, here are five Bollywood films that treat police brutality as an attribute of action:
I. Ab Tak Chhappan
Director: Shimit Amin
Released: 27 February 2004
This Bollywood blockbuster treats the number of encounter killings by policemen as “scores” and also shows some of them competing for a higher number. Sadhu Agashe (Nana Patekar) holds a “reputable” record of such killings. The film fails to separate the lawful punishment of criminals from the unlawful killing of the alleged. The film represents skewed targets of policemen. Here, power is used to procure more power not through making people feel safe, but fear for their lives.
II. Dabangg Trilogy
Director: Abhinav Kashyap; Arbaaz Khan; Prabhu Deva
Released: 10 September 2010; 21 December 2012; 20 December 2019
Giving an innocent name such as Chulbul Pandey to an over-the-top and aggressive cop does not do much for this film’s portrayal of police brutality. Not only is the violence present, but it is also blatant. Salman Khan’s character Chulbul Pandey clearly says, “Police waale ko thokne ka anjaam pata hai kya hai? Ikkis saal jail aur thukkai alag se. Aur usi police waale ne agar tumhe thoka, toh promotion alag se aur bahaduri ka medal bhi” (Do you know what happens if you beat up a police officer? 21 years jail and more torture. And if the same police officer beats you up, then he gets a promotion along with a medal of honour.) He transparently claims that he would suffer no consequences for beating a person up, and would rather be promoted for doing so. A sense of pride and fulfilment is conveyed each time a cop thrashes someone throughout these films. The trilogy excels at presenting an inflated, vain, and smug picture of a police officer.
III. Mardaani (2014)
Director: Pradeep Sarkar
Released: 22 August 2014
In an attempt to put a woman in the spotlight in a ‘man’s profession’, this Rani Mukherjee starrer takes away aspects of humanity. Her character Shivani Shivaji Roy conducts gross violations of the law as well as criminal procedures. No different from other police-centric films, Mardaani too tries to justify its means by its end. In fact, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) had written an open letter to Bihar police who wished to showcase the film to its officers as a testament to policing values. The former requested Bihar police to not set Mardaani as a standard to be upheld by their establishment.
IV. Rowdy Rathore (2014)
Director: Prabhu Deva
Released: 1 June 2012
Not his first cop venture, Akshay Kumar pursues the lawless police officer narrative even further with Rowdy Rathore. As the name suggests, Akshay Kumar’s character Shiv Bharadwaj is proudly referred to as ‘Rowdy’. Complicated by a double-role, a child and a love interest, Rowdy Rathore manages to maintain police violence at the forefront. The killing of goons takes place mercilessly without the presence of any lawful procedures. The film also shows the protagonist hitting people on their backs with sugarcane sticks, after he asks them to take off their shirts- not too far from what happens in reality.
V. Singham (2011)
Director: Rohit Shetty
Released: 22 July 2011
One of Ajay Devgn’s more popular films, Singham establishes the actor’s character, Bajirao Singham as a cop that regularly skips charge sheets and documentation to take matters into his own hands which leads the citizens to believe he genuinely cares for justice. While that may be true, such shortcuts are a perfect way to promote brutality in all its forms. Without the law, violence is the only solution that he uses to provide justice. In the film’s conclusive scenes, Bajirao along with a few more shoot the antagonist in the absence of a legal case or complaint. But like all other unlawful killings, it is justified with the fact that the person killed deserved to die.
The future of representation of the Indian police and their brutal tactics is uncertain. With more positive films such as Article-15 coming into the spotlight, one can only hope that the violent police acts portrayed in Bollywood films come to a stop so as to not set a precedent for reality.
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