Скачать или смотреть bollywood's misrepresentation of northeast india

after a huge break, i am back. sorry for the audio issues. i wanted to include a lot more in this video. i'll add it to the description.

Dil Se.. (1998): Mani Ratnam’s film, set during the insurgency in Assam, is one of the first big Bollywood movies to touch on the region’s political conflicts. But many felt it showed the Northeast through a “mainland lens,” painting it as a place of constant violence compared to the “stable” city of Delhi. The film uses a love story between the hero and a suicide bomber to give a human face to the conflict, but critics argue that it reduces a serious issue into just another dramatic spectacle.

Daman (2001) and Tango Charlie (2005): These films used the Northeast more as a backdrop than as a real subject. In Daman, even though the lead actress won a National Award, the only nod to the region was a single Bihu dance at the end — making it feel like token representation. Tango Charlie went further, showing Bodo militants as only violent and cruel. This one-sided image caused huge backlash, and the film was even banned in Assam for spreading a false and harmful picture of the Bodo community as nothing more than bloodthirsty rebels.

Bollywood producers have often blamed “logistical and cost issues” for not filming in the Northeast. They pointed to remote locations, safety concerns due to insurgency, and tricky permit rules as reasons it was too difficult or expensive. But while those challenges existed, they were also used as easy excuses to hide a bigger problem: the lack of local voices in the industry and a deep bias against the region’s people and stories.

Things have changed a lot in recent years. Today, line producers in the Northeast can arrange quick permits, law and order is much better, and the Assam government even offers a “single-window clearance” to attract filmmakers. This proves the problem was never just about infrastructure, it was about Bollywood’s lack of will and imagination. The idea that actors and stories from the Northeast aren’t “saleable” keeps becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. But now, with OTT platforms able to take films and series from the Northeast to global audiences, that outdated excuse is finally being challenged.

also in the film Anek, the cars had NE written on the number plate instead of the state like DL for Delhi??

anyway thanks for watching and reading this, love u.

my instagram: @dontmisimi