hindu-muslim relationship in bollywood in post 26/11: a content analysis of movies (2008-2018)

This study investigates the representations of hindu-muslim relationship in bollywood movies from 2008 to 2018. it is assumed that after 2008 mumbai terrorist attacks, which are known as 26/11, conflicts between hindus and muslims have escalated. since indian people are extreme fans of movies, especially bollywood movies, in this regard, it is expected that media could play a significant role in increasing or alleviating the conflicts by influencing people’s attitudes and opinions. this research seeks to examine the extent and modality of the representation of hindu-muslim relationships in bollywood after the 2008 mumbai attacks. the study was conducted through a content analysis of 11 bollywood movies, which were selected from 70 muslim-characters-based movies. favorable, unfavorable, neutral and unclear were the four factors through which the movies’ contents were analyzed. the overall analysis of these factors indicate that 66.17% of the scenes were favorable, 14.70% were unfavorable, 2.94% were neutral, and 16.17% presented unclear images of hindu-muslim relationship in bollywood movies. the results also indicate that bollywood is not only depicting a positive image of this relationship, but also tries to tighten the bonds of the two religions, and in a broader sense, ties the two neighboring countries, pakistan and india.