Bollywood's Muslim stereotypes

Bollywood is an important contributor to the image of Muslims but it is not the only contributor. The Muslims themselves are important, too

Recently, I read a book on how Muslims have been portrayed in Bollywood films. But before I tell you about it, a brief personal digression.

Although I grew up entirely in north India — Bhopal and Delhi mostly — it was only when I was 32 years old that I interacted with my first Pakistanis, also in their 30s. They were a couple of civil servants from the equivalent of the Pakistani IAS.

My first thought was how the Pakistanis were no different from anyone I had known in Delhi and Bhopal. The latter, after all, was full of Muslims,