RSS Affiliates To Launch Film Magazine Countering Bollywood "Gossip Columns" And Producing "Nationalistic Cinemas"
The entertainment division of RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), Bharatiya Chitra Sadhana, commonly known as Chitra Bharati, is reportedly going to launch its first-ever multilingual magazine named Chal Chitra Sadhana. The magazine is being launched to counter what appears as “gossip columns” and “West-driven” narratives through the saffron lenses.
Initially, the magazine will be published quarterly, but later it will transition to a monthly publication, focusing on critical film reviews, artist training, and the promotion of “nationalistic cinema”, reported News18.
Formed in 2016, Bharatiya Chitra Sadhana or Chitra Bharati is an organisation which aims at promoting cinemas that are aligned with RSS’ vision of “nation-building”. The new magazine aims to steer the Bollywood and other regional film industries in India towards what the organisation called as “nation building”, and align with Indian cultural values and patriotism.
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The organisation has a strict system in grooming filmmakers to produce films that propagate RSS’ ideologies. It has conducted film festivals which it claims to showcase nationalist movies, biopics, and India-centric documentaries. It has training programmes across the country which are reportedly grooming 30 to 40 aspiring filmmakers at a time.
Some of the films produced by the organisation include much controversial and banned films like The Kerala Story, and The Kashmir Files. The Kerala Story was banned in states including Kerala for spreading “communal misinformation” in align with the agenda of Sangh Parivar. The Kashmir Files was banned for its “provocative and one-sided portrayal of Muslims” was held to have the potential of disrupting “social cohesion and religious harmony”.
“By providing a platform for ideologically rooted critiques and creative discourse, we seek to challenge dominant narratives, primarily driven by foreign trends, and champion films that resonate with India’s civilisational ethos and contribute to nation-building. This can be a phase for alternate cinema, which will focus on India-centric issues, history, and cultural values”, BK Kuthiala, chairman of the board of trustees of Chitra Bharati told News18.
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The trainees are sent to Mumbai for advanced training in “India-centric” filmmaking, ensuring they are equipped to produce content resonating with the RSS’s ideology and its cultural-traditional values. Chitra Bharati has prominent faces of the Bollywood film industry like Subhash Ghai, Madhur Bhandarkar, Hema Malini, Vivek Agnihotri, and Priyadarshan Nair on its advisory board.
The organisation has at least nine film societies in states including Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
(With inputs from agencies)
