A Case-Based Analytical Study of the Portrayal of Cancer in Indian Hindi Cinema
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Mukt Shabd Journal ISSN NO : 2347-3150
A Case-Based Analytical Study of the Portrayal of Cancer in Indian Hindi
Cinema
Neelu Sharma Research Scholar
Department of Mass Communication & Journalism, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University,Lucknow, Uttar
Pradesh, India
Prof Govind Ji Pandey
Department of Mass Communication & Journalism, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University,Lucknow,
Uttarpradesh, India
ABSTRACT
“Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world.”
-Jean-Luc Godard
Technology has helped Bollywood to upgrade its capability of global release and tap the international market at the same or even
less effort than it used to take to capture the domestic audience. The same Bollywood, however, seems to have not upgraded its
content to match the pace of its market penetration. In the stories of Bollywood films, medical miseries are portrayed with the
astonishingly low level of scientific temperament. While this narrative wins the audience’s sentiment, it also impacts the public
outlook towards the disease. Cancer is one of the most common diseases portrayed in the Bollywood content. Science has
progressed several folds and transformed its understanding about cancer, type of cancers, cures, prevention, lifestyle adoption and
more. Millions of medical cases and evidence have established and shattered the myths mounted around this deadly disease.
Bollywood content, however, has been immune to this adoption of knowledge and its portrayal in its content. This paper examines
the cinemas in which cancer has shown to establish the essential bent of emotion in the storytelling. These cinemas scrutinized in
this study are sourced from the feature film content in production from the last four decades. This study establishes the gap between
the scientific discourse about the cancer disease and its portrayal in Indian Hindi Cinema. It also measures the public perception
about the disease and towards the cinema.
Keywords: Indian Hindi Cinema, Cancer, Storytelling, public perception, public consciousness
1. INTRODUCTION
[1]Over the years Hindi Cinema referred to as Bollywood has emerged as a key source of entertainment with its sheer
size and reach. With changing times, even Bollywood took to telling stories around raising awareness about a disease
or a social issue. We live in a world where technology is fast aiding medical facilities, giving a much-needed boost to
one’s treatment. This as a consequence helps in minimizing the scope for error. In the 21 st century when the scope for
good treatment has seen a turn for the better, depiction of Cancer in films continues to remain burdened with
inconsistencies.
A fundamental disconnection between how Cancer is portrayed on-screen, and the actualities of the disease continue
to plague the Hindi film circuit. The genesis of Bollywood depicting Cancer patients started early in 1963 with Dil ek
mandir (Heart is a temple). A high- grossing, poignant, romantic movie its central character was diagnosed with lung
Cancer [2]. The character's revival after a surgery brought Hindi cinema audiences face to face with Cancer via popular
media. This kick started a trend, which left its imprint throughout the 1970s where Cancer stories and Bollywood
became inextricable entities. This period saw seven different films depicting Cancer. All seven received overwhelming
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sympathy and acclaim through dramatic emotions and arousal of grief [2]. All of these movies, with subtle differences
in the storyline, ended on a tragic note. Generally, characters with Cancer were at their peak of youth, faced life
bravely, concealed illness from family members, and preferred to have a blissful death by opting out of treatment. The
undertone of inevitable mortality, despair of family members and physicians, availability of treatment, and the futility
of contemporary medicine were palpable for the audience. Such pessimism became more pronounced in the 1980s;
scenes featuring the breaking of the bad news in an intensely dramatic manner and the catastrophic shock experienced
by the character on first hearing the diagnosis became a growing stereotype [2].
Take for instance a scene - A doctor comes out of the Operation Theatre (a red bulb switches off), takes off his glasses
and morosely pronounces, "Inhe dawaon ki nahi, duaon ki zaroorat hai." This is the scene, which came to typify a
Cancer survivor’s journey over the past few decades in Indian films. [3]
For a bystander, it becomes difficult to understand a certain trend in Cancer treatment, as a patient with Cancer was
cured in the 1960s and yet died in the 2000s. In a few films, the type of malignancy is obscure, and the simple utterance
of the word Cancer is powerful enough to convey the message of imminent peril [4]. Unduly prolonged fever, frailty,
emesis of blood, and excruciating pain are the most common depictions of the onset of Cancer. Surgery or bone
marrow transplantation is shown to be the only resorts available, with a conspicuous absence of psychosocial care and
non-existent palliative care. Moreover, there are several instances of absurd scenes that show, for example, a brain
tumor being cured after a violent trauma; a father chasing a criminal who is a potential bone marrow donor for his
child; etc. Such scenes are difficult to believe and display a not so sophisticated attitude towards the disease.
Displaying abysmal helplessness to provide any solutions characteristically undermines the physicians’ role. Quite
often, the disease itself seems to be the principal architect of the story line, and the end of life is to complement the
story line rather than a logical end to a malignant pathology. Overwhelming grief, invariable non- disclosure of the
disease or diagnosis, disproportionate mortality, and appalling scenes of death and fear- mongering imagery loom as
hallmarks even in modern-day Bollywood. [5]
By definition, development is a process where someone or something grows or changes leading to advancement [6].
Of the multiple indicators that come to define development, one is health – considered central to human happiness
and well-being. It also makes an important contribution to economic progress as healthy populations live longer, live
a productive life and save more.
2. A COUNTER REVIEW
Cinema is not an educational institute, the basic business of the cinema is entertainment and not education. The
ultimate objective of cinema production is profit for the stakeholders not embossing morality of the society [7]. Any
product may or may not have additional deliveries of moralities but yes the same is highly expected from the cinema.
It is also imperative that cinema production involves huge capital. Production of one feature film engages multiple
institutional financiers, investment is subject to the reputation of the film production unit. The reputation in this
industry is the hard earned currency which is even harder to maintain. The maintenance of this reputation is the
collective outcome of the star-cast, storytelling, related technological effects that earn a set of loyal audiences.
Production houses are known for their set of audience loyalty. Dharma Production, Bala Ji Film Production, Yash Raj
Films, Rohit Shetty Production, Amir Khan Production etc are the names of Indian Hindi Cinema earning their
audience capital based upon specific genre of films produced under their banners [8]. These films cater to a very
specific need of entertainment. As per the expectation of their audiences, the pattern of using certain story-connects
like disease, accidents or hospitals remain non-experimenting.
The producers of Indian cinema are more focused on making a movie which makes huge box office collections.
Therefore they are keen on making movies which are less complex and rather than are more entertaining to the
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audience. That is not focused on showing the reality or practicality of life. Instead of making such movies which deal
with life or struggles of a common person they make movies on what people are more interested in watching. It is
good for making huge profits but the sad reality of life is left unsung.[9]
Also, Indian movie makers mostly show happy endings in their movies rather than showing the harsh realities. Since
many people have a tendency of avoiding such movies which showcases sad endings and thus the movie does not
perform well in theaters. So to avoid this, producers make only those movies which are liked by the audience and thus
conclude movies most of the time on positive note. In some cases where the producers tried to experiment something
new in the film, then their thinking is not appreciated, neither by the audience nor by other industry members.
Therefore they are only restricted to make movies in limited scope which are rewarded by the audience. [10]
3. OBSERVATION & DISCUSSION
As medical lexicons change and treatment patterns see a change, progressive medical research has improved prognosis
and outcomes in oncology practice [11]. The film industry is apparently oblivious to this progress, and has been unable
to transition along with these advances. Some might argue that films being inherently entertainment are rightly more
attentive to dramatic impact than factual accuracy.
However, it is ultimately the audience’s responsibility to interpret the nuanced perplexity between drama and reality.
At the same time, films are not merely the channels of ideologies; they often convey contrasting or confusing ideas.
Nevertheless, gloomy on-screen portrayals of Cancer can potentially mislead people regarding their expected
outcomes [12].
Given that at large, both the rural and urban strata enjoy films as an entertainment medium, attention to detail vis – a
– vis a disease becomes critical. Especially when we consider people with insufficient health literacy. A diagnosis
shown on screen often leads to destructive views regarding the curative potential of modern treatment [13]. In view
of the potential of film narratives to improve Cancer literacy, a more rational portrayal of Cancer, without the emotion
and dramatic undertones, would be welcome. Such portrayals might have positive implications on public engagement.
Bollywood’s depiction of oncology should start aligning itself with the country’s envisioning of a national culture of
early Cancer screening and diagnosis.[14]
The ‘Big C’ (Cancer) in Indian Cinema is undoubtedly the most popular disease for the absolute surety it brings to the
death of the protagonist. Rajesh Khanna would have to be the brand ambassador of the disease, with true to life
performances in two landmark films: Anand and Safar. These had everything an ideal Cancer patient should exhibit -
patience, liveliness and an ability to sacrifice everything on his way out. [15]
Anand (1971)
There are classics, there are super hits, and then there is Anand. The Hrishikesh Mukherjee film, which needs no
introduction, is a unique movie about Life -- what else will a movie that starts with 'Dedicated to the city of Bombay'
be about? -- but with Death as the pervasive theme. The wondrous fragrance of cinematic beauty which drifted out of
it still lingers and gratifies us despite the four tumultuous decades in between: four decades in which Bollywood, that
magnificent 'factory' where Anand took birth, underwent a tremendous evolution.
Plot
An over emotional tale of a man with Cancer. The story begins with Dr Bhaskar winning a literary prize for his book
about a patient called Anand. The rest is flashbacks. Anand, the title character, is suffering from lymphosarcoma of
the intestine. He however appears to be cheerful on the outside and is determined to extract as much pleasure from his
remaining lifespan as is possible. Dr. Bhaskar, his physician, tends to Anand in his last days. After Anand dies we can
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however still hear his voice, which was recorded on a tape. Dr Bhaskar writes a book on his patient and wins a literary
prize for it.
(Anand even had a name for the illness—Lymphosarcoma of the intestine. And he was very proud of the regal sound
of it: "Jaise kisi viceroy ka naam ho . . .")
Cancer is even dark today. But then, the highly commendable and persevering efforts of researchers and doctors
throughout the last half-century have greatly lightened its hue. During the time of Anand, for example, combination
chemotherapy (the mainstay of Cancer treatment now) was just in its early stages, and the revolutionary discovery of
targeted molecular therapy was yet to be made. With efficacious management protocols not in existence for most
Cancers (at least in India), Anand urged people to look at the inevitable fatality of the disease in a positive light rather
than getting awfully depressed. It is a movie as much about mental health as about Cancer. In a very endearing and
emotional way, it taught patients and their families to be positive and merry while still being realistic about their
ailment. It was certainly a highly relevant film for its time.
And that ‘Babumoshai!’ acts like Rajesh Khanna still gets standups booming even to this day as a fitting tribute to the
last scene of the 1971 classic that broke a million hearts in its era.
Anand had ‘Lymphosarcoma of the intestine’, a rare type of Cancer made famous by the film. The name of the disease
was as elusive and obscure as its implication. All we did know was that it was a grave, tragic disease and offered little
or no chance of survival.
It’s been 48 years since Anand and four decades of medical advancement in the country. But even in 2019, if a
character in a Bollywood film has Cancer, chances are they won’t make it till the end of the movie.
Today, however, Cancer is much more amenable to treatment. Despite the great technical and cultural strides of the
last 45 years, mainstream Hindi cinema has sadly not yet eschewed the 'fatality outlook' around Cancer. More recent
films like Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005), Dasvidaniyan (2008) and Aashayein (2010) all showed lead or
important characters ultimately surrendering to Cancer without even putting up a decent fight. In Munna Bhai,
MBBS (2003) Jimmy Shergill’s character Zaheer dies of stomach Cancer – a type of Cancer that in its first stage can
be treated by surgery, and even in its last stage, can be kept under control, if not cured. From the outset, Zaheer’s
prognosis is not a hopeful one. He is alone, depressed, afraid, and Sanjay Dutt, Munna bhai becomes his support
system only for Zaheer to die tragically in Munna’s arms later.
Amitabh Bachchan got the disease (lung Cancer) himself in Waqt: The Race Against Time. And he had nine months
to make his son stand on his own two feet before he died. In those nine months, his son fell in love, went on a
honeymoon and became an action star that did his own stunts, and Amitabh Bachchan dies of Cancer in the film.
The portrayal begs the question why do all Cancer patients of Bollywood always meet the same fate? While the ailment
certainly still kills people, it is disheartening to see that not a single mainstream movie has shown the other side of the
story, that people also kill Cancer.
Actress Manisha Koirala, herself a survivor, voiced exactly the same lament in an interview with a researcher last year
"In our films, they show that if you are suffering from Cancer, then you will die. Nobody has till now shown that you
can deal with Cancer, defeat it and you can also survive with it for 30 to 40 years".
In Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016)
The disease only took up 20 minutes of the movie's life. An Indian romantic drama film written and directed by Karan
Johar. It features Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in lead roles. It was released on 28
October 2016.
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Plot:
In London, a chance meeting between Ayan Sanger (Ranbir Kapoor) and Alizeh Khan (Anushka Sharma) ends up
with them kissing instinctively. They spend the night together knowing about each other and become close. Later,
when they break up with their lovers, Lisa D'Souza and Dr. Faisal Khan, the two go to Paris to spend a week together.
While Ayan falls in love with Alizeh, she considers him to be only a friend. One day, Alizeh stumbles upon DJ Ali
(Fawad Khan) , her ex-boyfriend, who wants to reconcile. Confused, Alizeh stops hanging out with Ayan and they
cease communication. A few days later, Alizeh calls and invites Ayan to her wedding with Ali in Lucknow. Ayan is
petrified on hearing this but agrees to the invitation. At the wedding, he tells Alizeh he loves her but she rejects his
feelings causing Ayan to leave the ceremony heartbroken.
At the airport to board a flight to Frankfurt, Ayan meets Saba (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), a poetess, who is leaving
for Vienna. She consoles Ayan and gives him a note with her poetry and number on it. Ayan calls after three months
stating that he is in Vienna and wants to meet her. Saba meets him at a disco and they end up sleeping together. Ayan
learns that Saba is divorced and has no place for love in her heart. Ayan also meets Saba's ex-husband, Tahir Taliyar
Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) in a gallery, who tells him that one sided love is not a weakness but empowering. Ayan,
who had blocked Alizeh from everywhere, finally calls and reconnects with her. Ayan begins to send pictures of
Saba to Alizeh to induce jealousy. One day Alizeh informs Ayan that she's coming to Vienna and wants to meet
him. Ayan invites her for dinner, but Alizeh thinks Ayan has found love in Saba and is happy for him. Meanwhile,
Saba begins to develop feelings for Ayan, but he loves Alizeh. Seeing his love for Alizeh, Saba leaves Ayan. Ayan
continues to harbour love for Alizeh and becomes a famous singer. He meets Ali one day and realises that they have
parted ways. Ayan goes to Alizeh's favourite point and waits there until she arrives.
Alizeh tells Ayan that she is diagnosed with Cancer stage IV and will not live much longer. Ayan and Alizeh try to
make the best of their time together. Ayan tries to make Alizeh love him, but Alizeh is stubborn. This leads to a fight
between the two, and Alizeh decides to leave Ayan. Eventually, Ayan makes peace with the fact that he and Alizeh
can at best be friends and nothing more. The screen blacks out and goes back to the beginning where Ayan, still a
popular singer, is giving an interview based on the love of his life. Ayan sings the song "Channa Mereya" which is
inspired by Alizeh, then finishes the interview. Ranbir’s character shaves his head in solidarity with Anushka in Ae
Dil Hai Mushkil. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil showcases a chemotherapy session or vomiting in the course of a song montage
is an utter trivialization. This is not the true portrayal of Cancer. Too bad we still think Cancer is what we give
characters when we want to make a point, and not when we want to show strength, courage, resilience, love and
selflessness.
At times when robotic surgery is a norm and doctors can literally have a robotic arm make precise cuts around a
Cancerous tumor, without touching the tissues next to it, the Da Vinci Robotic Surgery System, available in hospitals
in Mumbai, Bangalore and other parts of the country, is a targeted treatment that reduces the risk of human errors.
Some might argue “ be realistic, that is an expensive procedure!” Yes, but so is flying to Paris on a private jet (Ae Dil
Hai Mushkil) or organizing an extravagant fake wedding to hide from your boyfriend your imminent Cancerous fate
(Katti Batti). These situations in Bollywood do not make complete sense.
Even Alizeh (Anushka Sharma in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) shedding her locks as a symbol of Cancer fetched for some
dramatic appeal, but at least the idea of consulting another specialist doctor for a second opinion should have been
showcased.
A tragic disease makes for a compelling story, and Cancer is Bollywood’s most favorite and ‘glamorous’ disease. But
after a point, if these plots cannot accommodate the story of a Cancer patient’s survival, then it hints at a clearly
exploitative mindset towards treatment of Cancer patients in films.
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In Dil Bechara (2020)
Dil Bechara is an adaption of John Green’s novel ‘The Fault in Our Stars’. A romantic drama movie directed by
Mukesh Chhabra with lead roles starring Sushant Singh Rajput, Sanjana Sanghi and Sahil Vaid. The movie depicts
the life and struggles of three cancer patients in modern day. The movie was released on 24th July, 2020 over OTT
platform Hotstar.
Plot:
Kizie Basu (Sanjana Sanghi) is suffering from thyroid cancer because of which her lungs are affected and she requires
oxygen support all the time. She lives in Jamshedpur with her family which are very supportive. She is shown to be
very depressed from her life and has a habit of writing diaries. One day she meets Immanuel Rajkumar Junior or
Manny (Sushant Singh Rajput) at the college's parking lot and later on at a cancer support center. Manny is highly
energetic and full of life. He has survived osteosarcoma but lost his one leg and his cancer is currently in remission.
Manny has a close friend Jagdish Pandey (Sahil Vaid), who has lost his one eye to cancer and wants to shoot a Bhojpuri
film before he loses his second eye.
Manny manages to make a close beautiful bond with Kizie and convinces her to be an actress in his friends' bhojpuri
film along with him. Meanwhile Manny makes good bonds with Kizie’s family members too. Kizie is now shown as
happy and has fallen for him and is afraid of giving him a heartbreak because of her medical issues. Manny decides
to fulfill Kizie’s wish of meeting her favourite singer Abhimanyu Vaid (Saif Ali Khan) and travels to Paris with her
along with her mother. They both are shown enjoying their life in Paris and becoming more close emotionally.
When they head back to India Manny tells Kizie that he doesn't have much time left as the cancer has again started
spreading. He spends his last days with his friend Jagdish, family and his girlfriend Kizie.
The movie Dil Bechara is the latest movie which portrays the emotional journey of cancer suffering individuals. In
every film the protagonist has lost their lives to cancer without depicting true cancer on screen but this film is a game
changer to the entire scenario here also the main protagonist has lost his life to cancer but through his journey he and
other two cancer patients have fought well. One died because of cancer, another one lost both eyes to cancer and still
came out strongly as a cancer survivor and the third one fighting with cancer and fulfilling her wishes. This film did
justice upto some extent to the disease patients, doctors and survivors and treatment.
“Specialists have poured themselves into developing immunotherapy – programming our immune systems to fight
Cancer cells, which is showing better results than chemo. So much has happened since Anand was released. Everyday
we have new technological advancements to cure Cancer but our films are still in the age old era when we had limited
resources to cure Cancer. If you cannot portray medical advancements at least don’t demoralize patients. The general
perception of Cancer, thanks to lack of awareness and presence of taboos, is of dread and a painful death.
Unfortunately, Bollywood has done little to change that,” says Dr. Surya Kant Tripathi, an oncologist and Professor,
Department of Pulmonary and Critical Medicine, King George's Medical University, Lucknow.
4. CONCLUSION
Despite all the Cancer breakthroughs, miracles and developments within the allopathic and traditional medicine fields,
our films continue to be stuck in 1971 with Rajesh Khanna in 'Anand'. Bollywood filmmakers generally are quick to
showcase the changing trends in Indian society and culture, so their failure to do that with respect to Cancer survival
can perhaps be seen as a sign of India's broader negligent attitude towards public health issues. The lack of proper
depiction of the fatal disease is often attributed to limited knowledge about the disease among filmmakers and the
varied aspects that play a vital role in cutting down the immense pain of the patient in distress.
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Healthcare personnel, on the other hand, seriously yearn for some film like 'Anand Returns': one where the protagonist
is shown optimistically braving a Cancer diagnosis, courageously undergoing excruciating chemo phases, feeling
drained and depressed but still hanging on to life, and then ultimately 'returning' from the near-death abyss of Cancer
- tired but triumphant. Only such a gallant movie character will, finally, be able to acknowledge and honor the
existence of thousands of Cancer survivors in our country who cringe on seeing the immature and incorrect depiction
of Cancer on the big screen in Indian Cinema.
While the counter argument is that the industry and production houses of the Indian Hindi Cinema Industry have their
priorities set to profit which is not immoral specially when the profit means cater what is expected by the audience.
Failure in the experiments in cinema production may cause permanent damage in the reputation of the production
house resulting in huge losses. This is why most of the cinema keeps basic plots of illness, accidents or hospitalization
unchanged so that their audience remains glued with the centre of the story.
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