Filmmaker Abbas Tyrewala reflects on depiction of villains in Bollywood, says “it is just cliched to see another Muslim villain”

Abbas Tyrewala is a famous Filmmaker and screenwriter

Screenwriter, lyricist and filmmaker Abbas Tyrewala has worked with some of the biggest Bollywood filmmakers including Santosh Sivan, Farah Khan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Rajkumar Hirani, and Siddharth Anand. However, he has recently shared his views on the portrayal of villains in Hindi films. The screenwriter is currently working for Pawan Kalyan’s Hari Hara Veera Mallu, which stars Bobby Deol as Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

In a recent interview with The Lallantop, Abbas shared, “Earlier, films were made by highly individualistic filmmakers. I worked with like-minded people, and there were hardly any instances when the villainy or the political stance of a film made me cringe. But now, it isn’t the same. And I am not saying this because I am an Indian Muslim, but just that, from a writing point of view, it is just cliched to see another Muslim villain.”

He added, “When Aurangzeb is the villain, there is a sense of importance that is accorded to his representation. Of course, there is the truth, which can’t be denied because it is there in our history, and then there is the exaggeration of truth for cinematic purposes. But there is no denying that what happened had happened.”

He further insisted that India’s power still lies in its secular credentials and the diversity and pluralism of the nation adding, “So, it makes me wonder if there is merit in oversimplifying the same old narrative and rekindle old wounds.”

He added, “So, the balancing act is even more now. There was never a time when I had to think of a dominating political ideology in the country.”

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Abbas Tyrewala also explained that he now works and navigates through the typical dynamic of Bollywood. He added, “The thing is I don’t want to escape from this… but I don’t want to cater to it too. Sometimes, there are two truths to everything. What I actually am, and what I am as a writer, and I have to balance both.”

On the work front, Abbas Tyrewala is currently on dialogues of War 2 starring Hrithik Roshan, Jr NTR and Kiara Advani.