Ektaa Kapoor calls out alleged ‘Hinduphobia’ in entertainment industry

Ektaa Kapoor calls out alleged ‘Hinduphobia’ in the entertainment industry, questions why openly expressing religious identity is a problem: ‘Wearing your religion on your sleeve is such a problem’

Producer Ektaa Kapoor has opened up about the bias she believes exists in the entertainment industry towards Hindu culture and faith. She said she has been judged for openly practising her religion and wondered why Western traditions are easily accepted while Hindu customs are questioned.

Ekta Kapoor on ‘Hinduphobia’ in the industry

Speaking with Ranveer Allahbadia on his podcast, Ektaa Kapoor said this prejudice becomes visible the moment Indian folklore, culture or faith comes into a story. She said, "Numbers are great for the film. What is really important is it deals with folklore. I’m just gonna say it on camera, Hinduphobia, and we have so much of phobia with what do we call... We’re okay with animated animation, but we’re not okay with discussing folklore and mythology.

"During the same conversation, the producer stated that she believes things are slowly changing for the better. "So I’m so okay with bringing it all out and having people accept it. There’s so much more acceptance now,” said the producer, who recently backed the mythological thriller ‘The Vvaan’.

Ektaa Kapoor recalls being mocked for wearing a tika and dhaaga

Ektaa Kapoor also remembered how, in her younger days, people called her a freak and made fun of her for wearing a tika and dhaaga.

She is known for wearing several rings, sacred threads and bracelets, and she spoke honestly about how hard it can be to show one’s religious identity in public. "I can’t even tell you. Wearing a tika and wearing your religion on your sleeve is such a problem," she said.

Ektaa Kapoor recalled being judged for going to a club from a mandir

The producer also shared an incident when she was judged for heading to a club straight from a mandir. People around her were surprised and asked, “Did you go to a mandir?” She replied, “Yeah,” and then asked why the reaction was so shocking, saying, “What’s so shocking?”

About ‘The Vvaan’

The film stars Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia. It mixes fantasy, folklore and supernatural elements and unfolds around a forbidden forest. The story takes inspiration from folklore linked to the Maa Van Devi Temple near Bihta in Bihar’s Patna district.