A few years back, spiritual leader and founder of the Art of Living Foundation, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, launched a critique of the Hindi film industry, popularly known as Bollywood. He accused Bollywood of promoting immoral behaviour and undermining the cultural and religious nature of the country. Despite his longstanding association with several Bollywood personalities, many of whom have supported or participated in his organisation’s initiatives, Sri Sri did not hold back in his remarks, calling the industry a “haven” for drugs, alcohol, and unethical practices.
Addressing a large gathering, Sri Sri had said in 2013, “In Bollywood, anybody wearing a tilak is a villain, and anyone with a little pony has to be the bad guy. They bring the dignity of the people who are practising religion into a very bad light so that young people can move away from religion. So that they are susceptible to drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. The only thing that stops one from these things is your religiosity.”
He criticised actors for charging exorbitant fees while simultaneously spreading narratives that, in his view, degrade traditional institutions like ashrams and temples. “They are all up to some mischief. They are attacking the values of the society and culture of the country. They say that all ashrams are bad and all temples are looting money, but that is exactly what they do. An actor only has to sneeze in an ad for Vicks, yet they charge crores of rupees for it.”
Sri Sri stated that “all Bollywood actors lead miserable lives, with immoral and unethical practices. They may talk about ethics, but if you look at their personal lives, you can’t find any. They don’t want ethics and religion to blossom. They are like politicians, who make their own enemy and fight against them.”
The spiritual leader further claimed that many individuals in the film industry lead miserable personal lives, devoid of the values they claim to champion. He warned that the close ties between Bollywood and substance abuse have played a significant role in the drug crisis in states like Punjab.
“The drugs and alcohol lobby is with Bollywood, and they all want to influence the youth to fall into these bad habits. That’s how Punjab got trapped in this, and it is so unfortunate that a state so robust and vibrant is going in this direction,” he said.