Stereotyping Parsis
It’s often the quirks of a community that become its identity and set it apart from the rest. But with India becoming so globalised, are we still that ethno-centric? Yes, says Homi Adjania, the director of Being Cyrus.
The quirks of a community are often a tool for incorporating humour in a film. But sometimes people get touchy about things.
In Being Cyrus, I didn’t make the characters speak Parsi English. But most films with Parsi characters will always show them wearing the dagla with the black topi, and that’s a stereotype.
I’m a Parsi, and would wear a dagla only on my wedding. Parsis are also very passionate about life, which not too many films show, he says.
But ask other Parsis if the portrayal of the community was authentic in Adjania’s film, and the response is mixed. Banking professional Nazrin Tayamat says, Parsis are fiercely possessive about their belongings, especially their cars.
And the film too shows Boman Irani snapping at anyone who messes with his car. But in most films, Parsis are shown as crazy, and that’s generalising, she says.
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I so agree with Arzan Wadia. I do not understand why we are ridiculed like this in Bollywood movies. I for one have never seen a Parsi couple dressed in Daglas driving cars around. They never emphasize on our accomplishments. Most people who ridicule us would not know a fish fork from their elbow.