A Summary of: Bollywood Victim or Ally
A study on the portrayal of tobacco in Indian Cinema.

World Health Organization, 2003

Bollywood , India’s film industry, is the largest in the world. It produces over 900 films a year in more than 8 languages. These films target an estimated 250 million young people in India. Further, according to a Dartmouth study, non-smoking teens whose favorite stars smoke frequently on screen are sixteen times more likely to develop positive attitudes towards smoking.

The portrayal of tobacco in Indian films, like in Hollywood, is on the rise. The Bollywood study “aims at understanding the degree of influence the tobacco industry has on Indian cinema in a detailed and comprehensive manner”.

Based on the Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down! program created by the American Lung Association of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails (ALASET), the researchers recruited a total of 300 youth reviewers to retrospectively review 440 movies for tobacco content from the years of 1991-2002.

The researchers found that tobacco portrayal is prevalent in 76% of the studied films. Cigarettes made up 72% of all incidents. Also, the occurrence of smoking among positive good guys elevated from 22% in 1991 to 53% in 2002. Therefore Bollywood films, like Hollywood films, depict smoking as a normal activity. Over the studied period the amount of smoking portrayed in homes decreased while the amount of smoking portrayed in public increased. This reversal implies that smoking is social and cool. However, teenage tobacco use on screen is much lower than in Hollywood films.

In 1991 13% of the films reviewed received a Thumbs Down! whereas in 2002 this number increased to 31%.

After their initial findings, the researchers conducted youth focus groups, consisting of both males and females between the ages of 16 and 18. They found that most smokers openly admitted that films influenced their smoking habit as it was fashionable. Notable quotes from these meetings include:

“films do influence us … we try to act like them … try to win a girl using methods we have seen heroes use. Try to be good like the hero. Try to copy his dress style”

“Rajnikanth flips the cigarette and tosses it into his mouth. That’s so neat. I tried to do it but couldn’t”

After completing the youth focus, thirty-one in-depth interviews were conducted with the industry’s leading filmmakers and exhibitors. Eight out of ten filmmakers stated that Hindi films do not glamorize tobacco. The others said that it was not done consciously. Notable quotes from this group include:

“I remember in my young age, I was very influenced by Dev Anand’s smoking … So those fantasies were related to smoking by the leading stars. … There was a perception that a person who smokes, thinks better, is a better actor, better artiste. And that an artiste is not creative unless he smokes” ~ Subhash Ghai, producer/director

“ … As a responsible company and filmmaker, Mukta Arts, and Dubhash Ghai, made sure that there is nothing in our films which gives a wrong signal to the young generation. But what happens is that because we are in a good situation, we are in a comfortable position and we can be responsible. However there are many needy producers who will do anything for money. Corruption is part of our culture and money overrule (SIC) everything”

~Subhash Ghai

“Censorship should be handled properly. You can’t ban smoking and drinking. Then you have to ban a lot of things … The Censor Board can’t decide what society wants to see. But there can be guidelines. Ratings”

~ Sanjay Chhel , screenwriter director

“As a filmmaker I do feel that many talented people have gone before their time because of tobacco addiction …”

~Subhash Ghai

“Smoking killed my mom … I would do it (anti-smoking messages) if someone is interested in working with me. In fact, I’m getting emails from a cigarette company who want me to do their ads, I have been refusing them”

~ Jackie Shroff, actor

The researchers produced the following overall conclusions:

• Tobacco consumption is today being viewed as “normal behavior” by youth.

• In both Hindi and South Indian films, more and more “good guy” characters are smoking.

• There is a strong linkage between films and youth behavior.

• Smoking incidents in films are much higher than actual cigarette consumption among the Indian population.

The suggestions for policy change are:

1. Modify Indian Rating Guidelines

2. Certify No Pay-Offs

3. Ban Sponsorship of Film Events

4. Run Strong Anti-Smoking Ads

5. Stop Identifying Tobacco Brands

6. Embedded Warning when Tobacco Appears

Advocacy Opportunities include:

• Working with and encouraging the entertainment industry to reduce tobacco use in entertainment industry productions through education and the denormalization of tobacco use within the industry.

• Promote media literacy activities that inoculate young people against pro-tobacco messages that appear in U, U/A and A rated films.

• Support efforts to include in-theatre and on-video anti-tobacco messages before all movies that include tobacco use.

• Develop and maintain a current film review site that evaluates films based on tobacco content and maintains historical records.

• Encourage ongoing media efforts targeting the entertainment industry.

• Continue current and past film analysis of entertainment production for tobacco content with feedback to the industry built into the process.

• Encourage public outreach efforts to the industry.

• Use the educational options outlined above to encourage denormalization.

• Promote media literacy activities that educate young people against pro-tobacco messages that appear in movies.

• Encourage major public and private funders to support the above efforts and to support the continuing research into the influence of tobacco use in entertainment productions and the development of effective means to counter such influences.

For more detailed information on this study and the full recommendations, please contact the World Health Organization: tfi@who.int or +41 22 791 2111