Devdutt Pattanaik: The Sexuality of Villains

Some people are upset that Bollywood is once again distorting history This time it deals with Padmavati the queen of Chittor who killed herself rather than letting the Delhi sultan Alauddin Khilji capture her Historians argue that information about Padmavati comes from an epic poem Padmavat by Malik Muhammad Jayasi that was composed over 200 years after the 14th century invasion So she is at best a legendary figure Legend is story based on few historical facts unlike myth which truth based on faithBut what historians and Bollywood will not openly reveal is that Alauddin Khilji was known for his homosexual leanings He bought a beautiful boy who later became the dreaded general Malik Kafur invader of Madurai from a slave market in Gujarat for a thousand gold coins Some would argue bisexuality and even pedophilia was the accepted practice in the hill tribes of Central Asia then It has given rise to contemporary practices such as baccha bazi in Afghanistan and ndash when it spread to India ndash launda nach of Bihar where boys dance to music for the pleasure of older men since women were forbidden to perform in publicWith Jayasis poem Alauddin Khilji is firmly established as a rabid heterosexual unable to control his passions going to the extent of invading a country but finally meeting his match in the noble queen who resists valiantly preferring death to dishonour What story will Bollywood tell Not history for sure But which fantasy Heterosexual love triangle most probably spiced with religious politics establishing secular credentials by showing Hindu pandits and Muslim mullahs in a bad light maybe with love transcending religion It always worksWhat story will Bollywood not tell Plot 1 a womans beauty turns a silly shallow unsuitable homosexual boy into a Bollywoodapproved heterosexual stalker A magical transformation hoped by many parents who force their gay sons into marriage Plot 2 the invader leaves the city and its queen alone after the king lets himself be captured by the obsessive invader For the sake of queen and country why notRight Wing radicals on the internet are busy pointing to Muslim invaders sexuality as per history and the Hindu queens chastity as per legend The closet homophobia is evident here the local boys are straight the foreign invader is deviant This closet homophobia extends across party lines to those on the left alsoCurrently there is Marathi play doing the rounds that projects Mahatma Gandhi in not very flattering terms while his assassin Nathuram Godse an RSS sympathizer is being projected as noble with justifications being offered for his violence Many secular politicians are upset They argue if the play is exploring THE truth why is the issue of Nathurams homosexuality based allegedly on an interview with Nathurams own brother Gopal being ignored Under the veil of objectivity homosexuality is once again being made an indicator of moral and psychological aberration after all Gandhi did advocate celibacy and chastity explicitly and heterosexuality implicitlyThe pattern is both cases is the same the heroinehero is heterosexual and chaste essentially heteronormative The villain is homosexual and deviant While everyone is talking about historical accuracy and creative license few are noticing the closet homophobia uniting filmmakers playwrights and critics across party linesThe author writes and lectures on the relevance of mythology in modern times Reach him at devduttdevduttcom