While Bollywood has made significant strides in the last decade, I am still disappointed by one major aspect of the movie industry, and that is in its portrayal of Muslims and Islamic culture.

In the 1950′ through the 60’s, many Muslim actors would often change or hide their names to conceal their religion. Ironically, this is also when “Muslim” films surged, and were amongst the most popular and memorable films of the era. These films didn’t just have Muslim protagonists, but were rich with Islamic culture and the Urdu language.

Dil hi to Hai was one of the biggest hits in the early 1960’s. The film starred two of the most popular actors of that generation– Nutan and Raj Kapoor,  who played Muslim characters on-screen, although they were Hindu in real life. Their religious background had no role in the story. It was a comedy with a heavy emphasis on music.

The film was an example of the fact that Muslims were a part of Indian society as much as Hindus were. The film did amazingly well, and the music is still amongst the most memorable from that era.

The films Umrao Jaan and Pakeezeh were about tawaifs, or courtesans, who performed traditional dances for their male audience, called mujras. The mujras originated from Mughal courts, where they were performed for Mughal leaders. Mujras were not only a major part of Muslim heritage, but of the history of India. These two films, and many with similar themes, were rich with Urdu poetry. The female leads in these two films are remembered as two of the best roles portrayed by women in Bollywood.

Here is one of the most famous songs from the 1981 film, Umrao Jaan, where actress Rekha is performing a Mujra:

Films like Bahu Begham and Chaudhvin ka Chand similarly displayed clothing, language, and other cultural aspects of Muslims in India.

After the heavy usage of Muslim culture in films in the 1950’s through 80’s, there was a slow decline in any diversity in films. By the 1990’s and early 2000’s, the once flourishing Islamic culture in Bollywood films had all but vanished. Eloquent Urdu was replaced by everyday Hindustani (a combination of Hindi and Urdu), and character names were chosen from the most typical of Hindu names.

1990’s to mid 2000’s were some of Bollywood’s darkest times, when creativity was scarce and risks were rarely taken. Artistic merit was lost in films, and so was any hint of diversity of religions. Ironically, this is also the period where the most famous stars were Muslim, but rarely played their religion.

In 2000, there was some glimmer of hope. There was a growth of films centered around Islam, but sadly, the films would often be about terrorism or communal riots. Take Dev, for instance. Fardeen Khan and Kareena Kapoor both followed the Islamic faith, but the film was about communal riots in Mumbai. In Fanaa, the characters again were Muslim, but the main actor, Aamir Khan, was a terrorist.

After the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in 2008, a slew of films with Muslim protagonists released, such as New York, Kurbaan, and My Name is Khan. But again, all these films had a subject matter revolving around terrorism. Before the attacks, there were many like Veer Zaara and Refugee, which had the backdrop of India-Pakistan tensions.

It’s great that Bollywood no longer ignores political and social issues, but the message that is sent is troubling as well. Much of the Hindustani music, language, and culture has Muslim roots, so why not bring back the beauty of the films of bygone eras and make films with families by acknowledging this fact without tying the culture to terrorism?

What’s important to keep in mind is that Bollywood films are hugely popular in the Middle East, including Afghanistan and Pakistan. Although Muslim culture varies in different regions, it’s still a pity that these regions no longer see the eloquence of Islamic culture in Bollywood films, without the usual terrorism or violent undertones.

Of course, there are some filmmakers who dare to venture away from commercial Bollywood. Vishal Bhardwaj is one of Bollywood’s best and most sought after filmmakers. His  critically acclaimed film Maqbool took place amongst the underworld in Mumbai. The film is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and is dark, beautiful, and bold, and ripe with Islamic culture. In an interview with Filmfare, Bhardwaj, who is Hindu, told the magazine that “I love the Urdu language. I love the tehzeeb and the rishton ki nazakat (delicacy of relationships) which is a part of Muslim culture.”

The one place where Muslim heritage has revived is in Bollywood’s music. This aspect is comforting, but avoiding films with Muslim characters is not only detrimental to society, but also to filmmakers who are losing out on the artist merit of the culture.

As Bollywood moves into a new progressive era, it needs to take a few lessons from the movie industry’s roots.