When we think of the words booze and Bollywood (or Hindi cinema, for the most serious aficionados) in combination, we usually imagine drunks and alcoholics, criminals, villains, manipulative vampires, heartbreaks, tragedies or comedies. burlesques. The depiction of alcohol as a substance and drinking as a motive in Hindi films (most Indian films in any language, in fact) largely corresponded to a morality derived from the India of the 1950s and 1960s: it is a “social evil”. The confusion of alcohol and alcoholism is one of the oldest tropes in Indian cinema. Do you remember Devdas? Alcohol, heartache, rudderless protagonist – the trifecta.
Read more: Alcohol: when, where and how
This belief has changed over time. Our popular culture reflects millennia-old attitudes far removed from the old school of thought that views alcohol as evil in a bottle. Today’s Bollywood embraces the laid-back lifestyle of millennials who like to end the week with a party and who themselves are unapologetic about having a good time. Abhi toh gone shuru hui hai, indeed.”
A 2020 study published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry and the National Library of Medicine (USA) website assessed 150 Hindi films for “the extent and pattern of alcohol portrayal in films of Bollywood” and to analyze trends in the representation of alcohol over three decades: 1961-1970; 1981–1990; and 2001–2010. (Yes, there really are research studies on attitudes towards alcohol in Indian films.)
They concluded that “The Third Decade…had the greatest proportion of scenes set in clubs, bars, nightclubs, or restaurants; scenes with ‘positive’ tint characters depicting drinking, and the scenes depicting heroines consuming alcohol… There is a growing trend toward the depiction of alcohol by positive characters for fun and relaxation.”
And what was the most common type of alcohol? “The most common alcohol depicted was spirits alone, such as whiskey or vodka.” (75.1%)”
Whiskey, particularly the Indian penchant for Scotch, is a recurring theme in Bollywood. The golden spirit is loaded with symbolism: sophistication, style, discreet but elegant wealth, high status. Whether it’s the villain, the hero, or the girl’s father, only the coolest drank whiskey and did it with flying colors. Country/village people drink country booze, city kids drink beer, women drink wine, and strangers drink cocktails, but the antagonist and protagonist taste like good things. The implicit association has not escaped the Indian public: the leading men drink whiskey.
This, of course, is reminiscent of colonial times and hangovers. The British, who ruled India, drank whiskey, and those who came after them inherited social mores as well as a love of single malt. As one writer noted, “For a brown-skinned working-class man, drinking whiskey began to be a sign of progress and success.”
Bollywood actor Johnny Walker (real name Badruddin Kazi), the man featured in the classic song Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan, received this nickname from Guru Dutt. The filmmaker was impressed with his drunkard role in the 1951 film Baazi and named him after the famous Scotch whiskey; that name was a compliment. The VAT69 brand, a Scotch-blended whiskey, was a regular feature of films throughout the 1970s as the drink of choice for the main villain, who was inevitably a stylish, wealthy, conniving, dignified, but ultimately immoral rival. Think of Ajit as Far in any 70s movie – he might have been bad, but he sure was awesome. Amitabh Bachchan’s character in the movie Deewar also turns to a bottle of VAT69 as he contemplates going to the wrong side. The association with on-screen badassery was sealed at that time for an entire generation.
Given this “positive” association that whiskey enjoys as an upper-class drink and status symbol, it’s no surprise that India is one of the largest whiskey markets in the world. This is also the reason why we have countless desi versions of this daru – we can’t get enough. No wonder, then, that we’ve collectively used 136 million bottles of whiskey in 2021 alone (in terms of per capita consumption, our people say we’re way down the list). A few years ago, Daniel Leahy, Global Director of Johnnie Walker Content Creation, claimed that Johnnie Walker was the “Imported Scotch Whiskey Leader” in the Indian market and had a 56% market share!
Today, as millennial attitudes unravel the shackles of older social constraints, the youth of urban India have no qualms about living the good life. Many Hindi movies these days have a party song or two where the hero and heroine relax with a drink and don’t turn into evil incarnate. Some would call this progress; others would call it downgraded, if not pure and simple degeneration. As the debate continues, it looks like India and Bollywood’s love of whiskey is growing.