Ektaa Kapoor: ‘Wearing Your Religion Is Such a Problem’
Producer Ektaa Kapoor says Indian entertainment still judges open Hindu faith, from tika and dhaaga to folklore, and explains why she's speaking up now.
Ektaa Kapoor has spent decades putting Indian folklore and mythology on screen. In a new podcast chat with Ranveer Allahbadia, the producer says the industry still treats open Hindu faith as a problem—and she is done apologising for it.
‘Animation gets a pass, folklore gets a side-eye’
Ektaa said the bias shows up the moment a story leans on Indian folklore, culture or faith. ‘Numbers are great for the film. What is really important is it deals with folklore,’ she told Allahbadia. ‘We’re okay with animated animation, but we’re not okay with discussing folklore and mythology.’
She used a blunter word on camera: Hinduphobia. For TV fans who grew up on the mythology-driven serials Ektaa’s banner built, that matters. It puts a name to a familiar question—why is Western fantasy treated as universal, while desi folklore is often written off as niche or risky?
Being mocked for tika and dhaaga
Ektaa also opened up about the personal cost. In her younger days, she said, people called her a freak and made fun of her for wearing a tika and dhaaga. She remembered being judged once for heading to a club straight from a mandir. When people asked, surprised, ‘Did you go to a mandir?’, her reply was simple: ‘Yeah, what’s so shocking?’
‘Wearing a tika and wearing your religion on your sleeve is such a problem,’ she said.
The producer is known for her rings, sacred threads and bracelets. Her point is that those symbols shouldn’t need an explanation—and that the industry’s discomfort with them says more about the industry than about her.
The Vvaan and the slow shift
Ektaa does see change. ‘There’s so much more acceptance now,’ she said, adding that she is ready to bring these stories out and let audiences decide.
Her new film The Vvaan is one test. It stars Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia, mixing fantasy, folklore and supernatural elements. The story unfolds around a forbidden forest and is inspired by folklore linked to the Maa Van Devi Temple near Bihta in Patna district, Bihar.
For fans tracking the film, here’s what to know:
- The Vvaan pairs Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia in a folk-tale thriller.
- It’s built around a forbidden forest with fantasy and supernatural elements.
- The story draws on local folklore tied to the Maa Van Devi Temple near Bihta, Patna.
Why this matters for television fans
Ektaa’s empire was built on serials that borrowed heavily from myth and folklore. If a producer of her standing still faces judgment for tika and dhaaga, the conversation around representation is far from settled. The Vvaan may show whether a mainstream production can wear its folklore openly—and whether viewers reward it.
If you want more desi folklore on screen, the clearest vote is to show up for The Vvaan when it releases—and to question, not mock, the tikas and threads actors choose to wear. The producer’s message for now is simple: faith on screen shouldn’t be a scandal.
Source: The Times of India
