Pelvic thrusts and sexual come-ons are annoying New Zealand’s Indians who fear Bollywood imagery is defining their culture here.
And its social civil war over the way caste is emerging in New Zealand and how ethnic Punjabis have taken over festivals like Diwali and Holi.
“If you look at the idea of India in New Zealand today,” says Wellington doctor and social commentator Sapna Samant, “then it appears to be some kind of Punjabi-Bollywood exoticism where everyone does the bhangra (Punjabi dance).”
Indian Radio Tarana CEO Robert Khan is caught in the middle.
“We always get bitches about it; people say there is too much Hindi, not enough Punjabi, too much Punjabi… and a lot of it is not constructive.”
Ethnic Indians have become New Zealand’s fastest growing ethnic group with around 140,000 permanently here along with around 28,000 Indian students, mainly in Auckland.
Indian Weekender had earlier reported members of the pan-Indian community are criticising the dominance of North Indian states when it comes to Auckland culture.
The potential for division is big: India Indians v Fiji Indians; Punjabi Indians against Gujaratis, Bengalis and Tamil, and Hindi speakers against all the other Indians who will not, refuse to or cannot speak Hindi.
Lately even caste has entered the picture with the creation of a legal trust made up of just Brahmans, the highest ranking of social classes. In India such a trust is unconstitutional - and in South India would spark riots.
Khan, who hails from Fiji, says the divisions are part of life and Punjabis tended to dominate.
“They have been more organised over the years because they were first here,” he says.
“There is a Punjabi show here every month, and they sell them out each week, each month.”
Try it with Bengalis and the audience would not be there: “It’s a supply and demand thing.”
Fiji Indians tend not to be caught up in the Indian divisions: “it is all new to them.”
Radio Tarana tries to touch all language bases but is conscious many Punjabis and Tamils do not like listening to Hindi.
“It’s a put off for Fiji Hindi to listen to BBC style Hindi.”
Khan encourages English
“We feel that there has to be a common language if Hindi is not one of them.”
Bengali Amit Ohdedar, whose theatre group Prayas performs Indian works in English, says Bollywood has become like McDonald’s.
“It overwhelms, monopolises and stymies the diversity-food or culture as the case may be.”
Prayas, which is performing again in Auckland later this year, celebrates the diversity beyond Bollywood. “We avoid selling dreams, we show and share real stories which can be grim but equally entertaining and fun to watch.”
Samant, who was chronicled Indian life here on film and radio, reckons there is a Punjabi cultural hegemony.
“Isn't it ironic that we, as a minority, fight against racism but when it comes to representation we produce only a singular identity and idea of what is India and Indian?”
Diwali or the festival of lights traditionally moves around the calendar, with the moon, but here Asia NZ Foundation has arbitrarily determined when it will be – a bit like a government agency setting Easter.
Samant says Pakeha organisation has no business shaping the culture and representation of any Asian community in New Zealand.
“To Punjabify-Bollywoodise a Hindu festival in the name of footfalls and popularity is utter sacrilege.”
Statistics New Zealand 2006 census information almost all Indians call themselves Indian – only a handful go further, although Punjabis are the biggest ethnic group within that, followed by Anglo-Indians and Bengalis. Of all Indians, 39 percent were born in India, 28.4 percent in Fiji and 22.7 percent in New Zealand.