Can propaganda be great art?

Can propaganda be great art? Premium Critics have panned it for blending real-life events with fiction to push an ultra-nationalist narrative, defenders praise its technical finesse, immersive storytelling and raw intensity, suggesting it goes beyond mere messaging Updated - December 26, 2025 01:12 am IST Anuj Kumar READ LATER SEE ALL Remove A still from Dhurandar C an propaganda be art? This question has divided critics, artists and audiences. Leni Riefenstahl’s films glorifying Nazism and Soviet poster art are often cited as propaganda that transcended their purpose to become enduring art. Recently, this debate has resurfaced with the success of Aditya Dhar’s Hindi film Dhurandar . While critics have panned it for blending real-life events with fiction to push an ultra-nationalist narrative, defenders praise its technical finesse, immersive storytelling and raw intensity, suggesting it goes beyond mere messaging. Asim Siddiqui and Sudhanva Deshpande discuss art and propaganda in a conversation moderated by Anuj Kumara Anuj Kumar . Edited excerpts: In Focus podcast | Can propaganda be great art? Several works of art, books, theatre, and films are often called propaganda. How exactly would you define propaganda? Asim Siddiqui : In an absolute sense, you can say that all art is propaganda. That means whether it is cinematic art, literature, or poetry, it is talking about certain ideas. But these days, when we use the word ‘propaganda’, we are using the word in a very specific sense where a filmmaker, writer, or artist has a clear agenda to make a selective use of facts, ideas, and maybe images to try and persuade a group of people to accept a particular point of view. It nakedly panders to raw emotions. And by doing that, it tries to mold public opinion. Sudhanva Deshpande : Propaganda must be seen in the context of a broader ecosystem. Propaganda is typically not something that one person does alone. There are organised forces behind the work that is seen as propaganda. Would you say Dhurandhar is well done propaganda, as many believe? How does it compare with The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story , which are seen as explicit propaganda? Asim Siddiqui : It is certainly better than those films. It tries to narrate a story and create characters, but I would place it within that broader ecosystem of which the other two films are part. Sudhanva Deshpande : In the Hindi film industry, there has been a concerted effort by forces of Hindutva to take control of the film industry in some ways, and this is done both officially as well as through non-state actors — trolls and vigilantes on the ground, institutions of the state, and networks of funding, financing, exhibiting films. For instance, when The Kashmir File s came out, in several BJP States, government institutions gave their employees the day off or bought them tickets. Social media too was promoting the film. So the commercial success of the film was orchestrated. But despite this orchestration, films such as The Kashmir Files and...

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