TEMPLE OF DOOM - Dissecting Speilberg's India !!

There is a reason this movie was not made in India but neighboring Sri Lanka (Ceylon) !

I have been a fan of Steven Spielberg ever since I watched Jaws and Close Encounters in Mumbai. I have watched almost all of his movies since then including E.T., Poltergeist, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park etc etc.

His Indiana Jones series seems to be the most popular of the adventure genre and I like the fast paced action with Harrison Ford as the star. However, the Temple Of Doom movie for me is a little silly and comic book like. The Hindi mantras, the Kali Ma chants etc are mostly incorrect and meaningless. Where in India do you find temples like the one in the movie ? The temple seems to be a combination of a coal mine and crazy people who claim to be Kali worshipers. 

Does not the scene of the strong men in the cave whipping little kids remind you of the various movies made on the Bible and Old Testament by Hollywood ? It seems Mr. Spielberg transferred scenes from these Hollywood movies to the Indian scenario except that the slaves being whipped in this case are kids. In one scene the main villain , Mr. Amrish Puri, says that all Christian and Hebrew gods will fall and then Kali will rule. I have never heard dialogues like these from Indians but have heard words in that tone from American Evangelists you see on TV ! Indians have many many Gods like Krishna,Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva etc  and couple of extra ones will not matter to most Indians. 

And many Indians are vegetarians, they don't eat monkey brains, snakes and other repulsive delicacies that Speilberg shows in the movie. There are non-vegetarians in India as well but the kind of meats shown in the movie seem to be popular in neighboring Asian countries like Korea, Taiwan, China etc per the many Travel shows you see on American TV but not in India.

And making fun of Hindu Gods via a Hindu mantra [ as uttered by a 'hypnotized' Mr. Indy] used while worshiping Lord Rama and his spouse Sita does not (Jaya Rama, Siya Rama) suit a movie maker of the caliber of Mr. Spielberg. [ Though everyone does not agree about the affect these chants/mantras have on a person's mind either, so....].

And the main priest's headgear and the voodoo doll seem to be from some other place rather than India. 

So it seems that Spielberg did not do much homework and relied on fast action and special effects to salvage the movie. This movie is more of a comic book than an invitation to India!

Note: I am familiar that Mother Kali is worshiped in the State Of Bengal in India where Swami Vivekananda  was born and raised.