Abstract
Islamophobia is a concept that basically expresses fear and hostility towards Muslims and the Islamic faith. Especially after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Islamophobic discourse has become increasingly common in cinema, especially in Hollywood. Parallel to Hollywood, movies that fuel anti-Muslim sentiment have begun to be produced in India, where millions of Muslims live as minorities. In recent years, many movies have appeared in Indian cinema, reflecting the nationalist policies of the ruling party and associating the Islamic faith with terrorism. The films "Baby" (2015) and "Sooryavanshi" (2021), starring Akshay Kumar, one of the most popular actors of Bollywood cinema and known for being the supporter of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stand out with their openly anti-Muslim rhetoric. Critical discourse analysis method was used in this study, which aims to reveal how the Islamophobic discourse in these films is created. As a result of the analysis, it has been determined that the religion of Islam and terrorism are tried to be associated by depicting of Muslim characters in a certain way, putting them into certain actions and behaviors, and writing certain dialogue lines to these characters. At the same time, it has been determined that these films have a template plot those anti-Muslim narratives can constantly benefit from.