Dhalsim
Encyclopedia
, is a video game character
from the Street Fighter series of fighting game
s.
Dhalsim made his debut in the original Street Fighter II
as one of the games original eight main characters. In his backstory, Dhalsim is characterized as a pacifist
who goes against his beliefs by entering the World Warrior tournament to raise money for his village. In his ending, Dhalsim wins the tournament and returns home on his elephant Kodal. Three years later, Dhalsim's son, Datta, discovers a photograph of his father from the tournament.
From the original Street Fighter II and up until Super Street Fighter II, this ending graphics was drawn in a comical style. In Super Street Fighter II Turbo, it was changed to a more realistic style, with Dhalsim's wife and son - Sari and Datta, respectively - added to it.
Dhalsim would later appear in the Street Fighter Alpha sub-series in Street Fighter Alpha 2
and Street Fighter Alpha 3
. In his storyline in the Alpha games (which are set prior to the events of Street Fighter II), Dhalsim attempts to hunt down an "evil spirit" (M. Bison
) threatening the world.
Dhalsim also appears in the Street Fighter EX
sub-series, beginning with the console-exclusive version, Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha, followed by Street Fighter EX2 and Street Fighter EX3
. His characterization and motivation are the same as they are in the previous Street Fighter game.
Dhalsim is back in Street Fighter IV
along with the rest of the original World Warriors.
Dhalsim has also appeared as playable characters in several crossover fighting games, which includes X-Men vs. Street Fighter
, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom vs. SNK
, Capcom vs. SNK 2
and SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos.
-less eyes. His build is that of a normal man who exercises and weight trains regularly except for his abdomen
and waist which appear much out of proportion and emaciated
. He wears torn saffron
shorts as his only clothing attire as well as saffron wristbands and anklebands. He has three colored stripes adorning his head, and in the Street Fighter Alpha series, he wears a turban
, that he removes before battle. In his origin, fighting style and special powers, Dhalsim resembles the hired Indian fighter in the 1976 Chinese wuxia
film Master of the Flying Guillotine
- a likely inspiration for Dhalsim.
His fighting style is a Yoga
-based style, in which Dhalsim can stretch his arms, legs, abdomen and even his neck to great lengths making him a decent long-range hand-to-hand fighter. He also uses many fire-based attacks such as Yoga Fire, Yoga Flame and Yoga Blast, the latter being an anti-air technique. His super move in the Street Fighter EX, Cross Over and later Alpha Series was the Yoga Inferno, which was basically a multi-hitting flamethrower
-style attack that could be directed manually.
Dhalsim also uses a teleportation technique known as the Yoga Teleport (M. Bison
would later gain this ability in Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors Dreams).
In Street Fighter EX3
, he gains a tag-team super move when paired with Blanka
. In Street Fighter IV
he gains the ultra combo move "Yoga Catastrophe", which is a move similar to "Yoga Inferno" but he blows out a large fireball instead, which slowly moves towards the opponent and deals multi-damage on impact.
, the UDON
comic book
series, and Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
, Dhalsim is a wise and powerful mystic
who has mastered the inner mysteries of Yoga. In the comic, he helps prepare Sagat
for his bout with Ryu
and helps Ryu himself discover the darkness within his soul. Later on he is given an invitation to M. Bison
's "Street Fighter II" global fighting tournament, wherein he defeats Adon in the preliminaries with ease.
In Street Fighter II V
, Dhalsim is a monk who lives in a remote village in India. Sagat had earlier instructed Ryu to seek Dhalsim for advice about the Ways of Hadou. Sagat had been turned down years before when he sought Dhalsim's wisdom, but had figured that Ryu might be found more worthy. Dhalsim is a practitioner of yoga and has some psychic abilities, and although he knows much about Hadou, he was unable to train Ryu to use the Hadouken, which was inadvertently triggered in Ryu's body during a lesson. Dhalsim is voiced by Shōzō Iizuka
in the Japanese version and Steve Blum in the English dub.
Dhalsim has a brief appearance in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
, voiced by Yukimasa Kishino
in the Japanese version and Don Carey in the English dub. Here he fights E. Honda in India but the match is withdrawn when Dhalsim cannot fight because he feels another power among us
.
Dhalsim was portrayed by Roshan Seth
in 1994's live action film Street Fighter
. In the movie, Dhalsim was changed from a fighter to a meek doctor working on a "supersoldier
" experiment for Bison
. His science was originally supposed to promote peace but Bison corrupted it to serve perversion instead. In the end, (after he is burned and altered to look more like the character in the game) he decided to remain in Shadaloo alongside with Blanka
(his creation), with last words of "If good men do nothing, that is evil enough." Dhalsim is later featured in the Street Fighter animated series as part of Guile's team.
From the original roster of Street Fighter II characters featured in the film, Dhalsim and T. Hawk are the only ones who do not appear as playable characters in the video game based on the film, Street Fighter
. A viceversa situation occurs with Akuma
, who is a secret character in the game but does not appear in the film. In November 2009 Lupe Fiasco's mixtape "Enemy of the state: A love story" included a remix of the Lil Wayne's "Fireman" titled "Yoga Flame" Fiasco states "I call this one Yoga Flame" and the first verse talks about the character Dhalsim and his fighting style and levitation ability. A sound bit from the original street fighter using his trade mark "Yoga Flame" is heard twice in the song.
ranked Dhalsim at number eight in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters" article, noting his unique gameplay and role as a "popular oddball". He additionally placed number fourteen on GameDaily
' s "Top 20 Street Fighter Characters of All Time" article. He was also included in their list of the top 25 "baldies
" by GameDaily.
Topless Robot named him one of the most "Most Ridiculously Stereotyped Fighting Game Characters", calling him the most outlandish of Street Fighter IIs cast and drew comparisons to the Indian assassin in the film Master of the Flying Guillotine
. The satirical book A Practical Guide To Racism
, implicitly criticizes his portrayal as a sum of negative stereotypes of South Asians
, where Hindus are portrayed as "nonviolent, magical, fastidious, stretchy, and pugnacious".
The book Game Design Perspectives notes Dhalsim as an example of a "nemesis character" in video games, one difficult to master proper usage of but widely considered one of the strongest characters in the game as well.
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the Street Fighter series of fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
s.
Dhalsim made his debut in the original Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II
is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
as one of the games original eight main characters. In his backstory, Dhalsim is characterized as a pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
who goes against his beliefs by entering the World Warrior tournament to raise money for his village. In his ending, Dhalsim wins the tournament and returns home on his elephant Kodal. Three years later, Dhalsim's son, Datta, discovers a photograph of his father from the tournament.
From the original Street Fighter II and up until Super Street Fighter II, this ending graphics was drawn in a comical style. In Super Street Fighter II Turbo, it was changed to a more realistic style, with Dhalsim's wife and son - Sari and Datta, respectively - added to it.
Dhalsim would later appear in the Street Fighter Alpha sub-series in Street Fighter Alpha 2
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Street Fighter Alpha 2, known as in Japan, Asia and South America, is a fighting game originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware by Capcom. The game is both a sequel and a remake to the previous years Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, which is itself a prequel to the Street Fighter...
and Street Fighter Alpha 3
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Street Fighter Alpha 3, known as in Japan and Asia, is a fighting game by Capcom originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware. It is the third game in the Street Fighter Alpha series, following Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams and Street Fighter Alpha 2...
. In his storyline in the Alpha games (which are set prior to the events of Street Fighter II), Dhalsim attempts to hunt down an "evil spirit" (M. Bison
M. Bison
M. Bison, known in Japan as Vega, is a video game character created by Capcom. First introduced in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, he is a recurring character in the Street Fighter series of fighting games, acting as the final boss and primary antagonist of the Street Fighter II and Street...
) threatening the world.
Dhalsim also appears in the Street Fighter EX
Street Fighter EX
Street Fighter EX is a head-to-head fighting game with 3D graphics, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for the Sony ZN hardware in . It is a spin-off of the Street Fighter series co-produced by Capcom with Arika and was the first game in the series to feature polygon graphics...
sub-series, beginning with the console-exclusive version, Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha, followed by Street Fighter EX2 and Street Fighter EX3
Street Fighter EX3
Street Fighter EX3 is the third console installment in the Street Fighter EX series developed by Arika and published by Capcom. The game was released in 2000 for PlayStation 2 in Japan and North America, and subsequently released in Europe in 2001....
. His characterization and motivation are the same as they are in the previous Street Fighter game.
Dhalsim is back in Street Fighter IV
Street Fighter IV
is a fighting game produced by Capcom. It is the first numbered Street Fighter game released by Capcom since . The coin-operated arcade game was released in Japan on July 18, 2008, with North American arcades importing the machines by August...
along with the rest of the original World Warriors.
Dhalsim has also appeared as playable characters in several crossover fighting games, which includes X-Men vs. Street Fighter
X-Men vs. Street Fighter
X-Men vs. Street Fighter is a fighting game originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in . It is Capcom's third fighting game to feature Marvel Comics characters and the first game to match them against their own, with characters from Marvel's X-Men franchise being matched against the cast...
, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
is the fourth Marvel Comics-licensed fighting game produced by Capcom . It is a sequel to X-Men vs. Street Fighter which replaces most of the X-Men characters with characters from Marvel Super Heroes. In an attempt to balance the previous games' problems, the game engine was altered, although it...
, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom vs. SNK
Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
is a head-to-head fighting game produced by Capcom originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for Segas NAOMI hardware and later ported to the Dreamcast...
, Capcom vs. SNK 2
Capcom vs. SNK 2
Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001, known as Millionaire Fighting 2001 in Japan, is a sequel to the fighting game Capcom vs. SNK. This game was released on NAOMI hardware in the arcade...
and SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos.
Character design
Dhalsim is often depicted as having pupilPupil
The pupil is a hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to enter the retina. It appears black because most of the light entering the pupil is absorbed by the tissues inside the eye. In humans the pupil is round, but other species, such as some cats, have slit pupils. In...
-less eyes. His build is that of a normal man who exercises and weight trains regularly except for his abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
and waist which appear much out of proportion and emaciated
Emaciation
Emaciation occurs when an organism loses substantial amounts of much needed fat and often muscle tissue, making that organism look extremely thin. The cause of emaciation is a lack of nutrients, starvation, or disease....
. He wears torn saffron
Saffron (color)
Saffron is a color that is a tone of golden yellow resembling the color of the tip of the saffron crocus thread, from which the spice saffron is derived.The first recorded use of saffron as a color name in English was in 1200...
shorts as his only clothing attire as well as saffron wristbands and anklebands. He has three colored stripes adorning his head, and in the Street Fighter Alpha series, he wears a turban
Turban
In English, Turban refers to several types of headwear popularly worn in the Middle East, North Africa, Punjab, Jamaica and Southwest Asia. A commonly used synonym is Pagri, the Indian word for turban.-Styles:...
, that he removes before battle. In his origin, fighting style and special powers, Dhalsim resembles the hired Indian fighter in the 1976 Chinese wuxia
Wuxia
Wuxia is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to diverse art forms like Chinese opera, manhua , films, television series, and video games...
film Master of the Flying Guillotine
Master of the Flying Guillotine
Master of the Flying Guillotine is a 1976 Hong Kong wuxia film starring Jimmy Wang, who also wrote and directed the film. It is a sequel to Wang's 1971 film One Armed Boxer, and thus the film is also known as One-Armed Boxer 2 and The One Armed Boxer vs...
- a likely inspiration for Dhalsim.
His fighting style is a Yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
-based style, in which Dhalsim can stretch his arms, legs, abdomen and even his neck to great lengths making him a decent long-range hand-to-hand fighter. He also uses many fire-based attacks such as Yoga Fire, Yoga Flame and Yoga Blast, the latter being an anti-air technique. His super move in the Street Fighter EX, Cross Over and later Alpha Series was the Yoga Inferno, which was basically a multi-hitting flamethrower
Flamethrower
A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire.Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid; some project a long gas flame. Most military flamethrowers use liquids, but commercial flamethrowers tend to use high-pressure propane and...
-style attack that could be directed manually.
Dhalsim also uses a teleportation technique known as the Yoga Teleport (M. Bison
M. Bison
M. Bison, known in Japan as Vega, is a video game character created by Capcom. First introduced in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, he is a recurring character in the Street Fighter series of fighting games, acting as the final boss and primary antagonist of the Street Fighter II and Street...
would later gain this ability in Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors Dreams).
In Street Fighter EX3
Street Fighter EX3
Street Fighter EX3 is the third console installment in the Street Fighter EX series developed by Arika and published by Capcom. The game was released in 2000 for PlayStation 2 in Japan and North America, and subsequently released in Europe in 2001....
, he gains a tag-team super move when paired with Blanka
Blanka
is a video game character from the Street Fighter series of fighting games. Blanka is depicted as a feral savage, with green skin and long orange hair, resembling a monster more than a human...
. In Street Fighter IV
Street Fighter IV
is a fighting game produced by Capcom. It is the first numbered Street Fighter game released by Capcom since . The coin-operated arcade game was released in Japan on July 18, 2008, with North American arcades importing the machines by August...
he gains the ultra combo move "Yoga Catastrophe", which is a move similar to "Yoga Inferno" but he blows out a large fireball instead, which slowly moves towards the opponent and deals multi-damage on impact.
In other media
In the Street Fighter II VStreet Fighter II V
, is an anime series based on the fighting game Street Fighter II. Directed by Gisaburo Sugii , the series first aired in Japan in 1995, from April 10 to November 27, on YTV...
, the UDON
UDON
UDON Entertainment Corporation is a studio of Asian-influenced comic book creators that provides creative services to the entertainment industry. The company is a publisher of comic books, graphic novels, and art books, as well as English editions of Japanese manga and Korean manhwa titles. Erik...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series, and Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, known as in Japan and Australia, is a 1994 Japanese animated film adaptation of the Street Fighter II fighting games written by Kenichi Imai, directed by Gisaburō Sugii and animated by Group TAC. The film, originally released in Japan on August 8, 1994, has...
, Dhalsim is a wise and powerful mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
who has mastered the inner mysteries of Yoga. In the comic, he helps prepare Sagat
Sagat (Street Fighter)
is a boss character from the early editions of Capcom's Street Fighter fighting game series. He was later turned into a regular, playable character. Sagat is depicted as a well-renowned Muay Thai expert fighter known for his incredible power. He is often called the "Emperor of Muay Thai" in his...
for his bout with Ryu
Ryu (Street Fighter)
is a video game player character created by Capcom, the main protagonist of the Street Fighter series. Having premiered in the first Street Fighter in 1987, Ryu appears as the lead character from the game along with his best friend Ken Masters participating in the Street Fighter tournament...
and helps Ryu himself discover the darkness within his soul. Later on he is given an invitation to M. Bison
M. Bison
M. Bison, known in Japan as Vega, is a video game character created by Capcom. First introduced in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, he is a recurring character in the Street Fighter series of fighting games, acting as the final boss and primary antagonist of the Street Fighter II and Street...
's "Street Fighter II" global fighting tournament, wherein he defeats Adon in the preliminaries with ease.
In Street Fighter II V
Street Fighter II V
, is an anime series based on the fighting game Street Fighter II. Directed by Gisaburo Sugii , the series first aired in Japan in 1995, from April 10 to November 27, on YTV...
, Dhalsim is a monk who lives in a remote village in India. Sagat had earlier instructed Ryu to seek Dhalsim for advice about the Ways of Hadou. Sagat had been turned down years before when he sought Dhalsim's wisdom, but had figured that Ryu might be found more worthy. Dhalsim is a practitioner of yoga and has some psychic abilities, and although he knows much about Hadou, he was unable to train Ryu to use the Hadouken, which was inadvertently triggered in Ryu's body during a lesson. Dhalsim is voiced by Shōzō Iizuka
Shozo Iizuka
is a male Japanese voice actor from Fukushima Prefecture who is affiliated with Sigma Seven. He graduated from the fine arts department of Nihon University....
in the Japanese version and Steve Blum in the English dub.
Dhalsim has a brief appearance in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, known as in Japan and Australia, is a 1994 Japanese animated film adaptation of the Street Fighter II fighting games written by Kenichi Imai, directed by Gisaburō Sugii and animated by Group TAC. The film, originally released in Japan on August 8, 1994, has...
, voiced by Yukimasa Kishino
Yukimasa Kishino
is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production. He is also active in the theatrical entertainment field and is the chairman of his own theatrical group, Gekidan Kishino Gumi...
in the Japanese version and Don Carey in the English dub. Here he fights E. Honda in India but the match is withdrawn when Dhalsim cannot fight because he feels another power among us
Ryu (Street Fighter)
is a video game player character created by Capcom, the main protagonist of the Street Fighter series. Having premiered in the first Street Fighter in 1987, Ryu appears as the lead character from the game along with his best friend Ken Masters participating in the Street Fighter tournament...
.
Dhalsim was portrayed by Roshan Seth
Roshan Seth
Roshan Seth is an Indian-born British actor, who appears mainly in British and American films. He is known for his critically acclaimed performances in the films Gandhi, Mississippi Masala, Not Without My Daughter, My Beautiful Laundrette, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Such a Long...
in 1994's live action film Street Fighter
Street Fighter (film)
Street Fighter is a 1994 American action film written and directed by Steven E. de Souza. It is based loosely on the same-titled video games produced by Capcom, and stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Raul Julia, along with supporting performances by Byron Mann, Damian Chapa, Kylie Minogue, Ming-Na...
. In the movie, Dhalsim was changed from a fighter to a meek doctor working on a "supersoldier
Supersoldier
Supersoldier is a term often used to describe a soldier that operates beyond normal human limits or abilities. Supersoldiers are common in science fiction literature, films, TV programs, computer, conspiracy theories, and video games, but have also made appearances in other related genres, such as...
" experiment for Bison
M. Bison
M. Bison, known in Japan as Vega, is a video game character created by Capcom. First introduced in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, he is a recurring character in the Street Fighter series of fighting games, acting as the final boss and primary antagonist of the Street Fighter II and Street...
. His science was originally supposed to promote peace but Bison corrupted it to serve perversion instead. In the end, (after he is burned and altered to look more like the character in the game) he decided to remain in Shadaloo alongside with Blanka
Blanka
is a video game character from the Street Fighter series of fighting games. Blanka is depicted as a feral savage, with green skin and long orange hair, resembling a monster more than a human...
(his creation), with last words of "If good men do nothing, that is evil enough." Dhalsim is later featured in the Street Fighter animated series as part of Guile's team.
From the original roster of Street Fighter II characters featured in the film, Dhalsim and T. Hawk are the only ones who do not appear as playable characters in the video game based on the film, Street Fighter
Street Fighter (film)
Street Fighter is a 1994 American action film written and directed by Steven E. de Souza. It is based loosely on the same-titled video games produced by Capcom, and stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Raul Julia, along with supporting performances by Byron Mann, Damian Chapa, Kylie Minogue, Ming-Na...
. A viceversa situation occurs with Akuma
Akuma (Street Fighter)
Akuma known in Japan as , is a video game character from the Street Fighter series of fighting games. Akuma made his debut in Super Street Fighter II Turbo as a secret character and hidden boss. In the storyline of the Street Fighter video games, he is the younger brother of Gouken, Ryu and Ken's...
, who is a secret character in the game but does not appear in the film. In November 2009 Lupe Fiasco's mixtape "Enemy of the state: A love story" included a remix of the Lil Wayne's "Fireman" titled "Yoga Flame" Fiasco states "I call this one Yoga Flame" and the first verse talks about the character Dhalsim and his fighting style and levitation ability. A sound bit from the original street fighter using his trade mark "Yoga Flame" is heard twice in the song.
Critical reception
In the February 1992 issue of Gamest magazine in Japan, Dhalsim ranked at No. 5 in the list of Best Characters of 1991. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
ranked Dhalsim at number eight in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters" article, noting his unique gameplay and role as a "popular oddball". He additionally placed number fourteen on GameDaily
GameDaily
GameDaily was a video game journalism website based in the United States. Launched in 1995 by entrepreneur Mark Friedler under the name Gigex and focused on free game demo downloads, The site changed its business model from a flat fee per download CDN distributed service network to an...
Baldness
Baldness implies partial or complete lack of hair and can be understood as part of the wider topic of "hair thinning". The degree and pattern of baldness can vary greatly, but its most common cause is male and female pattern baldness, also known as androgenic alopecia, alopecia androgenetica or...
" by GameDaily.
Topless Robot named him one of the most "Most Ridiculously Stereotyped Fighting Game Characters", calling him the most outlandish of Street Fighter IIs cast and drew comparisons to the Indian assassin in the film Master of the Flying Guillotine
Master of the Flying Guillotine
Master of the Flying Guillotine is a 1976 Hong Kong wuxia film starring Jimmy Wang, who also wrote and directed the film. It is a sequel to Wang's 1971 film One Armed Boxer, and thus the film is also known as One-Armed Boxer 2 and The One Armed Boxer vs...
. The satirical book A Practical Guide To Racism
A Practical Guide To Racism
A Practical Guide to Racism is a 2007 humorous satirical book written by Sam Means under the pseudonym C.H. Dalton. The book is similar to the Douglas Sutherland book The English Gentleman, in that it is constructed as a "guide" to the behaviors of various social groups built entirely out of...
, implicitly criticizes his portrayal as a sum of negative stereotypes of South Asians
Stereotypes of South Asians
Stereotypes of South Asians are oversimplified ethnic stereotypes of South Asian people, and are found in many Western societies. Stereotypes of South Asians have been collectively internalized by societies, and are manifested by a society's media, literature, theatre and other creative expressions...
, where Hindus are portrayed as "nonviolent, magical, fastidious, stretchy, and pugnacious".
The book Game Design Perspectives notes Dhalsim as an example of a "nemesis character" in video games, one difficult to master proper usage of but widely considered one of the strongest characters in the game as well.