Full Description
This book provides a unique insider's look at the world's largest film industry, now globally known as 'Bollywood' and challenges existing notions about Indian films.
Indian films have been a worldwide phenomenon for decades. Chapters in this edited volume take a fresh view of various hidden gems by maestros such as Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy, V Shantaram, Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Shakti Samant, Rishikesh Mukherjee, and others. Other chapters provide a pioneering review and analysis of the portrayal of Indian religious communities such as Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Parsis. The themes covered include unique Indian feminism and male chauvinism, environment and climate issues, international locations and diaspora tourism, religious harmony and conflict, the India-Pakistan relationship, asceticism, and renunciation in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Unlike many recent studies of Indian films, these chapters do not distinguish between popular and serious cinema. Many chapters focus on Hindi films, but others bring insights from films made in other parts of India and its neighbouring countries.
One of the chapters in this volume was originally published in the book titled Film and Place in an Intercultural Perspective India-Europe Film Connections, edited by Krzysztof Stachowiak, Hania Janta, Jani Kozina, and Therese Sunngren-Granlund. Another chapter was originally published in Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology. All other chapters were originally published in Visual Anthropology.
Contents
Introduction - Visual Anthropology of Indian Films: Religious Communities and Cultural Traditions in Bollywood and Beyond 1. From Kil-Arni to Anthony: The Portrayal of Christians in Indian Films 2. Such a Long Journey: Portrayal of the Parsi Community in Films 3. From Padosi to My Name is Khan: The Portrayal of Hindu-Muslim Relations in South Asian Films 4. Film as a Majoritarian Framework of Hindu Nationalism: The Case of Purab Aur Pachhim 5. Encountering Asceticism: A Hindu Nun in Jogan, vis-a-vis a Buddhist Monk in Trishagni 6. Anuradha and Anupama: Gender Issues through Nussbaum's Capabilities Approach 7. The Objectification of Women in V. Shantaram's Films 8. "Children of the Soil" to "Dark Wind": Nature, Environment and Climate in Indian Films 9. Ecocritical Analysis of Classics by Three Indian Film Maestros: An Extended Film Review 10. Sara Jahan Hamara: Indian Films and Their Portrayal of Foreign Destinations 11. Do Bigha Zamin: A Realistic Masterpiece of Indian Cinema 12. Virtue Ethics of Boot Polish and Dosti, as Compared with Slumdog Millionaire
