Full Description
Ever since the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent, Mumbai-based Hindi cinema has been returning compulsively to the idea of Pakistan, sometimes as the desirable other, sometimes as the horrifying antagonist. Hindi Cinema and Pakistan traces the genesis and development of this theme in Hindi cinema since the 1950s, showcasing its relevance as a tool that both reflects and shapes how India sees its neighbour, the India-Pakistan relationship and itself.
The book is a serious, multi-platform multi-pronged exploration of the appearances, invocations, representations and treatment of Pakistan and Pakistanis in Hindi cinema. It follows Hindi cinema's efforts to come to terms with the 'idea' and 'reality' of Pakistan. Through in-depth analyses of the enmity and rivalry between the two subcontinental nations in Partition films, thrillers, epic war films and sports films, to screen depictions of the shared cultural past and similarities in films on cross-border love or in films that show a reaching out through humour, this book investigates the visualization of Pakistan and contextualizes these representations within the broader frameworks of India's political, sociocultural and popular discourse.
The extensive reach of the in-depth textual analyses of Hindi cinema will make this volume interesting and valuable both to the lay reader and to researchers and academics of cultural studies, media and film studies, and the study of socio-psychological violence in media and culture.
Contents
Acknowledgements viii 1 Introduction: The Idea of Pakistan in Hindi Cinema 1 2 A Nation Divided: Pakistan and the Partition in Hindi Cinema 15 3 War Clouds: Pakistan and the Uniform in Hindi Cinema 39 4 Proxy Wars: Pakistan and Terrorism in Hindi Films 65 5 The Nation at Play: Pakistan and the Hindi Sports Film 88 6 Loving the Other: Cross-Border Love in the Hindi Film 112 7 Mending Fences: Humour in the India-Pakistan Hindi Film 135 8 Conclusion: The Reality of Pakistan in Hindi Cinema 159 Filmography 177 Appendix 1 180 Appendix 2 184 Bibliography 186 Index 194
