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COM 329, Contemporary Film
Study Guide, Chaudhuri textbook
South Asian and Indian Cinema
Chapter 7: South Asian Cinema
[NOTE: Although this chapter is titled South Asian, it is almost entirely devoted to India]
-“Bollywood is tipped to become the West’s next Asian crossover phenomenon after Hong Kong
cinema”
-“Ray or rubbish” refers to the clear distinction between India’s “art”/“parallel” cinema and its popular
film system (commonly referred to as Bollywood); Ray is Satyajit Ray, the late great filmmaker
regarded as a national treasure [but whose films most Indians decline to watch]
-“Parallel cinema”—art cinema that embraces intercommunal tolerance
-Popular cinema evolved from the Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana, classical and folk theatre,
and early 20th century Parsi theatre
-History of popular Indian cinema extends back to 1896, with a three-studio system by the 1920s
-Despite issues of regional, religious, and language (“mother tongue”) differences across India, there
emerged an “all-India aesthetic” that assured the attraction of popular Indian film across all of India and
to other regions of the world (e.g., Middle East, East Africa)
-No official role of the government in popular Indian film industry, except for the National Board of
Censors (legacy of British colonialism)
-Angry Young Men films associated with a young Amitabh Bachchan
-Indian popular film narrative structure as nonlinear, episodic—plots within plots and many flashbacks
-Role of intertextuality in popular Indian films
-Music in popular Indian film a hybrid of light classical Indian music, popular music, and Western
orchestral
-Playback singers and role of soundtracks in marketing Indian films
-“Big B”—Amitabh Bachchan
-The star system in Indian film
-MTV-type dance sequences in Indian film
-“Parallel cinema” or “New Indian Cinema”—songless, starless, and low-budget
-Satyajit Ray—founder of parallel cinema; his 1950s “Apu Trilogy” a great inspiration for filmmakers to
follow; influenced by Italian neorealism and French poetic cinema (e.g., Jean Renoir); his films covered
a wide range of genres and issues
-Government-established Film Finance Corporation (1960)--which became the National Film
Development Corporation (NFDC, 1980)--and the National Film Institute (1961) were set up expressly
to support parallel rather than popular cinema in India
-Parallel cinema of the 1970s and 1980s belonged to the Third Cinema model of radical collective
filmmaking; since then, two types of parallel cinema have been apparent—(1) “Middle Cinema,” which
combines parallel cinema themes and popular cinema devices to appeal to a broader audience, and (2) a
cinema of auteurs, which has flourished in Bengal and Kerala
-“Tollywood”—Bengal film industry based in Tollygunge, South Calcutta
-South India films—gaining ground on “Bollywood” (i.e., Hindi-language popular Indian film);
languages are Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada
-Mani Ratnam—key South Indian filmmaker; works with music composer A. R. Rahman [who won an
Academy Award for the score of Slumdog Millionaire in 2009]
-Sri Lankan cinema—strong links with South Indian cinema
-“Lollywood”—Pakistan’s main film industry, based in Lahore
-Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka a film-producing center
-Bangladesh’s “short films” underground movement
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Chapter 8: Indian Cinema
-With increasing international releases, Bollywood now has three audiences: (1) the core audience of
the Indian poor, (2) the South Asian diaspora around the world, and (3) India’s middle class
-The diasporic Indian (NRI, “non-resident Indian”) has moved to the center of the Bollywood narrative
in recent years [NOTE: The book does not emphasize the role of “Desis,” children of diasporic Indians
who also serve as an important focus and an important real-life film market.]
-Key films emphasizing Bollywood’s culturally unifying role—Lagaan (2001, see also Close Analysis
on p. 166), Mani Ratnam’s “Terrorism Trilogy,” Roja (1992), Bombay (1995) and Dil Se (1998; see also
Close Analysis on p. 171)
-The Bollywood Romance—the dominant genre of the 1990s, replacing the action and revenge dramas
of the 1970s and 1980s; characterized by a love triangle, love based on friendship, an examination of the
“arranged love marriage,” NRI characters, foreign locations, a style reminiscent of MTV and
advertising, with conspicuous consumption and product placement
-The Bollywood Brat Pack—many directors, and stars, are offspring of influential industry professionals
(movie dynasties), including Karan Johar (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, 2001)
-The exception to the Brat Pack phenomenon is Shah Rukh Khan, who emerged from a very humble
background
-“Chiffon and roses” brand of Bollywood romance focusing on super-rich lifestyles, introduced by Yash
Chopra
-Role of wholesome family entertainment in Bollywood
-Star system—most Indian films are “carried” by the male star (e.g., Shah Rukh Khan), but some female
stars are noteworthy (e.g., Kajol, whose off-screen personality is distinctively post-feminist)
-Endorsement of global consumerism in Bollywood films—malls as temples of consumerism
-Mani Ratnam—a distinctive background, his use of real political conflicts in his trilogy; his Bombay
was the first Indian popular film to include a Hindu-Muslim marriage
-Indian expatriate filmmakers—two women (!!)--(1) Mira Nair (trained abroad, including with US
documentarist D. A. Pennebaker; films include Salaam Bombay (1988), Monsoon Wedding (2001),
which the book says is reminiscent of Dogme 95 (!)); and (2) Deepa Mehta (worked in Canadian
television; films include her “Elements Trilogy” Fire (1996, see also Close Analysis on p. 169), Earth
(1998), Water (2005))