Insightful narration on the changes of the visual registry of Indian cinema

By Ranga CHANDRARATHNE

Since the advent cinema, it has functioned as a powerful mass media entertaining, informing, educating and shaping the perceptions of its viewers. In this context, Indian popular cinema has been a primary source of entertainment for millions of Indians and foreign viewers.

Prof. Wimal Dissanayake

Professors K. Moti Gokulsing and Wimal Dissanayake's recent publication: "Indian Popular Cinema, a Narrative of Cultural Change' sheds valuable insights into how the Indian Cinema represents the country's cultural changes since the Indian Independence and how it has functioned as the interplay between the global and local in an increasingly globalised milieu.

This book contains eight chapters covering the Indian Cinema from the beginning to the emergence of Indian cinema as a major force in the global cinema movement. Although the book is primarily on Indian popular cinema, it has covered relevant vital areas such as economy of film production in India, the interaction between Indian cinema and society, representation of dominant themes of Indian society such as religion, ethnicity and caste and changing dynamics of women in Indian cinema. The book also traces the overarching influence of television on cinema in changing styles and techniques. Influence of growing Indian diaspora particularly, the role of several Indian diasporic film directors has also been discussed in the book.

The book traverses the development of Indian cinema from its inception to its becoming a major stakeholder in global film industry. One of the important aspects of the book is the importance of the Indian popular cinema as a site of inquiry into the changing dynamics of India's cultural life. One of the significant aspects of popular Indian cinema is that it has always linked to the emergence and evolution of the nation. In essence, the Indian popular cinema has evolved with the people of India and their hopes and aspirations.

By now, the epicentre of Indian cinema; the Bollywood has become a part of the mainstream world cinema where the films are being made not only for domestic audience but also for expanding international audiences in theUSA and the UK.

The long essay in the chapter seven entitled 'The Changing Scene in Indian Popular Cinema covers the Indian cinema in general and Indian commercial cinema in particular examining the impact of the globalization on the Indian commercial cinema. For instance, films such as Dil Se (with love, 1998) and Taal (Rhythm, 2000) have been featured in popularity charts in the USA and UK. The film Lagaan (Tax, 2001) won the audience's award at the 2001 Larcarno Film Festival. In addition, it has been nominated in the Best Foreign Film category for the 2001 Academy Awards.

In the first chapter, ' The Beginnings', the books deals with the prominent sources that influenced the Indian popular cinema; The two epics; The Ramayana and Mahabharata, Classical Indian theatre, The folk theatre, the Parsi theatre of the nineteenth Century and Hollywood and Musical Television. Those sources, though in varying degrees, still represent in Indian popular cinema. It has been pointed out that religion remains as a dominant theme. Moral play is a dominant motif in traditional popular cinema where the good triumphs over evil. Other themes that figure up are ethnicity and caste. The book also covers the representation of woman in Indian cinema. The Chapter on 'Women in Indian Cinema' examines in detail how popular cinema reinforces prototype Indian model of woman; "In traditional Indian society, the lives of women were severely circumscribed. Strict rules and regulations had to be followed. Women's roles were essentially represented as daughter (Beti), wife (Patni) and mother (Ma). According to the Manusmriti, which had a profound effect of shaping the morals of Indian society, a female should be subjected in childhood to her father, in youth to her husband and when husband is dead to her children."

The regional cinemas of India have also played an important role in mainstream Indian cinema. The book also examines regional cinemas such as Kannada Cinema, Tamil Cinema, Malayalam Cinema, Telugu Cinema, Marathi Cinema and Bengali Cinema.

Influence of globalization on Indian commercial films

One of the important areas of this book is the examination of the influence of globalization on Indian cinema and how it has changed the visual registry of Indian cinema.

The Indian cinema powerfully represents the complex and multi-faceted relationship between the global and local and the consequential issues of cultural modernity, ethnicity, secularism, cosmopolitanism, belonging and the ways in which the perception of nationhood is re-configured.

In fact, the advent and the evolution of the Indian cinema is a consequence of intricate dynamics of globalism and localism. This is amply manifested by successive studies of producers of entertainment films like Ramesh Sippy, Manmohan Desai or Yash Chopra. The authors point out that from the inception, Indian cinema manifested the interplay of global and local within its discourse, citing the films of D.G Phalke, the father of Indian cinema.

For instance, Phalke was inspired by the film The Life of the Christ in making the film Raja Harischandra (1913) which was based on a story from Hindu tradition. Phalke who was influenced by Western movies wanted to indigenise cinema as a tool in the promotion of non-cooperation movement boycotting British goods which is an important aspect of the Indian Independent movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. This trend can be considered the inter-animation between the globe and local. This trend is present throughout Indian cinema, reaching its climax in highly commercialized Bollywood films.

New trend in commercial cinema

The book provides an overview of how Indian commercial film industry has been influenced by satellite television channels such as MTV. The satellite television channels have changed the style and the dance sequences of the films. MTV provided Indian film directors with a rich new source of stylistic innovations. The films such as Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (Lovers win birds, 1995; Dil Se (1998); Satya (Truth, 1998); Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Sometimes Things do happened, 1998) bear testimony to the overarching influence of the MTV on Indian film industry. Satellite television channels such as Rupert Murdoch's Star Network and Subash Chandra's Zee Television (Zee TV) have changed the sensibilities of Indian commercial cinema.

One of the important footprints of the influence of globalization is the increasing influence of India diaspora. It has been stressed that though the Indian diaspora existed since 1950s, it now plays an increasingly important and influential role even changing the narrative discourse, styles, techniques and the construction by representing the role of cultural citizenship.

One of the examples of the increasing influence of Indian diapora is the Indian diasporic filmmaker like Deepa Metha (Canada), Mira Nair (USA) and Gurinder Chadha (UK).

The concluding chapter of the book deals with the latest trends in Indian Commercial Cinema. It points out that films such as Ram Lakhan (1989), Kalnayak (Anti-hero, 1993), Insaniyat (Humanity, 1994) and 1942 A Love Story (1994) deal with the issues of contemporary Indian politics as well as diasporic issues such as loss of motherland and the idealised past

In summation, this well researched book introduces Indian Cinema and deals extensively with the dominant themes of Indian cinema such as religion, ethnicity, caste and women. The chapter six and seventh deal with styles and techniques and changing scenario in popular Indian cinema which opens up wide issues sources of material for films that merits further research. The book among other things identified latest trends in Indian cinema such as the growing influence of diasporic women filmmakers in general and contribution of women filmmakers in mainstream Indian cinema in particular.

Although the book identifies positive influences of globalization on Indian cinema, it also touches on negative aspects of globalization on Indian cinema regarding media imperialism and cultural imperialism. It points out in no uncertain terms that media imperialism prompts a one way flow of cultural production from developed to developing world, an area merits further research.

In essence, the book intends to broaden the understanding of Indian society as well as culture in which one lives representing the Indian cinema in a globalised milieu. The book is published by Trentham Books of the UK.