Bollywood and postmodernism : popular Indian cinema in the 21st Century

‘New Bollywood’ has arrived, but its postmodern impulse often leaves film scholars reluctant to theorise its aesthetics. How do we define the style of a contemporary Bollywood film? Are Bollywood films just uninspired Hollywood rip-offs, or does their borrowing signal genuine innovation within the industry? Applying postmodern concepts and locating postmodern motifs in key commercial Hindi films, this book reveals how Indian cinema has changed in the twenty-first century. Equipping readers with an alternative method of reading contemporary Indian cinema, the book takes Indian film studies beyond the standard theme of diaspora, and exposes a new decade of aesthetic experimentation and textual appropriation in mainstream Bombay cinema. A bold celebration of contemporary Bollywood texts, this book radically redefines Indian film and persuasively argues for its seriousness as a field of cinematic studies. Re-examines contemporary Bollywood films using postmodernist film theory

'New Bollywood' has arrived, but its postmodern impulse often leaves film scholars reluctant to theorise its aesthetics. How do we define the style of a contemporary Bollywood film? Are Bollywood films just uninspired Hollywood rip-offs, or does their borrowing signal genuine innovation within the industry?

Applying postmodern concepts and locating postmodern motifs in key commercial Hindi films, this innovative study reveals how Indian cinema has changed in the 21st century. Equipping readers with an alternative method of reading contemporary Indian cinema,Bollywood and Postmodernismtakes Indian film studies beyond the exhausted theme of diaspora, and exposes a new decade of aesthetic experimentation and textual appropriation in mainstream Bombay cinema.

A bold celebration of contemporary Bollywood texts, this book radically redefines Indian film and persuasively argues for its seriousness as a field of study in world cinema.

Key Features:

• One of the first books to identify and establish a new kind of Bollywood cinema emerging in the 2000s
• Includes case studies of commercially successful yet academically under-acknowledged postmodern Bollywood films and cross-cultural remakes
• Conducts a detailed study of Bollywood's formal aesthetic changes by breaking its film language down into a series of postmodern traits Applying Postmodern Concepts And Locating Postmodern Motifs In Some Commercial Hindi Films, This Study Reveals How Indian Cinema Has Changed In The 21st Century. This Text Takes Indian Film Studies Beyond The Standard Theme Of Diaspora, And Displays A New Decade Of Aesthetic Experimentation And Textual Appropriation In Mainstream Bombay Cinema. Introduction: The Bollywood Eclipse -- Anti-bollywood: Traditional Modes Of Studying Indian Cinema -- Pedagogic Practices And Newer Approaches To Contemporary Bollywood Cinema -- Postmodernism And India -- Postmodern Bollywood -- Indian Cinema: A History Of Repetition -- Contemporary Bollywood Remakes -- Conclusion: A Bollywood Renaissance? Neelam Sidhar Wright. Includes Biliographical References (pages 201-214), Filmography (pages 220-224) And Index. 'New Bollywood' has arrived, but its postmodern impulse often leaves film scholars reluctant to theorise its aesthetics. How do we define the style of a contemporary Bollywood film? Are Bollywood films just uninspired Hollywood rip-offs, or does their borrowing signal genuine innovation within the industry? Applying postmodern concepts and locating postmodern motifs in key commercial Hindi films, this work reveals how Indian cinema has changed in the twenty-first century