Historicizing myths in contemporary India : cinematic representations and nationalist agendas in popular Hindi cinema

This book examines cinematic practices in Bollywood as narratives that assist in shaping the imagination of the age, especially in contemporary India. It examines historical films released in India since the new millennium and analyses cinema as a reflection of the changing socio-political and economic conditions at any given period. The chapters in Historicizing Myths in Contemporary India: Cinematic Representations and Nationalist Agendas in Hindi Cinemas also illuminate different perspectives on how cinematic historical representations follow political patterns and market compulsions, giving precedence to a certain past over the other, creating a narrative suited for the dominant narrative of the present. From Mughal-e-Azam to Padmaavat , and Bajirao Mastani to Raazi , the chapters show how creating history out of myths validate hegemonic identities in a rapidly evolving Indian society. The volume will be of interest to scholars of film and media studies, literature and culture studies, and South Asian studies. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page CONTENTS List of Contributors Foreword by Anjum Rajabali Introduction 1. Of War and Intrigue: “Medieval” as Represented on Indian Screen 2. Humayun and Mughal-e-Azam: History and the Contemporary 3. Re-Texturing the Past: The Digital Image and the Contemporary Bollywood Historical 4. The Gender of War: National Masculinities and Hindutva in Bollywood War Cinema 5. “The Surgical Strike that Shook the Mughal Empire”: Evacuation and Distortion of Histories in Contemporary Hindi Screen Cultures 6. Raazi (2018): Spying for the Nation 7. History Into Myth: Popular Hindi Cinema and the Politics of “True Stories” 8. Bahujan Legend, Brahmanical Telling: Decoding the Lens of Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior 9. Cultural Hegemony or Modernity?: Pakistani Response to Bollywood’s Saffron Myth-Making 10. “A Great Republic of Hurt Sentiments”: Counter-Histories, Nationalism, and the Controversy of the Historical Index "This book examines cinematic practices in Bollywood as narratives that assist in shaping the imagination of the age, especially in contemporary India. It examines historical films released in India since the new millennium and analyses cinema as a reflection of the changing socio-political and economic conditions at any given period. The essays in the volume also illuminate different perspectives on how cinematic historical representations follow political patterns and market compulsions, giving precedence to a certain past over the other creating a narrative suited for the dominant narrative of the present. From Mughal-e-Azam to Padmavati, from Bajirao Mastani to Raazi, the essays show how creating history out of myths validate hegemonic identities, in a rapidly evolving Indian society. The volume will be of interest to scholars of film and media studies, literature and culture studies, and South Asian studies"-- Provided by publisher