Seduced by the familiar : narration and meaning in Indian popular cinema

Discussing the gradual transformation of Indian popular cinema into a ‘global entertainment’, this book examines the direction, the existing codes, the system employed, and the meaning that emerges from the examination of several Indian films. Comparing the method employed by Indian popular cinema with those of Hollywood classical films, the book identifies the divergences and the traditional methods that make Bollywood unique. In particular, this book examines the narrative conventions prevalent in Indian popular cinema in relation with classical Hollywood cinema to gain a better understanding of the narratives in Indian films. It traces the narrative strategies employed by popular cinema in contrast to the traditional ones employed by the arts in India to determine the underlying logic. The book examines a significant body of films to understand how popular cinema narrativizes the dominant social discourse throughout specific historical periods. The Hindi film industry has come to represent 'India' in the world today. Drawing from this 'globalization' of 'Bollywood', Seduced by the Familiar is a contemporary take on Indian cinema as represented by Hindi films. The author, M.K. Raghavendra, an award-winning film critic and scholar, makes a case for the 'surface' reading of Hindi films, in contrast to the rather disparaging view that critics, and sometimes practitioners, have traditionally taken of 'popular' cinema. The book traces the main themes of Hindi cinema chronologically from before 1947 up to contemporary times. Beginning with 'primitive cinema' such as Raja Harishchandra (1913), Raghavendra traces the trajectory of Hindi cinema from Baazi (1951) to Mother India (1957), Yaadon ki Baarat (1973), Sholay (1975), Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), and Hum Aapke Hain Koun! (1994), right on till the recent Kabhi Alvida na Kehna (2006). He studies the thematic continuities, myths, archetypes, and formal structures of this body of cinema and analyses the legitimacy and enduring popularity of Hindi cinema vis-à-vis the history of the Indian nation. In addition, Seduced by the Familiar includes an Introduction specifying the book's theoretical underpinnings, and a detailed chapter on narrative forms and conventions in Hindi cinema such as melodrama. Providing a lucid and sympathetic view of Hindi 'popular' cinema, Seduced by the Familiar is an accessible study that will interest students and researchers of cultural and film studies, sociology, and history, as well as general readers interested in the phenomenon of 'Bollywood' The Hindi film industry has come to represent 'India' in the world today. Drawing from this 'globalization' of 'Bollywood', Seduced by the Familiar is a contemporary take on Indian cinema as represented by Hindi films. The author, M.K. Raghavendra, an award-winning film critic and scholar, makes a case for the 'surface' reading of Hindi films, in contrast to the rather disparaging view that critics, and sometimes practitioners, have traditionally taken of 'popular' cinema. The book traces the main themes of Hindi cinema chronologically from before 1947 up to contemporary times. Beginning with 'primitive cinema' such as Raja Harishchandra (1913), Raghavendra traces the trajectory of Hindi cinema from Baazi (1951) to Mother India (1957), Yaadon ki Baarat (1973), Sholay (1975), Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), and Hum Aapke Hain Koun! (1994), right on till the recent Kabhi Alvida na Kehna (2006). He studies the thematic continuities, myths, archetypes, and formal structures of this body of cinema and analyses the legitimacy and enduring popularity of Hindi cinema vis-a-vis the history of the Indian nation. In addition, Seducing the Familiar includes an Introduction specifying the book's theoretical underpinnings, and a detailed chapter on narrative forms and conventions in Hindi cinema such as melodrama. Providing a lucid and sympathetic view of Hindi 'popular' cinema, Seducing the Familiar is an accessible study that will interest students and researchers of cultural and film studies, sociology, and history, as well as general readers interested in the phenomenon of 'Bollywood'. Seduced by the Familiar is a study of the thematic continuities, myths, archetypes, and formal structures of Indian popular cinema. A contemporary take on Indian cinema, the book analyses the legitimacy and enduring popularity of Hindi cinema vis-a-vis the history of the Indian nation.