Thematizations of the Goddess in South Asian Cinema

This collection presents cross-disciplinary explorations of the tropes, themes and representational frameworks constellating around the figure of the Goddess in South Asian cinema. It critically approaches the Goddess theme in various genres of South Asian cinema, using analytical tools culled from gender studies, comparative cultural studies, and religious studies, as well as film semiotics. The films discussed here represent variegated thematizations of the Goddess across regions in South Asia, including Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and various geo-cultural locations in India. As the volume highlights the regional and politico-cultural differences and commonalities in representational schemes between South Asian films of different genres through the Goddess motif, it will appeal to scholars of film studies, South Asian studies and comparative religion, and will hold a special appeal for those interested in Goddess cultures and theology. Table of Contents 6 Introduction • Anway Mukhopadhyay and Shouvik Narayan Hore 10 1. A Trajectory of the Hero and Goddess in South Asian Cinema: The Myth of Kumari from Stage to Screen • Dhruba Karki 16 2. Locating the Disruptive ‘Real’ of Femininity: A Reading of Debi: Misir Ali Prothombar • Prabal Bhowmik 37 3. History, Religion, and Historicity:A Study of the Documentary on Sharda Pith by Public 24x7 • Srijani Chowdhury 46 4. Questioning the Propagandist Elementswithin Religion Through the Lens of Humour: A Critical Reading of Mookuthi Amman • Ritushree Sengupta 54 5. S***: The Word that Turned the Sacred, Profane • Balagopal Menon 61 6. Woman Becoming Goddess in Devipaksha: Violence, Justice, and the (Divine) Feminine • Neha Chatterjee 74 7. Goddesses of a Different Ilk: Partition and Its ‘Other’ Women in Meghe Dhaka Tara and Earth 1947 • Raja Basu 83 8. Retelling the ‘Signs’ of Holy Militia: Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani • Takbeer Salati 93 9. Goddess, Bride, Daughter: Nanda Devi in the Raj Jat Documentary • Ankita Sundriyal 106 10. Shakti Rupena Sangsthita: Interfacing Goddess Worship, Sacred Geography and the Flesh Trade in the Hindi Movie Chingaari • Praggnaparamita Biswas 117 11. Back to (Im)Purity: An Alternative Umbilical Discourse in Tumbbad • Dipannita Chatterjee and Gourab Singha 132 12. Bandhu Singh ki Faansi: Maa Tarkulha Devi: The Goddess of a “Forgotten” Hero • Utkarsh Chaubey 141 13. Re-creating the Goddess Sita in Subarnarekha and Pinjar: Depicting the Partition and Women’s Subjectivity in Indian Cinema • Adity Roy 152 14. From Devi to Bulbbul: Cinematic Representations of the Embodied Goddess • Jaya Sarkar 175 15. Kali and Indian Horror-Thriller Films: The Malevolent Muse • Dipanwita Paul 185 16. The Medium and Its Limits:The Goddess in Marutirtha Hinglaj and Devi • Sreejit Datta and Ahana Chaudhuri 201 17. “Radha saji, Sita saji, saji Parvati. Tobu keno jay na go moder durgati”: Aparna’s Quest and the Resultant Discovery of the ‘Heart of Darkness’ in Kaler Rakhal (2009) • Nabanita Paul and Abhishek Chowdhury 212 18. The Making of the Goddess: A Critical Appraisal of the Depiction of the Goddess Bhadrakali in Malayalam Cinema • Monisha Mohan and Gigy J. Alex 223 19. Devatā and Her Creator in Vaishnavee: The Devotional and Theistic-Artistic Interrelationship Between Osanda and Vaishnavee • Sreenu Gopan 242 20. In Pursuit of Bhakti: A Study of Three Goddess Films • Shouvik Narayan Hore 254 List of Contributors 264