Hinduism and Hindi Theater

This book explores the representation of Hinduism through myth and discourse in urban Hindi theatre in the period 1880-1960. It discusses representative works of seven influential playwrights and looks into the ways they have imagined and re-imagined Hindu traditions. Diana Dimitrova examines the intersections of Hinduism and Hindi theatre, emphasizing the important role that both myth and discourse play in the representation of Hindu traditions in the works of Bharatendu Harishcandra, Jayshankar Prasad, Lakshminarayan Mishra, Jagdishcandra Mathur, Bhuvaneshvar, Upendranath Ashk, and Mohan Rakesh. Dimitrova’a analysis suggests either a traditionalist or a more modernist stance toward religious issues. She emphasizes the absence of Hindi-speaking authors who deal with issues implicit to the Muslim or Sikh or Jain, etc. traditions. This prompts her to suggest that Hindi theatre of the period 1880-1960, as represented in the works of the seven dramatists discussed, should be seen as truly ‘Hindu-Hindi’ theatre.

"In Gender, Religion and Modern Hindi Drama Dimitrova studies the representation of gender and religion in Hindi drama from its beginnings in the second half of the nineteenth century until the 1960s." "Dimitrova focuses on how different religious and mythological models pertaining to women have been reworked in Hindi drama and on whether the dramatists discussed present conservative of liberating Hindu images of the feminine."--Résumé de l'éditeur.

Articles on ancient Indic theater.

Western Tradition and Naturalistic Hindi Theatre is a critical study of the dramatic work of naturalistic Hindi playwright Upendranath Ashk (1910-1996). The book explores modern Hindi drama from its beginnings in the second half of the nineteenth century until the 1960s. During this period, proscenium Hindi theatre, which originated under Western influence, matured and thrived. In the years after Independence, there was a strong resentment of Western ideas and cultural influence. Because of political controversies with the British, «Western» influence also came to be understood as «non-Indian» in the sphere of literature. This resulted in a negative stance toward the naturalistic play of Hindi and those dramatists who adhered to it. Thus, this book is a contribution to the present-day cultural dialogue between East and West.

A comprehensive guide to wade through the world of Indian cinema, from 1896 to 2000, this book, an enlarged edition of the original FR title, Les Cinemas de L lnde , presents its multiple regional facets illustrated by filmmakers that the world is no

This is a collection on the diverse aspects of the interaction between Shakespeare and India, a process embedded in the contradictions of colonialism - of simultaneous submission and resistance. The essays, grouped around the key issues of translation, interpretation, and performance, deal with how the plays were taught, translated, and adapted, as well as the literary, social, and political implications of this absorption into the cultural fabric of India. They also look at the other side, what India meant to Shakespeare. Further, they document how the performance of Shakespeare both colonized and catalyzed Indian theater - being staged in English in schools, in translation in various parts of the country, through acculturation into indigenous theater forms and Hindi cinema. The book highlights, and thus rereads, not just one of the longest and most widespread interactions between a Western author and the East but also part of the colonial and postcolonial history of India. Poonam Trivedi is a Reader in English at Indraprastha College, University of Delhi. Now retired, Dennis Bartholomeusz was Reader in English literature at Monash University in Melbourne.

"From the University of Florida College of Fine Arts, Charlie Mitchell and distinguished colleagues form across America present an introductory text for theatre and theoretical production. This book seeks to give insight into the people and processes that create theater. It does not strip away the feeling of magic but to add wonder for the artistry that make a production work well." -- Open Textbook Library.

Looks at popular culture in India, including television, motion pictures, mass media, sports, literature, and lifestyles.

This book introduces the term "otherism" and looks at the discourse of otherism and the issue of otherness in South Asian religion, literature and film. It examines cultural questions related to the human condition of being the "other," of the process of "othering" and of the representation of "otherness" and its religious, cultural and ideological implications. The book applies the perspectives of ideological criticism, theories of hybridity, orientalism, nationalism, and gender and queer studies to gain new insights into the literature, film and culture of South Asia. It looks at the different ways of interpreting "otherness" today. The book goes on to analyze the ideological implications of the creation of "otherness" with regard to religious and cultural identity and the legitimation of power, as well as how the representation of "otherness" reflects the power structures of contemporary societies in South Asia. Offering a well-thought-out reflection on important cultural questions as well as a deep insight into the study of religion and "otherness" in South Asian literature and film, this book is a pioneering project that is of interest to scholars of South Asian Studies and South Asian religions, literatures and cultures.

This innovative, interdisciplinary collection of essays by scholars based in Europe and the United States offers stimulating approaches to the role played by religion in present-day South Asia.

Here is the astonishing true story of Bollywood, a sweeping portrait about a country finding its identity, a movie industry that changed the face of India, and one man's struggle to become a star. Shah Rukh Khan's larger than life tale takes us through the colorful and idiosyncratic Bollywood movie industry, where fantastic dreams and outrageous obsessions share the spotlight with extortion, murder, and corruption. Shah Rukh Khan broke into this $1.5 billion business despite the fact that it has always been controlled by a handful of legendary film families and sometimes funded by black market money. As a Muslim in a Hindu majority nation, exulting in classic Indian cultural values, Shah Rukh Khan has come to embody the aspirations and contradictions of a complicated culture tumbling headlong into American style capitalism. His story is the mirror to view the greater Indian story and the underbelly of the culture of Bollywood. "A bounty for cinema lovers everywhere." --Mira Nair, Director, The Namesake and Monsoon Wedding "King of Bollywood is the all-singing, all-dancing back stage pass to Bollywood. Anupama Chopra chronicles the political and cultural story of India with finesse and insight, through fly-on-wall access to one of its biggest, most charming and charismatic stars." -- Gurinder Chadha, director of Bend it Like Beckham "The "Easy Rider Raging Bull" of the Bollywood industry and essential reading for any Shah Rukh Khan fan." --Emma Thompson, actress "Anu Chopra infuses the pivotal moments of Shah Rukh Khan's life with an edge-of-your-seat tension worthy of the best Bollywood blockbusters." --Kirkus

This Encyclopedic Volume Is The First Of Its Kind In Any Language Covering All Of Indian Theatre. Lavishly Illustrated, With Some Rare Photographs From Archival Collections.

Table of contents: The Bollywoodization of the Indian cinema: cultural nationalism in a global arena / Ashish Rajadhyaksha -- Surviving Bollywood / M. Madhava Prasad -- Mumbai versus Bollywood: the Hindi film industry and the politics of cultural heritage in contemporary India / Tejaswini Ganti -- Hollywood, Bollywood, Tollywood: redefining the global in Indian cinema / Shanti Kumar -- The globalization of Bollywood-the hype and hope / Daya Kishan Thussu -- Our violence, their violence: exploring the emotional and relational matrix of terrorist cinema / Vamsee Juluri -- Exoticized, marginalized, demonized: the Muslim other in Indian cinema / Kalyani Chadha and Anandam P. Kavoori -- The mirror has many faces: the politics of male same-sex desire in BOMgAY and Gulabi Aaina / Parmesh Shahani -- Bring back the old films, our culture is in disrepute: Hindi film and the construction of femininity in Guyana / Atticus Narain -- From villain to traditional housewife!: the politics of globalization and women's sexuality in the new Indian media / Padma Govindan and Bisakha Dutta -- Songs from the heart: musical coding, emotional sentiment, and transnational Sonic identity in India's popular film music / Natalie Sarazzin -- Deewar/Wall (1975)-fact, fiction, and the making of a superstar / Jyotika Virdi -- The Indian film magazine, Stardust / Rachel Dwyer -- Bollyweb: search for Bollywood on the web and see what happens! / Ananda Mitra -- We're online, not on the streets: Indian cinema, new media, and participatory culture / Aswin Punathambekar -- Afterword: fast-forwarding into the future, haunted by the past: Bollywood today / Arvind Rajagopal.