Group+Four+(6)

 Mirrors and the Cinema Cross-Culture of India and the United Kingdom

=Introduction:=

The "Titanic" presence of Hollywood within the eyes of mainstream culture across the world would seem to suggest that it is a force that has no equal. It may come as a surprise then, to learn that in terms of sheer production numbers, the Indian Film Industry as a whole far exceeds the output produced in the United States. India's massive population directly contributes to making this possible. With more people to create films, along with a viewing audience that greatly exceeds our own, it comes as no surprise that the Indian film industry produced "877 feature films and 1177 short films ... in 2003 alone" (Wikipedia). Additionally "India accounts for 73% of movie admissions in the Asia-Pacific region and earnings are currently estimated at US $8.9 billion" (Wikipedia). These numbers are staggering, but the revenue within the home market is not quite high enough to support the industry's fast-paced growth. With such a stranglehold on the Eastern markets it comes as no surprise that the Indian film industry has set its mark on global expansion. According to __New Statesman__ author, Kamila Shamsie, it is "because things aren't going [well] back home that ... [India] has had to turn its attention to the global market, and particularly to NRIs (Non-resident Indians)" (Shamsie 26). This audience is particularly complex due to their presence outside of the regional minutae that is so deeply involved in much of India's films. Yet it has a hidden benefit, when Indian cinema changes to fit the needs of its target audience, other people within the same areas are by extension exposed to it (so long as it is successful). However, the fact that there is a strong Western influence on Indian cinema brings up a significant point. Where does Indian cinema draw its uniqueness from? What aspects of Indian culture exist within Indian Film that make it undeniably its own? Or rather, is the Indian film industry merely a mirror of Western cinema that has been passed through a "culture" filter? Perhaps a little bit of both, and this is why Indian films are beginning to greatly expand their influence in a global fashion.

=Industries by Region:= The film industry in India in not necessarily a cohesive whole. Although, almost all are directly influenced in some manner by the Indian epics of __Mahabharata__ and __Ramayana__, ancient Sanskrit drama, traditional folk theatre, and Parsi theatre (Wikipedia). Of particular notice is the ancient Sanskrit drama's "emphasis on spectacle, where music, dance and gesture combine" (Wikipedia). This focus serves as the basis for the typical imagery present in most Indian cinema, as it is remniscent of the western musical (similar though not the same). This Western influence should not be discarded though. While it is more apparent in some regions than others, Indian cinema is also heavily influenced by Hollywood and MTV (Wikipedia). Yet this is not the only reason why the film industry does not stand as one. Not only do the high number of different spoken languages in India affect the distribution of films across the entire nation, but the industry itself is segmented into several parts by region. Each one tends to take a slightly different approach to the medium, and often include specific qualities that identify their origin (Wikipedia). The main regions (and some clips) are:

Minor Regions:

 * Assamese (Jollywood)|**

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 * Bengali (Bangla)|**
 * Bhojpuri (Purvanchal)**|
 * Kannada (Sandalwood)|**
 * Malayalam|**
 * Marathi|**
 * Oriya (Ollywood)|**

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 * Tam****il (Kollywood)|**

Major Regions:
The two most influential and profitable regional industries in India are the Tollywood and Bollywood. The Telugu film industry produces the most, in terms of quantity, out of all the regions "with about 245 films produced each year" (Wikipedia). Additionally, the Telugu region is unique, because of its tendency to release films during the holiday seasons of Sankranthi, Ugadi and Dussera (Wikipedia). [Note that this is dissimilar from the U.S. market, there is no such thing as "Summer Blockbuster Day"] Yet despite Tollywood's larger portion of the total number of films produced on a yearly basis, it is the "Hindi film industry, based in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), [that] is the largest branch of Indian cinema" (Wikipedia). This is because of the greater numbers of Hindi speakers in the world, as well as Bollywood's constant attempts to reach a more Westernized audience (whether they are Indian or not).


 * Telugu (Tollywood)|**

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 * Hindi (Bollywood)|**

=Art/Independent Films:=

media type="youtube" key="GQAQSX2aDAI" height="344" width="425" =Modern Filmmakers:=

Karan Johar[[image:225px-KaranJohar.jpg align="left"]]
Selected Filmography:

My Name Is Khan (2009) (pre-production) (attached) Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) ... aka Kank (India: Hindi title: informal short title) ... aka Never Say Goodbye (USA: informal English title) Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001) ... aka Happiness & Tears (USA: DVD box title) ... aka K3G (India: Hindi title: informal short title) ... aka KKKG (India: Hindi title: informal short title) ... aka Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sorrow (International: English title) ... aka Sometimes Happy, Sometimes Sad (Europe: English title) Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) ... aka KKHH (India: Hindi title: informal short title) ... aka Something Is Happening (UK) (IMDB)

Mira Nair[[image:mira_l.jpg width="248" height="345" align="left"]]
Selected Filmography:

Amelia (2009) (post-production) 8 (2008) (segment "How can it be?") New York, I Love You (2008) (segment "Kosher Vegetarian") ... aka New York, je t'aime (France: literal title) Migration (2007) The Namesake (2006) Vanity Fair (2004) 11'09''01 - September 11 (2002) (segment "India") ... aka 11 septembre 2001 (Iran: Persian title) ... aka 11'09''01 - September 11 (France) ... aka 11'09''01: Onze minutes, neuf secondes, un cadre (France) ... aka Eleven Minutes, Nine Seconds, One Image: September 11 (International: English title) ... aka September 11 (USA) Hysterical Blindness (2002) (TV) Monsoon Wedding (2001) (IMDB)

Gurinder Chadha
Selected Filmography:

It's a Wonderful Afterlife (2010) (pre-production) Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008) ... aka Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (UK) (USA: working title) Paris, je t'aime (2006) (segment "Quais de Seine") ... aka Paris, I Love You (Hong Kong: English title) Bride & Prejudice (2004) ... aka Balle Balle! Amritsar to L.A. (India: English title) ... aka Bride and Prejudice: The Bollywood Musical (International: English title: promotional title) Bend It Like Beckham (2002) ... aka Kick It Like Beckham (Germany) What's Cooking? (2000) (IMDB) "//Bride &// //Prejud////ice// is a multi-national, multi-cultural crowd-please that touches on American imperialism, the way the west looks at India and what people regard as backward or progressive. In a populist, entertaining movie, the drama is questioning the audience's Eurocentric attitude" - Gurinder Chadha on her film //Bride and Prejudice// (Wilson 324) = = =Presence in the United Kingdom:= From its introduction through "specialist Asian cinemas" in the 1970s to Britain's hosting of Bollywood's official award ceremony at the Millennium Dome in 2000, the Indian film industry has been gaining a stronger foothold in the U.K. at an increasing rate (Aftab 88). Quite literally actually, as "some 20 Indian movies a year are partly filmed on British soil" (Indian takeaway 65). While that may not be a substantial percentage of the near two-thousand total that are produced each year (feature and short films) the implications of the act are significant. Gurinder Chadha's work aside, the act of filming a story based upon Indian cultural heritage on British soil implicates the strengthening of the conceptual bonds between the two societies. It is a subtle effect, and many viewers (particularly those in India) who are unaware of the location of the shoot are unconsciously making connections between both places. It is a start that may help to overcome overwhelming cultural barriers between the two nations. Film acts as a medium that can express the interplay of this exchange. Bollywood, in particular, takes influence from Western formats and incorporates it into the decidedly Indian style of filmmaking. It is this back-and-forth nature that the medium is capable of that allows filmmakers such as Gurinder Chadha, Mira Nair, and Karan Johar to experiment with and critique the issues of stereotyping and tradition within both societies. Specifically in the case of Gurnder Chadha's 2002 film, __//Bend it Like Beckham//__, "some critics were concerned about its contribution to the proliferation of stereotypical depictions of a culture" (Raschke 24). Indeed, Sejal Mandalia of __New Statesman__ takes a Channel 4 broadcast to task for the very same problem. She states, “All the Asian women I know, whether Hindu, Muslim or Sikh, are well-educated, professional working women. None of them has any interest in beauty pageants, and they see many more American and British films than they ever see Bollywood films ... They are pretty similar to other British women. Yet somehow it suits broadcasters to portray Asian women as either helpless victims in need of rescue from parents or in-laws, or as vain and bitchy bimbos” (Mandalia 15). While __**Bend it Like Beckham's**__ Jess, may face some of these issues during the course of the film the story ultimately uses these stereotypical situations to undermine the cultural barriers between multi-cultural, multi-generational, and multi-//talented// groups of people.


 

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