Indian Cinema in the Time of Celluloid

"The 'celluloid' in the title defines the period of this study: it starts with the beginning of film but does not include new technologies. Rajadhyaksha (senior fellow, Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore) delineates a theory of Indian film that has led to Bollywood's globalization. Though he explicates two avant-garde films toward the end of the book, for the most part he concentrates (with references to particular films sprinkled throughout) on the economic phenomena of the film industry, its markets and sub-markets, and its nationalistic hold on the public, a hold far greater than that of other arts. Certain films, he writes, were what the country 'needed.' These resemble works from Hollywood's 'classical era.' Melodrama brought Bollywood 'excess' to a level of respectability. Whereas Amit Rai, in Untimely Bollywood (CH, Nov'09, 47-1330), sees Bollywood in the future, Rajadhyaksha uses Bollywood's past. Focusing on product, he omits from his top-ten Indian films list world master Satyajit Ray. By analyzing theories of spectatorship, Rajadhyaksha defines the aesthetic that is Bollywood. Black-and-white photos (from films and of audiences and posters) underscore the author's intention. Lengthy footnotes appear in the page margins and a complete international bibliography completes the volume. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. — Choice"—A. Hirsh, emeritus, Central Connecticut State University, May 2010

"By analyzing theories of spectatorship, Rajadhyaksha defines the aesthetic that is Bollywood. . . . Recommended.May 2010"—Choice

"One of the finest writers on Indian cinema . . . shows once again his imagination in posing new questions and his use of largely neglected primary sources."—Rachel Dwyer, author of Filming the Gods: Religion and Indian Cinema