The ‘Mdieval’ in Film: Representing a Contested Time on the Indian Screen (1920s-1960s)

The book attempts to showcase the response of Hindi cinema to the ideas of society and governance in the medieval period in Indian history. With reference to the period of 1920s-1960s in Indian cinema, it details the way the ‘pre-modern’ idea of society was attacked by the ‘modern’ colonial rulers and by the dominant ‘Hindu’ nationalist ethos of the time. It attempts to throws light on the way the internal organisation of the film industry guided the emergence of stereotypical notions of the medieval in cinema of the 1920s to the 1960s. It examines how dominant historiographical interpretations influenced film. It scrutinises whether cinematic representation succeeded in codifying medieval reality with stereotypes other than that of elitist vision of historicity. The volume has an extensive filmography and is supported by illustrations that include posters and scenes from the films discussed.