India through the Western Lens

Movies play a powerful role in the public sphere and implicate the way in which an audience begins to think about the ‘reality’ that each movie supposedly depicts. This book investigates the representation of Indians in Western films and locates this analysis within the context of the larger issue of the manner in which Indian immigrants are viewed in the west today. Covering a large spectrum of films across several decades, the book conducts its critique by identifying and analyzing those narrative and textual strategies used to propagate an image of Indians that are common to these films. Dr. Mitra elaborates how Indians have been portrayed from the gaze of western colonial perspectives; how a conflictual relationship is established between the natives and colonizers; and how these tendencies have persisted even in films about independent India. He explores the role films play in shaping attitudes in the public sphere and how movie images translate into social and political action, especially when they concern marginal groups such as immigrants. The unique approach of this book differs from the traditional genre-analysis of movies as it combines a critical-cultural perspective with political and social considerations to show how movies can play a critical role in shaping public attitudes. Providing alternate ways of ‘reading’ movies, this book will interest students of intercultural and mass communication, cultural studies, politics and sociology as also media practitioners and film critics.