Ideology of the Hindi Film: A Historical Construction

This book presents Indian cinema as an institution firmly rooted in contemporary society, shaped by and shaping the political-ideological terrain of independent India. Constantly moving between theory and detailed analyses, the book discusses the ban on kissing as a symptom of national untie; how the narrative structure of popular film is perpetuated by the Bombay industry’s mode of manufacture; how the political crisis during the third decade of independence is reflected in structural transformations and new narrative forms and the signs of yet another transformation in the nineties. This book will prove to be an absorbing read not only for scholars and students of film theory, cultural studies and political and social theories, but also for all intelligent viewers of Hindi films.