'This book will be an eye-opener for those who still think of religion as something traditional. Based on a wealth of original research. Dwyer's narrative of religion in Indian cinema tells us how the divine makes itself at home in modern technology. More than an argument about the representation of religion in film, her book addresses the very different ways in which Hindu, Muslim and other forms of devotion pervade and are professor Faisal Devji, The new School University, New York. 'Casting new and authoritative light on Indian cinema's religious engagements, Filming the Gods is a sparkling and perceptive intervention by a scholar with an unrivalled knowledge of her subject. A seminal and welcome antidote to Indian film studies' obsession with the nation, It will certainly have a major impact.' Christopher Pinney, Professor of Anthropology and Visual Culture, University College, London. Filming the Gods examines the role and depiction of religion in Indian cinema, showing that the relationship between the modern and the traditional in contemporary India is not exotic, but part of everyday life. Concentrating mainly on the Hindi cinema of Mumbai, Bollywood, it also discusses India's other cinemas. Rachel Dwyer's lively discussion encompasses the mythological genre which continues India's long tradition of retelling Hindu myths and legends, and draws on sources such as the national epics of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana; the devotional genre, which flourished at the height of the nationalist movement in the 1930s and 1940s; and the films made in Bombay that depict India's Islamicate culture, including the historical, the courtesan film and the 'Muslim social' genre. Filming the Gods also examines the presence of the religious across other genres and how cinema represents religious communities and their beliefs and practices. As a result, Filming the Gods is a both guide to the study of film in religious culture as well as a historical overview of Indian religious film.
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