Postcolonial Bollywood and Muslim Identity : Production, Representation, and Reception

Abstract

The book joins the growing scholarship in the field of Bollywood film studies encompassing methodological sub-groups such as discursive or narrative studies, textual analysis, audience research, political economy of Bollywood, and so on. It particularly focuses on the representation of Muslims in postcolonial Bollywood cinema that draws upon earlier questions and concerns about narrative style and politics of representing Muslims but expands the focus to include issues of Muslim film genres, the chronological shift in the portrayal of Muslims depending on the nation’s politics, particularly backed by empirical data. This book seeks to capture the changing image of Muslims in popular Bollywood films over the last seven decades. In Hindi films, Muslims have traditionally been portrayed through the lens of religion. Narratives associated with that specific religious identity were adapted based on the sociopolitical setting of the country at the time of the film’s making. It also takes forward developing scholarship on ‘representation’ in popular Hindi cinema and as such carries adequate potential to make a substantial contribution to the field of study. The book represents the perspectives of the consumers as well as the producers of those Bollywood texts. It intends to be an important intervention in the discussion around representation of ethnic and religious minorities in global popular culture in general and Bollywood cinema in particular.