Guru Dutt was one of the most important filmmakers in India, who worked for a little over a decade starting in 1951. He died prematurely in 1964. In those few years, he made some of Indian cinema?s most memorable films. Song and dance sequences are an integral part of the narrative structure of popular Indian cinema. Guru Dutt, working within that paradigm, devised innovative methods of using song sequences. In his films, the song sequences were not a distraction, but they served the purpose of carrying the narrative forward, expressing the inexpressible, and replacing scenes. He achieved this by his creative use of locations, lyrics, music, camera angles, and placement of the song within the narrative. This study critically analyzes song sequences from five of his films ? Aar Paar (Through and Through, 1954), Mr. and Mrs. 55 (1955), Pyaasa (The Thirsty One, 1957), Kaagaz ke Phool (Paper Flowers, 1959) and Saahib Biwi aur Ghulam (Master Mistress and Slave, 1962). Guru Dutt?s style of song direction focused on realistic depiction and the quality of storytelling. He used each feature of the song to his advantage never losing control of the larger narrative. This study also brings to the fore Guru Dutt?s conflicted views as an artist on the issues of tradition and modernity, and the position of women in the emerging nation.

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Dans ce mémoire, nous étudions les productions bollywoodiennes issues de la foisonnante industrie du film de Mumbai. Nous explorons la forme populaire que ce cinéma propose et la nouvelle tendance qui émerge dans les années 1990, à travers laquelle se développent des représentations liées à la nouvelle classe moyenne indienne. Cette étude cherche à interroger les films les plus populaires des années 1990 afin de comprendre comment ils déploient leurs narratifs et leur narration. En procédant à des analyses descriptives et poétiques des récits, l’étude est principalement préoccupée par le traitement de la romance, un thème majeur de cette décennie. À travers ce thème, nous analysons les motifs narratifs, les procédés stylistiques, les détours de l’expression des sentiments ainsi que les dynamiques entre les sphères privée, publique et familiale. Essentiellement, nous mettons en lumière comment la distribution des informations narratives place le spectateur dans une position privilégiée organisant les plaisirs de sa participation aux films bollywoodiens. / In this dissertation, we study Bollywood productions from the prolific Mumbai film industry. We explore this popular cinema’s form and the new trend that appears in the 1990s, through which representations related to the new Indian middle-class are developed. In this study, we interrogate the most successful films of the 1990s in order to understand how they deploy their narratives and their storytelling. Proceeding to descriptive and poetical analysis of their narratives, this study is mainly concerned with the treatment of romance, a major theme of this decade. Through this theme, we analyze narrative patterns, stylistic processes, obliquely expressed feelings and the dynamics of the private, public and family spheres. Essentially, we illustrate how the distribution of narrative information situates the spectator in a privileged position organizing the pleasures of his participation in Bollywood movies.

Dans ce mémoire, nous étudions les productions bollywoodiennes issues de la foisonnante industrie du film de Mumbai. Nous explorons la forme populaire que ce cinéma propose et la nouvelle tendance qui émerge dans les années 1990, à travers laquelle se développent des représentations liées à la nouvelle classe moyenne indienne. Cette étude cherche à interroger les films les plus populaires des années 1990 afin de comprendre comment ils déploient leurs narratifs et leur narration. En procédant à des analyses descriptives et poétiques des récits, l’étude est principalement préoccupée par le traitement de la romance, un thème majeur de cette décennie. À travers ce thème, nous analysons les motifs narratifs, les procédés stylistiques, les détours de l’expression des sentiments ainsi que les dynamiques entre les sphères privée, publique et familiale. Essentiellement, nous mettons en lumière comment la distribution des informations narratives place le spectateur dans une position privilégiée organisant les plaisirs de sa participation aux films bollywoodiens. / In this dissertation, we study Bollywood productions from the prolific Mumbai film industry. We explore this popular cinema’s form and the new trend that appears in the 1990s, through which representations related to the new Indian middle-class are developed. In this study, we interrogate the most successful films of the 1990s in order to understand how they deploy their narratives and their storytelling. Proceeding to descriptive and poetical analysis of their narratives, this study is mainly concerned with the treatment of romance, a major theme of this decade. Through this theme, we analyze narrative patterns, stylistic processes, obliquely expressed feelings and the dynamics of the private, public and family spheres. Essentially, we illustrate how the distribution of narrative information situates the spectator in a privileged position organizing the pleasures of his participation in Bollywood movies.

Text in English / India’s film production industry, referred to commonly as Bollywood, and the film production industry of America, referred to as Hollywood, have created a large number of musical films since sound was introduced into motion pictures. Both create fictional stories—illusions, if you will—through the use of prerecorded sound and playback technology coupled with lip-synching interpolated onto filmed images. While studies exist that treat the music of both production centres, there is very little research that compares both, and very little research on playback singers. Playback singers in both Bollywood and Hollywood may or may not be the actors who are seen on the screen; however, people in the Bollywood system—its directors, producers, creators, as well as the journalists who write about it—are very open about this practice, and playback singing is a highly respected career. Conversely, in the Hollywood system, playback singing that is done by an individual other than the on-screen actor remains uncredited or under-credited, and those who do the work are just hired workers; they are not respected as artists in the same way that their Bollywood counterparts are. I believe this difference has a cultural basis, shaped by variation in the way that illusion and reality are expressed by film production staff and interpreted by audiences in the two cultures. Through primary and secondary research, this project seeks to discover the differences and to understand how cultural implications of illusion and reality affect the playback singers in both film centres. / Art History, Visual Arts & Musicology / D. Litt et Phil. (Musicology)

Text in English / India’s film production industry, referred to commonly as Bollywood, and the film production industry of America, referred to as Hollywood, have created a large number of musical films since sound was introduced into motion pictures. Both create fictional stories—illusions, if you will—through the use of prerecorded sound and playback technology coupled with lip-synching interpolated onto filmed images. While studies exist that treat the music of both production centres, there is very little research that compares both, and very little research on playback singers. Playback singers in both Bollywood and Hollywood may or may not be the actors who are seen on the screen; however, people in the Bollywood system—its directors, producers, creators, as well as the journalists who write about it—are very open about this practice, and playback singing is a highly respected career. Conversely, in the Hollywood system, playback singing that is done by an individual other than the on-screen actor remains uncredited or under-credited, and those who do the work are just hired workers; they are not respected as artists in the same way that their Bollywood counterparts are. I believe this difference has a cultural basis, shaped by variation in the way that illusion and reality are expressed by film production staff and interpreted by audiences in the two cultures. Through primary and secondary research, this project seeks to discover the differences and to understand how cultural implications of illusion and reality affect the playback singers in both film centres. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / D. Litt et Phil. (Musicology)

This thesis examines the representation of the lives and performances of tawa'if and rudali in South Asian cinema to understand their marginalization as performers, and their significance in the collective consciousness of the producers and consumers of Indian cultural artifacts. The critical textual analysis of six South Asian films reveals these women as caste-amorphous within the system of social stratification in India, and therefore captivating in the potential they present to achieve a complex and multi-faceted definition of culture. Qualitative interviews with 4 Indian classical dance instructors in Portland, Oregon and performative observations of dance events indicate the importance of these performers in perpetuating and developing Indian cultural artifacts, and illustrate the value of a multi-layered, performative methodological approach. These findings suggest that marginality in performance is a useful and dynamic site from which to investigate the processes of cultural communication, producing findings that augment sole textual analysis.

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Bollywood cinema continues to evolve. As a result, it has become a transnational/cultural role player for Indian audiences worldwide. There has always been a strong link between Bollywood cinema and Indian society. Over the years, it has contributed to the dialogue on women’s roles and position in Indian society. In the past, Bollywood filmmakers were faithful to representations of women who were bound by patriarchal structures in the sense that they were expected to be loyal to ancient Indian traditions and belief-systems. Based on the increase in Indian migration, contemporary Bollywood filmmakers are now catering to the demands of the Indian diaspora and therefore, a more global market. The impact of transnationalism on the representation of women in many Bollywood films has further added to the creation of open spaces for the Bollywood heroine. In this regard, the films of auteur director Karan Johar are valuable because they provide audiences with material that suggests re-thinking patriarchal structures in a transnational world. This study will examine the representation of women in three selected films of Johar within the framework of feminist theory (Indian context). The impact that transnationalism has had on the Indian diaspora and the manner in which this translates into the narratives and representations of female characters in Bollywood films will be discussed. / Afrikaans & Theory of Literature / D. Litt. et Phil. (Theory of Literature)

Bollywood cinema continues to evolve. As a result, it has become a transnational/cultural role player for Indian audiences worldwide. There has always been a strong link between Bollywood cinema and Indian society. Over the years, it has contributed to the dialogue on women’s roles and position in Indian society. In the past, Bollywood filmmakers were faithful to representations of women who were bound by patriarchal structures in the sense that they were expected to be loyal to ancient Indian traditions and belief-systems. Based on the increase in Indian migration, contemporary Bollywood filmmakers are now catering to the demands of the Indian diaspora and therefore, a more global market. The impact of transnationalism on the representation of women in many Bollywood films has further added to the creation of open spaces for the Bollywood heroine. In this regard, the films of auteur director Karan Johar are valuable because they provide audiences with material that suggests re-thinking patriarchal structures in a transnational world. This study will examine the representation of women in three selected films of Johar within the framework of feminist theory (Indian context). The impact that transnationalism has had on the Indian diaspora and the manner in which this translates into the narratives and representations of female characters in Bollywood films will be discussed. / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / D. Litt. et Phil. (Theory of Literature)