The thesis explores elements of Sanskrit drama studies, its philosophy of aesthetics, Hindu theology and Indian cinema studies. It seeks to identify and appreciate the continual influence of a pioneering and influential idea from the Indian subcontinent’s cultural memory and history – the ‘theory of aesthetics’, also known as the ‘Rasa Theory’. The rasa theory is a seminal contribution of the ancient Indian Sanskrit drama textbook, the Natyashastra, whose postulates have provided a definitive template for appreciating and analysing all major fine arts in the Indian sub-continent for over two millennia. No criticism of an art form in India is more devastating than the allegation that it is devoid of rasa. Though ‘rasa’ has many literal meanings like taste, essence and ultimately bliss, in Natyashastra it is used to signify the “essence of emotion” or the final emotional state of ‘relish/reaction/aesthetic experience’ achieved by a spectator while watching a performing art. The thesis uses this fundamental aesthetic influence from India’s cultural memory and heritage to understand its working in the shaping of emotive performances, and the structuring of multiple genre mixing narrative styles in Indian cinema. It identifies and explains how the story telling attributes in Indian cinema, still preserve, transmit and represent, drama and performance aesthetics established 2000 years ago. The chapters are divided into two sections – evidence-led correlation confirming the direct influence of Natyashastra guidelines on Indian filmmaking practices, and arguments-driven proposals on how to use the rasa theory for appreciating cinematic aesthetics. Section One, comprising of the first three chapters, engages with direct evidence of the influence and use of Natyashastra prescriptions and rasa theory expectations in the early years of Indian cinema, when the movie industry was intimately tied to theatre for creative guidance. Section Two, comprising of chapters four to six, goes beyond these conscious engagements to explore the continuing relevance of the concepts of bhava and rasa for studies and methods in film appreciation, and their potential usage in discussing alternate modes of cinematic expression, like melodrama. In this section, recommendations are made on how to re-read and review influential and representative cinematic achievements from different eras, regions and genres of Indian on-screen entertainment, using the rasa theory for better understanding of foundational cinematic attributes like plot construction, performances and directorial achievement in non-realism prioritising on-screen narrations. The thesis shows how to appreciate expressive acting, song and dance performances and melodramatic narratives/ movies using the rasa theory’s prescriptions on good acting in a navarasa exploring drama. It calls for a greater engagement with the theory’s aesthetic appreciation ideas, beyond its current peripheral acknowledgement in academic scholarship as an exotic and ancient review model with doubtful contemporary relevance. My conclusions offer a valuable guide for a fair and better appreciation of dramatic, stylistic and stereotypical acting in cinema that Western models of film criticism privileging the realistic form have been inadequate in comprehending. These findings propose a mode of inclusive aesthetic criticism that enjoys broad application across a wide range of cinematic art genres and national cinema styles using non-Euro/American modes of storytelling, towards the establishment of a humanist film education.

Le cinéma populaire de l'Inde du Nord, communément appelé « Bollywood », représente le tiers du marché annuel du plus grand producteur de films du monde. L'industrie soutient qu'elle est séculière et qu'elle n'offre de traitement de faveur à aucune communauté religieuse en particulier, et l'immense majorité des films de l'Inde du Nord ne traitent pas directement de religion. Toutefois, même si elle est en apparence inoffensive et quelque peu enfantine, la « machine à rêve » de Mumbai, controlée par une majorité d'hindous, peut aussi devenir un moyen de diffuser à très grande échelle des valeurs religieuses particulières. Plusieurs auteurs et critiques ont observé dans les années qui ont suivi 1995 un désir chez les artisans du film d'aborder sous un angle nouveau les thèmes, les personnages et la morale se dégageant du récit. La question ayant guidé notre recherche est la suivante: de 1995 à 2005. peut-on dire que la morale véhiculée par le récit, les thématiques et les personnages propose une manière de penser l'identité indienne formatée par certaines valeurs traditionnelles hindoues? Dans le cadre de ce mémoire, nous avons souhaité étudier l'identité hindoue telle que proposée par les quatre plus grands succès de la décennie 1995-2005, le but étant de tenter de comprendre l'idéologie religieuse mise de l'avant par les productions les plus populaires auprès du grand public indien, puis de voir si le film peut être considéré comme une forme d'énonciation identitaire. Nous avons formulé l'hypothèse qu'au sein d'une société laïque mais dont l'esthétique et la morale sont influencées par l'hindouisme, le cinéma crée une représentation de l'idéal et de l'Autre pour faire la promotion des valeurs profondes que sont le maintien de l'ordre social, la moralité, la famille et le mariage. La présente dissertation est le résultat d'une analyse du contenu des films Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Raja Hindustani (1996), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) et Gadar.· Ek Prem Katha (2001). Elle se penche sur des questions telles que les influences des systèmes de croyances sur la culture populaire, la formation et la transmission de l'identité ethnique. et plus précisément sur la présence de modèles identitaires hindous dans le média de masse qu'est le cinéma hindi. En comparant ces quatre films, ce mémoire met en lumière certains traits typiques des productions bollywoodiennes contemporaines, dont la représentation à l'écran des idéaux masculins et féminins, des rappons familiaux, de la pratique de l'hindouisme et des communautés minoritaires que sont les musulmans, les sikhs, les chrétiens et les Occidentaux. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Bollywood, Cinéma indien, Hindouisme, Identité hindoue, Représentation.

Univ., überarb. Diplomarbeit, --Zugl.: Wien, 2006.

The object of the dissertation is British and Indian popular (commercial) cinema and the construction of identity there. The problem of identity construction in Indian and British films was researched employing three approaches found in the postcolonial theory: the critique of colonial discourse, anticolonial nationalism and the construction of national identity and the problematics of diasporic identity. The comparative analysis of the films from the two industries of the countries which were bounded by colonial relationships in the past let us see the complex ways of how identity is articulated in the postcolonial period. It also shows that the colonial memory is not merely a historical relict, but one of the ways to construct identity, which is always brought up and rethought in contemporary popular culture. The comparative analysis of British and Indian films leads us to the following conclusions: Nadion constructs itself through the constant employment of the resources of colonial memory – and does so depending on various goals: fantasy, nostalgia, fear etc. The ever-present use of colonial memory in the context of the present shows that postcoloniality is a process rather than achieved state, thus letting us observe the positions and functions of imperialism not only in the past, but present as well. British as well as Indian cinema includes the cultural “otherness” in the narratives, which is modeled and manipulated according to the historical period when the film was... [to full text] / Disertacijos objektas yra komercinis Britanijos ir Indijos kinas bei jame konstruojamos tapatybės. Tapatybės konstravimo problematika Indijos ir Britanijos filmuose yra tiriama remiantis trimis tapatybės analizės pokolonijinėje teorijoje pjūviais: kolonijinio diskurso kritika, antikolonijiniu nacionalizmu ir tautinės tapatybės konstravimu bei diasporinės tapatybės problematika. Lyginamasis dviejų, praeityje kolonijiniais saitais susietų valstybių kino filmų tyrimas leido pažvelgti į kompleksines tapatybės artikuliavimo pokolonijiniame laikotarpyje galimybes ir parodė, kad kolonijinė praeitis nėra vien tik istorinis reliktas, bet viena iš tapatybės konstravimo priemonių, nuolat sugrąžinama ir permąstoma šiuolaikinėje populiariojoje kultūroje ir kinematografijoje. Išanalizavus medžiagą disertacijoje prieita prie šių išvadų: tauta konstruoja save per nuolatinį kolonijinės atminties resursų panaudojimą – ir atlieka tai vedina skirtingų tikslų: fantazijos, nostalgijos, baimės ir kt. Nuolatinis kolonijinės atminties eskalavimas dabarties kontekste rodo pokolonializmo procesualumą, bet ne substanciškumą, atverdamas kelius pažvelgti į imperializmą ir jo poziciją ne tik praeityje, bet ir dabartyje. Tokiame kontekste tiek Britanija, tiek Indija į filmų naratyvus įtraukia kultūrinės kitybės kategoriją, kuri yra modeliuojama priklausomai nuo filmo sukūrimo laikmečio ir išreiškia skirtingas ideologines sanklodas. Kalbėjimas apie „Kitą“ tampa susietas su „Savimi“, taip sukuriant reikšmių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Disertacijos objektas yra komercinis Britanijos ir Indijos kinas bei jame konstruojamos tapatybės. Tapatybės konstravimo problematika Indijos ir Britanijos filmuose yra tiriama remiantis trimis tapatybės analizės pokolonijinėje teorijoje pjūviais: kolonijinio diskurso kritika, antikolonijiniu nacionalizmu ir tautinės tapatybės konstravimu bei diasporinės tapatybės problematika. Lyginamasis dviejų, praeityje kolonijiniais saitais susietų valstybių kino filmų tyrimas leido pažvelgti į kompleksines tapatybės artikuliavimo pokolonijiniame laikotarpyje galimybes ir parodė, kad kolonijinė praeitis nėra vien tik istorinis reliktas, bet viena iš tapatybės konstravimo priemonių, nuolat sugrąžinama ir permąstoma šiuolaikinėje populiariojoje kultūroje ir kinematografijoje. Išanalizavus medžiagą disertacijoje prieita prie šių išvadų: tauta konstruoja save per nuolatinį kolonijinės atminties resursų panaudojimą – ir atlieka tai vedina skirtingų tikslų: fantazijos, nostalgijos, baimės ir kt. Nuolatinis kolonijinės atminties eskalavimas dabarties kontekste rodo pokolonializmo procesualumą, bet ne substanciškumą, atverdamas kelius pažvelgti į imperializmą ir jo poziciją ne tik praeityje, bet ir dabartyje. Tokiame kontekste tiek Britanija, tiek Indija į filmų naratyvus įtraukia kultūrinės kitybės kategoriją, kuri yra modeliuojama priklausomai nuo filmo sukūrimo laikmečio ir išreiškia skirtingas ideologines sanklodas. Kalbėjimas apie „Kitą“ tampa susietas su „Savimi“, taip sukuriant reikšmių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The object of the dissertation is British and Indian popular (commercial) cinema and the construction of identity there. The problem of identity construction in Indian and British films was researched employing three approaches found in the postcolonial theory: the critique of colonial discourse, anticolonial nationalism and the construction of national identity and the problematics of diasporic identity. The comparative analysis of the films from the two industries of the countries which were bounded by colonial relationships in the past let us see the complex ways of how identity is articulated in the postcolonial period. It also shows that the colonial memory is not merely a historical relict, but one of the ways to construct identity, which is always brought up and rethought in contemporary popular culture. The comparative analysis of British and Indian films leads us to the following conclusions: Nadion constructs itself through the constant employment of the resources of colonial memory – and does so depending on various goals: fantasy, nostalgia, fear etc. The ever-present use of colonial memory in the context of the present shows that postcoloniality is a process rather than achieved state, thus letting us observe the positions and functions of imperialism not only in the past, but present as well. British as well as Indian cinema includes the cultural “otherness” in the narratives, which is modeled and manipulated according to the historical period when the film was... [to full text]

Inspired by my personal experience as a South Asian-American, I chose to create a series of paintings that seek to analyze the relationship between South Asians and a Western environment. I was further influenced by Bollywood painted posters, which I argue encapsulate postcolonial aesthetics in the form of fair skin, colored eyes, and exoticism. Moreover, I believe that Bollywood has continued to disseminate these aesthetics to the South Asian collective community. Bollywood and its implicit fascination with the West, in addition to its inherently South Asian identity, embody the struggle that many South Asians face. This struggle, which I as a South Asian-American woman painter have also experienced, includes a constant internal conflict between desiring to fit into Western culture and trying to maintain one’s cultural heritage within a Western environment. Ultimately, through these paintings and this essay, I seek to shed light on this complex relationship between South Asian culture and a Western context.

This is a study of India's major cities and how they are faring under the conditions of contemporary globalisation. This contemporary globalisation is a part of the economic globalisation that took place in India especially after 1991, when the new economic policies were incorporated. These new economic policies were targeted at making India integrate into the larger world economy by introducing more open trade. The sectors that received major attention under the new policies were industrial and the services sector as a whole with particular emphasis on producer services (banking and insurance). As a result of liberalisation and privatisation of these sectors many new producer services firms came up in major Indian cities. Therefore, the main focus is on the inter-city relations based upon the type of advance producer services firms that are operating from these cities. Also it looks at the nodes that the major Indian cities form in larger world city network.

This thesis aims to shed light on the cultural and aesthetic implications of the relationship between Italy and India on and off the screens of Italy, following the expansion of Bollywood in Europe during the 90s. Bollywood's propagation abroad affected the identity of the South Asian diaspora, urban spaces and aesthetics which generated what Le Guellec - describing the arrival of Indians and Bollywood cinema to Paris - named as Bollywood/India mania. The study began with the exploration of the historical meaning of the term aesthetic in order to offer a contextualization on the sense of the aesthetic as a philosophy of art; furthermore, it established a background for further theoretical debate on South Asian diasporic identity formations within the entertainment industry of Italy. The research methods that predominated throughout this work were those of textual argumentation, aesthetic analysis, quantitative and qualitative questionnaires and interview data. The reasons for using different and interdisciplinary methods and approaches to offer an account on diasporic cultures, resided in the attempt to reveal the multiplicities of the "cultural and social" visible. The theoretical frame that this research intends to follow is through two quite distinct disciplines: aesthetic and cultural studies. The aim is to capitalise on the productive intersection of these two disciplines to analyse parts of the South Asian cultural text on the screen and beyond it as producers of transnational images imbued with melancholic memories and melancholically conceived spaces. This work will attempt to individuate the existence of representational patterns based on the aesthetic of melancholy with its nuances and metamorphoses, which represents, narrates and constructs South Asian and/or fused identities socially and culturally on the screens of Italy. The notion of semiosphere as elaborated by Jury Lotman, was utilised to define the cultural and dialogic dynamics of mainstream products that move constantly closer to each other generating original "formats" characterised by novel transnational and multiple identities. Throughout this thesis, the emphasis was placed on the "encounters", the "journeys" and the "sharing" of cultures, hence highlighting the possible conditions of belonging contemporaneously through multiple modalities: mentally, psychologically and experientially to multiplicities of cultures. In addition, the notion of "world culture" was contemplated in an attempt to practically support what Gilroy, in Black Atlantic, shaped as "inter-cultural" and translational formations.

No description available.

The phrase, “Toward Adipositivity” in my title is derived from an episode of the Indian fat-activist podcast, Fat.So? (2019-2022). Photographer Substantia Jones presents her fat-activist artwork, “The Adipositivity Project.” Her method involves photographing revealing, sometimes nude, pictures of fat women, and then posts them to the Internet. Jones’ goal is to reclaim the pejorative connotations associated with the word “fat,” to show that fat women’s bodies are beautiful and worthy of artistic inspiration. The arrival of fat activism in Bollywood cinema circa 2010 resulted from the 1991 neo-liberalization of India. The nation experienced a subsequent rise of feminism in civil society, and thus saw the importation of related identity political considerations from Western culture. Bollywood fat activism developed in response to almost two decades of imitating Hollywood featuring thin actresses as protagonists, while relegating fat actresses to insignificant and unattractive roles. In this dissertation, I apply Fat Studies to Bollywood and podcasting. My dissertation centers on two mass mediated sites: weight-based discrimination against women in the 2015 Bollywood film, Dum Laga ke Haisha, and the early fat-activist podcast, Fat.So?, which began in 2019. I conclude that podcasting is a more effective medium than Bollywood cinema for delivering a radical fat-activist message. The latter mass mediated form of communication represents a multiplicity of nuanced perspectives, across a wider array of the population. I employ intersectional theory to study the interaction of weight as an identity political variable with gender, class, and caste. Finally, I lay out the relationship between the fat-activist film and podcast and the recent rise of non-diet nutrition-based podcasting in India.