South Asian Diasporic Cinema and Theatre: Re-Visiting Screen and Stage in the New Millennium

Book Details

• Publisher: Rawat Publications

• Author: Ajay K. Chaubey

• Language: English

• Edition: 2017

• ISBN: 9788131609071

• Pages: 347

• Cover: Hardcover

• Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches

About the Book
This groundbreaking volume presents seventeen path-breaking essays by Indian, European, Indo-Scottish, and Indo-American scholars, delving into the complex realm of South Asian diasporic cinema and theatre. The anthology embraces heterogeneity and celebrates the diverse ways in which South Asian diasporic visual arts are perceived in the new millennium. These essays engage in critical conversations around themes such as 'home' and 'homeland' in Afghan cinema, as well as the Partition of India, illustrating how contemporary South Asian film and drama offer radical, topical, and new perspectives.

The essays are a vibrant mix of voices from international contributors, making this volume a unique cross-cultural bridge that dissolves borders and challenges cultural preconceptions. The book engages in a nuanced discourse on the duality of South Asian ‘diasporic’ and ‘domiciled’ visual arts, offering fresh insights into the interwoven relationship between global and local contexts in South Asian cinema and theatre. Through this anthology, readers are invited to navigate beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries and explore the dynamic intersections of South Asian identity, culture, and politics in the world of performing arts.

This volume is not only an important resource for research students but also a valuable tool for academicians and scholars engaged with South Asian Studies, Film Studies, Cultural Studies, and Theatre Studies.

Contents

• South Asian Diasporic Cinema and Theatre: A Critical Introduction – Ajay K. Chaubey and Ashvin I. Devasundaram

Section A: Filming South Asian Diaspora: Critical Essays in the New Millennium

1. Gender and Nation in the South Asian Diaspora: Transnational Cultural Spaces in Bollywood Cinema – Sanjena Sathian

2. Desi Films: Articulating Images of South Asian Identity in a Global Communication Environment – Rekha Sharma

3. British South Asian Cinema and Identity–I: Nostalgia in the Contemporary British Cinema and the South Asian Diaspora – E. Anna Claydon

4. British South Asian Cinema and Identity–II: Representing America in the films of Gurinder Chadha – E. Anna Claydon

5. Bride and Prejudice and the (Post-) National Cinema Debate – Ana Cristina Mendes

6. Hanif Kureishi’s My Son the Fanatic: Anxiety in Assimilation – Pragya Shukla

7. Afghan Diaspora and Diasporic Spaces in the Cinematic Landscape of Afghanistan and Iran – Irum Alvi

Section B: Typology of Indian Cinema: An Accentuated Journey of Hundred Years
8. Bollywood on the Wings of Technology and Its Contribution to Economy: Hundredth Year of Indian Cinema – M.M.K. Sardana
9. Bollywood Dreams Hand-in-Hand with the Canadian Movie Business: Interplay of Diasporic Cinema with Emotions, Creativity, and Money – Shilpa Daithota Bhat
10. Subalterns’ Voices through ‘Accented Cinema(s)’: A Study of Deepa Mehta’s Fire and Water – Subrata Kumar Das
11. Queer Tropes in Post 1990s Malayalam Cinema – Rajesh James

Section C: Theatricality of South Asian Diasporic/Indian Theatre: A Critical Reception
12. Diasporic Activism and the Mediations of ‘Home’: South Asian Voices in Canadian Drama – Nandi Bhatia
13. Sharuk and Shylock: The Creation of a South Asian American Aesthetic – Neilesh Bose
14. South Asian Diasporic Theatre: A Critical Overview – D. Sudha Rani
15. Theatre for Development in Indian Context: An Introspection – Priyam Basu Thakur

Section D: Partitioned Lives in Cinema and Theatre: Recent Perspectives
16. Partitioned Lives and the Cinematic Quest for Redressal – Manjinder Kaur Wratch
17. ‘Do They Want to Turn Partition into a Gilbert and Sullivan Opera?’: Performing Partition as Uncanny Farce – Anindya Raychaudhuri

About the Author
Ajay K. Chaubey is an Assistant Professor in English at the Department of Sciences and Humanities, National Institute of Technology, Uttarakhand. He has previously taught at premier institutions in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and New Delhi. His major publications include volumes on V.S. Naipaul and Salman Rushdie, as well as two other volumes on the literature of the Indian Diaspora. Chaubey is a Life Member of IACLALS, AESI, and Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, and frequently presents research papers at conferences and symposia.

Ashvin I. Devasundaram is a Lecturer in World Cinema at Queen Mary University of London. He is the Programming Adviser to the London Asian Film Festival (LAFF) and the Creative Director of the Edinburgh Asian Film Festival (EAFF). Devasundaram is a BBC Academy Expert Voice in Cultural Studies and Visual Arts, and his recent publication is India’s New Independent Cinema: Rise of the Hybrid (Routledge, 2016).