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Rang De Basanti: Bollywood's Construct of India's Malaise |
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Sharad Raj |
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The article comments on the stereotyping in popular cinema through three contemporary popular films, viz Mumbai Meri Jaan, Amir and A Wednesday, released in 2007. All three films were produced by the same producer, UTV. All the three films went on to become critical and commercial hits. The primary reason for this was not just the timing of these films (released at a time when serial bomb blasts were happening rather frequently) but also their ability to appeal to the collective fear of the urban middle class further cemented by the terror attacks. The exception to this was Mumbai Meri Jaan, which is a tragi-comic look at the fear syndrome. The other two, Amir and A Wednesday conform to every stereotype which exist in our society and often endorsed by mass media. To expect popular cinema which is governed purely by commerce to delve deep into terrorism or question some of the accepted notions is asking for the impossible. By its very nature, the popular cinema represents the psyche of the dominant class. |
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