BOLLYWOOD and Indian Cinema The Global and Local in Tension

Globalization and Hindi Films Golden era (1947–1963)

Early internationalization phase (1964–1990),

Late Internationalization Phase: ( )

What’s in a name? Bombay + Hollywood “It was Hollywood itself... that, with the confidence that comes from global supremacy, renamed a concentration of production facilities in its own image.” (p. 86) Bollywood vis-a-vis flows and contra- flows.

De-regulation 1947: Independence of India Commitment to modernization and nationalization of communication infrastructures Cinema was not considered central to this process of re-invention of the state/nation.

Media Policy 1980s-1990s: Indian film industry became pivotal to the re-imagination of the Indian state. 1998: Bollywood receives ‘industry status’ > easing foreign investments and facilitating the entrance of Bollywood into the global scene.

Between formality and informality 2 patterns to reconcile: a)Indian film industry is shaped by informal relationships: occasional labor, corruption, illegality b)Corporatization requires high transparency in the market

The Portability of the National To become successful internationally, Bollywood must become more Indian Bollywood’s enactment of India as ‘multimedia spectacle’- “Fatal misrecognition of Bollywood as Indian national cinema” How are regional/national identities reconstructed in globalized processes?

Bollywood as National Cinema Use of Hindi in non-Hindi Bombay Serves a Hindu nationalist project: exportability of Bollywood depends on its flattening of Indian diversity Hindu decision to change the name to Mumbai > need to re-assert its original identity and place in the global marketplace.

BOLLYWOODHOLLYWOOD FILMS PRODUCED (2006) TICKETS SOLD4 billion1.4 billion GLOBAL REVENUES (2002) $1.7 billion (20% from foreign revenues) $51 billion (60% from foreign revenues) ANNUAL GROWTH RATE 15-20%7-9% AVERAGE PRODUCTION COST/FILM $1.5 million$65.8 million AVERAGE MARKETING COST/FILM $ $34.5 million

Data on the Industry Star salaries typically consume 40% of a film's budget, leaving relatively little for scripts, preproduction planning, or sophisticated post-production digitization. In Hollywood, by contrast, even the $ 30 million paid to Arnold Schwarzenegger for Terminator 3 was less than 20% of the film's $ 170 million budget. Pirated copies of Bollywood flicks are readily available, both in India and abroad, costing the industry some $ 80 million a year.

Bollywood Bollywood extravaganza is a means of escape. This need for relief largely explains the seemingly inexplicable hodgepodge of melodrama and music that characterizes them. Little interest in the kind of linear stories that Western moviegoers consider basic. Not much violence, no nudity, hardly even any kissing.

Example: DEVDAS. (2002) $10 million and took 2 years to complete Most expensive film in Bollywood.DEVDAS

Devdas: -Family Honor -Caste System -Gender Roles

What kinds of changes have occurred in Indian cinema?

Bollywood New Turn

BollywoodBollywood meets Hollywood Bride and PrejudiceBride and Prejudice, Miramax

Away from Bollywood Mira Nair’s films: more based on plots and dialogue-less dancing and singing. Treat more complex issues Indians (in India and abroad) deal with. Salam Bombay (1988) Mississippi Masala(1991) The Namesake (2006)The Namesake The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013) Telling stories about people who are ‘in between’ worlds

The Other Side of Globalization in India