India on Film

Undergraduate / Graduate

This course introduces you to the different ways in which we might think about India through films. What was/is India on-screen? To what extent was India produced by these filmic imaginations? To be sure, there was/ is no monolithic India represented in film. Over the course of the quarter, we will focus on some important films to chart the idea of India they constructed and held up for critique. We will also focus on the region within the nation. In what ways does "Bombay" cinema overlap with "Tamil" "Bengali" and/ or Malayalam cinemas? What are its overlaps with "Lahore" cinema both before and after India and Pakistan became sovereign states? Our films will cover a wide temporal range: from the classical period of Indian cinema into the era of globalization in the 21st century. They will include popular , documentary, and art films. Our goal will to be understand the relationship between films and emergent ideas of nationhood, modernity, and citizenship in a decolonial world. Open to all students, both undergraduate and graduate.