If you have not lived or traveled in India, the pictures in your mind of that country and its people probably come from the movies. Lots of movies. In this new course we look at techniques and themes common to movies made about India. At each class session we view and discuss excerpts from several examples.
Hollywood in India
Hollywood films may be set in India, but they usually portray the lives and concerns of the western characters, not the Indians. Indians may be portrayed by American or European actors. A good example is Gunga Din (1939) about three brave British soldiers (Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) supported by their loyal Indian water carrier, played by an American actor (Same Jaffe) in blackface. Some other examples:
Flame over India (1959) – stars Lauren Bacall
Kim (1950) – stars Dean Stockwell and Eroll Flynn
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) – stars Gary Cooper
Indian Art Films
Satyajit Ray established an international reputation by writing and directing Indian art films.
Two Daughters (1961) tells the story of a young postmaster who befriends the young girl who serves as his servant. Dramatic black and white pictures, supplemented with authentic Indian music. Some other examples:
The Chess Players (1977) -political and personal struggle, in color
The Music Room (1958) – nobleman goes broke
The Apu Trilogy (1955-1959) – aspiring writer
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Bollywood in India
Bollywood (Bombay + Hollywood) films are made in India with Indian actors and using many of the techniques of Hollywood musicals: long sequences of song and dance, improbable plots and (usually) happy endings. An early example is Mother India (1957) in which a mother, abandoned by her husband and persecuted by the local money-lender, struggles to bring up her two sons. Her misery is accompanied by plenty of dance and song. Some other examples:
Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) – Three brothers are brought up as members of three different religions
Bombay (1995) – Hindu boy marries Moslem girl, lots of trouble
Mission Kashmir (2000) – Tangled family conflict
The Raj on Film
Many films depict the Raj – the period of British rule of India – and what it was like for both the Indians and the English. A Passage to India (1985) is based on E. M. Forster’s novel and portrays the mutual misunderstandings in the Raj during the 1920s. Some other examples:
The Far Pavilions (1984) – one man, two worlds
Heat and Dust (1983) – two women, tso different times
Water (2006) – widow in Benares
Partition on Film
The dramatic events surrounding the decades-long struggle for Indian independence and the conflict and violence of Partition in 1947, have been the subject of many films. Bhowani Junction (1956), based on the John Masters’ novel, is Hollywood’s attempt to tell the story. Some other examples:
Earth (1998) – violence in Lahore in1947
Gandhi (1982) – Richard Attenborough’s biopic of Mahatma Gandhi
The Jewel in the Crown (1984) – TV series dramatizing Paul Scott’s The Raj Quartet
Independent India
Life in independent India has received the cinematic attention of Hollywood and Indian producers, directors and actors. In Monsoon Wedding (2002), director Mira Nair brings the members of an extended family together, for better and worse. Some additional examples:
Shakespeare Wallah (1965) – the Mercant-Ivory-Jhabvala team
Salaam Bombay (1988) – street children in Bombay
Such a Long Journey (1998 – a Parsi family story
Indians Abroad: The U.K.
The experiences of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis who migrate to the United Kingdom have been the subject of many films. In Bhaji on the Beach (1994) two different generations of Indian women. Some other examples:
Brick Lane (2007) – Bangladeshi women in London
The Mystic Masseur (2002) – young man in Trinidad
My Son the Fanatic (1999) – the next generation
Indians Abroad: The U.S.
Movie makers have explored the adjustment of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis to life in the United States. Indian girl meets Mississippi boy in Mississippi Masala (1992). Additional examples:
Lonely in America (1993) – immigrant struggle, with laughs
My Own Country (1998) – immigrant struggle, with AIDS
The Namesake (2007) – immigrant struggle, with ups and downs
Click the link for an extensive Indian Movie List in each category.
This is a beautiful list, but I feel that it would be remiss to not include the film EAST IS EAST (1999)in your Indians Abroad: UK. English/Pakistani parents coming to terms with culture/generational/religious clash in 1970′s England.
[...] days I am living in two different worlds (three, if you include Connecticut). I am teaching my India at the Movies course while sitting in on a Greek Tragedy course. A recently discovered book, Classical Myth by [...]
Great article.
Interesting list, Nancy! I will add some of the movies you have suggested to my ‘To be seen’ list. I found your description of ‘Gunga Din’ quite interesting – I didn’t know that Cary Grant has acted in a war movie! I also didn’t know that Douglas Fairbanks Jr. has acted in a ‘talkie’ movie – I have seen him only in silent movies (like ‘Thief of Baghdad’ and ‘Arabian Nights’). I really want to see ‘Gunga Din’ now. I also want to see Satyajit Ray’s ‘The Apu Trilogy’ and ‘The Chess Players’ and the partition movie ‘Bhowani Junction’. I have seen ‘Mother ‘India’, ‘Bombay’, ‘Water’, ‘Gandhi’ and ‘Monsoon Wedding’ and they are all wonderful. I saw a movie sometime back called ‘Bride and Prejudice’ which is a remake of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ in the Indian context and it is quite interesting. If you haven’t seen it, I would recommend it.