Hinduism and Hindi Theater

Hinduism and Hindi Theater
Author: Diana Dimitrova
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2016-08-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1137599235

This book explores the representation of Hinduism through myth and discourse in urban Hindi theatre in the period 1880-1960. It discusses representative works of seven influential playwrights and looks into the ways they have imagined and re-imagined Hindu traditions. Diana Dimitrova examines the intersections of Hinduism and Hindi theatre, emphasizing the important role that both myth and discourse play in the representation of Hindu traditions in the works of Bharatendu Harishcandra, Jayshankar Prasad, Lakshminarayan Mishra, Jagdishcandra Mathur, Bhuvaneshvar, Upendranath Ashk, and Mohan Rakesh. Dimitrova’a analysis suggests either a traditionalist or a more modernist stance toward religious issues. She emphasizes the absence of Hindi-speaking authors who deal with issues implicit to the Muslim or Sikh or Jain, etc. traditions. This prompts her to suggest that Hindi theatre of the period 1880-1960, as represented in the works of the seven dramatists discussed, should be seen as truly ‘Hindu-Hindi’ theatre.

Gender, Religion, and Modern Hindi Drama

Gender, Religion, and Modern Hindi Drama
Author: Diana Dimitrova
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Total Pages: 166
Release: 2008-03-19
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 077357462X

An exploration of the issues of religion and gender in Hindi drama from the 1880s to the 1960s.

Filming the Gods

Filming the Gods
Author: Rachel Dwyer
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 347
Release: 2006-09-27
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1134380690

Filming the Gods examines the role and depiction of religion in Indian cinema, showing that the relationship between the modern and the traditional in contemporary India is not exotic, but part of everyday life. Concentrating mainly on the Hindi cinema of Mumbai, Bollywood, it also discusses India's other cinemas. Rachel Dwyer's lively discussion encompasses the mythological genre which continues India's long tradition of retelling Hindu myths and legends, drawing on sources such as the national epics of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana; the devotional genre, which flourished at the height of the nationalist movement in the 1930s and 40s; and the films made in Bombay that depict India's Islamicate culture, including the historical, the courtesan film and the 'Muslim social' genre. Filming the Gods also examines the presence of the religious across other genres and how cinema represents religious communities and their beliefs and practices. It draws on interviews with film stars, directors and producers as well as popular fiction, fan magazines and the films themselves. As a result, Filming the Gods is a both a guide to the study of film in religious culture as well as a historical overview of Indian religious film.

Popular Hindi Cinema

Popular Hindi Cinema
Author: Ronie Parciack
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2016-04-20
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 131733325X

The popular Hindi film industry is the largest in India and the most conspicuous film industry in the non-Western world. This book analyses the pivotal visual and narrative conventions employed in popular Hindi films through the combined prism of film studies and classical Indian philosophy and ritualism. The book shows the films outside Western paradigms, as visual manifestations and outcomes of the evolution of classical Hindu notions and esthetic forms. These include notions associated with the Advaita-Vedānta philosophical school and early Buddhist thought, concepts and dynamism stemming from Hindu ritualism, rasa esthetic theories, as well as Brahmanic notions such as dharma (religion, law, order), and mokṣa (liberation). These are all highly abstract notions which the author defines as "the unseen": a cluster of diversified concepts denoting what subsists beyond the phenomenal, what prevails beyond the empirical world of saṁsāra and stands out of this world (alaukika), while simultaneously being embodied and transformed within visual filmic imagery, codes and semiotics that are teased out and analyzed. A culturally sensitive reading of popular Hindi films, the interpretations put forward are also applicable to the Western context. They enable a fuller understanding of religious phenomena outside the primary religious field, within the vernacular arenas of popular culture and mass communication. The book is of interest to scholars in the fields of Indology, modern Indian studies, film, media and cultural studies.

The Other in South Asian Religion, Literature and Film

The Other in South Asian Religion, Literature and Film
Author: Diana Dimitrova
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2014-01-10
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317937325

This book introduces the term "otherism" and looks at the discourse of otherism and the issue of otherness in South Asian religion, literature and film. It examines cultural questions related to the human condition of being the "other," of the process of "othering" and of the representation of "otherness" and its religious, cultural and ideological implications. The book applies the perspectives of ideological criticism, theories of hybridity, orientalism, nationalism, and gender and queer studies to gain new insights into the literature, film and culture of South Asia. It looks at the different ways of interpreting "otherness" today. The book goes on to analyze the ideological implications of the creation of "otherness" with regard to religious and cultural identity and the legitimation of power, as well as how the representation of "otherness" reflects the power structures of contemporary societies in South Asia. Offering a well-thought-out reflection on important cultural questions as well as a deep insight into the study of religion and "otherness" in South Asian literature and film, this book is a pioneering project that is of interest to scholars of South Asian Studies and South Asian religions, literatures and cultures.

Hindu Pasts

Hindu Pasts
Author: Vasudha Dalmia
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 392
Release: 2017-07-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1438468075

In her introduction to Hindu Pasts—which showcases her work as a scholar of social, literary, and religious history—Vasudha Dalmia outlines the central ideas which thread her writings: first, to understand in greater historical depth the relationship between body language, religion, and society in India, as well as the ever-changing role of its religious and social institutions; second, to recognize that the Hindu tradition, which colonials and nationalists tend to see as monolithic, is in fact a multiplicity of distinct and semi-autonomous strands.

Religion in Literature and Film in South Asia

Religion in Literature and Film in South Asia
Author: Diana Dimitrova
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2010-02-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0230105521

This innovative, interdisciplinary collection of essays by scholars based in Europe and the United States offers stimulating approaches to the role played by religion in present-day South Asia.

The Last Hindu Emperor

The Last Hindu Emperor
Author: Cynthia Talbot
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 327
Release: 2015-12-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 1316432556

This fascinating new study traces traditions and memories relating to the twelfth-century Indian ruler Prithviraj Chauhan; a Hindu king who was defeated and overthrown during the conquest of Northern India by Muslim armies from Afghanistan. Surveying a wealth of narratives that span more than 800 years, Cynthia Talbot explores the reasons why he is remembered, and by whom. In modern times, the Chauhan king has been referred to as 'the last Hindu emperor', because Muslim rule prevailed for centuries following his defeat. Despite being overthrown, however, his name and story have evolved over time into a historical symbol of India's martial valor. The Last Hindu Emperor sheds new light on the enduring importance of heroic histories in Indian culture and the extraordinary ability of historical memory to transform the hero of a clan into the hero of a community, and finally a nation.

Storytelling in World Cinemas

Storytelling in World Cinemas
Author: Lina Khatib
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2013-01-31
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0231850255

Storytelling in World Cinemas, Vol. 2: Contexts addresses the questions of what and why particular stories are told in films around the world, both in terms of the forms of storytelling used, and of the political, religious, historical, and social contexts informing cinematic storytelling. Drawing on films from all five continents, the book approaches storytelling from a cultural/historical multidisciplinary perspective, focusing on the influence of cultural politics, postcolonialism, women's social and cultural positions, and religious contexts on film stories. Like its sister volume, Storytelling in World Cinemas, Vol. 1: Forms, this book is an innovative addition to the academic study of world cinemas.