Monia Acciari

The Italianization of Bollywood cinema: ad hoc films

In this article we explore the relationship between Italy and popular Hindi cinema in which the form and narrative structure of Bollywood films undergo profound changes. Bollywood films screened in Italy are modified and absorb, through a collage of images, traces of the Italian inheritance of neo-realist cinema. We use Bergson’s theory of time to study this phenomenon, which together with the theory of collage, will form the theoretical frame of a reflection on the dismemberment that these films undergo for the Italian screens. Their transformation appear to generate ad hoc Bollywood films. The analysis of the use that the Italian entertainment industry currently makes of Bollywood texts (by adapting these texts for their national audience) is pivotal to putting into perspective, on the one hand, the global phenomenon of aesthetic and cultural changes to Bollywood cinema and, on the other hand, the specificities of the encounter of this industry with the European panorama. The analysis of this phenomenon, filtered by the Italian entertainment industry, through the use of one specific case study, the film Jodhaa Akbar/Jodhaa Akbar (Gowariker 2008, Ashutosh Gowariker Productions Pvt Ltd and UTV Motion Pictures), allows us to think about Bollywood films as re-framed by the globalization of this Indian industry.

Bollywood’s variation on the firanginess theme: Song-and-dance sequences as heterotopic offbeats

Abstract Song-and-dance sequences have widely been studied as disruptive elements in the narrative of popular Hindi cinema and as quintessential traits of this industry. While the utopic dimension of such musical intervals has largely been theorised, the aim of this article is to expand on this framework to articulate the heterotopic dimension of these interludes. Foucault’s concept of heterotopia allows further study of how song-and-dance sequences are elements responsible for communicating both social and cultural aspects. On a similar note, it must be mentioned that the use and representation of foreigners in Indian cinema dates back to its origins, when foreign actresses were often employed in films, replacing local performers. Through historical exploration, this article will specifically investigate how song-and-dance sequences are important ‘malleable elements’ of the narrative, which are able to articulate identity and to discourse on the representation and articulation of firanginess in popular Hindi cinema.

British Asian music and its networks: Notes from a music-making workshop at the Apache Indian Music Academy, Handsworth, UK

British Asian music is a phenomenon that not only involves the scenes of entertainment, but has opened its doors to the educational panorama too. Due to the crisis this industry is facing, British Asian musician and practitioners met during the BASS ‘Made in Britain’ Festival in Birmingham, to debate the future of this industry within the local and international arenas. Led by the international Reggae star Apache Indian, the activities at the school have produced important reflections on the status of this musical landscape. This paper, via social and cultural analysis, narrates the event, and sets a series of questions on the future evolution of the British Asian music industry.