Abstract
By using Filmfare magazine this chapter illustrates a particular vein of Indian cinema discourse in the fifties, which were marked by a special aspirational fervor in the era of the new republic, five-year plans and Bandung. This feeling was strongly consolidated after the first Indian Film Festival in 1951 and exposure to the new cinemas of Japan and Italy. It was given greater impetus by Awara’s (1951) spectacular success in the USSR and West Asia, and then by the Pather Panchali (1955) phenomenon. This aspirational domain was marked by a plethora of projects announced, rumored or aborted. This chapter illustrates how this energy fizzled out in the next decade and the Bombay industry adopted a more inward-looking stance, focusing on Technicolor-Gevacolor romances that would dominate the tempestuous sixties. This chapter is a critical exploration of this transformation.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Industrial Networks and Cinemas of India |
| Subtitle of host publication | Shooting Stars, Shifting Geographies and Multiplying Media |
| Editors | Monika Mehta, Madhuja Mukherjee |
| Place of Publication | London |
| Publisher | Routledge |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780429326028 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780367210588, 9780367344719 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2020 |