Indian cinema, Indian democracy: An unusual cold war saga, 1947-89

The direct concordance between Indian cinema and the Cold War is somewhat intangible, due to India’s position vis-à-vis the bipolar politics of the era. In the two World Wars, Indians as British imperial subjects were forced to supply natural, human, and economic resources, in varying degrees. In comparison, India’s experience of the Cold War was far less immediate. India entered the Cold War era as a nation-state that was created in 1947 by the Partition of the British Indian Empire into India and Pakistan. Burdened with the effects of exploitation from its long colonial past, India, in 1947, faced a dual task: maintaining the hard-earned political independence and adopting accelerated methods for nation-building. Throughout the duration of the Cold War, India remained engaged in its postimperial, postcolonial project centered on the idea of a secular democratic nation-state. Its international policy was shaped by an allegiance to the Non-Aligned Movement, which kept the nation clear of any direct involvement in the core geopolitics of the Cold War.