Bish Shataker Dwitiyardhe Hindi Chayachabite ‘Bharatiyatva’-er Nirman
Abstract:
Nationalism is a much-discussed topic in modern times. Promotion of nationalistic
sentiments is a means of securing national property and also to establish a
hegemonic control over it. The easiest means of disseminating nationalistic
feelings is through culture; not the elite culture of the select few but the popular
culture of the masses. It is also an effective medium of imposing the dominant
nationalist narrative on the masses. In the post- independence era popular Hindi
films became a means of creating and imposing a nationalistic consciousness that
focused on projecting India as a 'homogeneous race' that had overthrown the
colonial rule. It is not that Hindi films do not articulate the voice of protest – it is
important for the ruler to ameliorate the conditions of the subaltern and eventually,
at the end this voice of protest gets compromised with the power of state-promoted
narratives.
Since 1947 till the present day Hindi films have played a significant role in the creation of national culture or 'Indianness'. However, the concept of nation building against the socio-economic context immediately after independence definitely underwent a change in the 90's when 'Indianness' was being defined against the backdrop of globalization. But, while tradition was extolled some ideas and a mindset typical of 'Indianness' were also promoted, that presented a counternarrative to the western culture. Examples to elucidate this point are the concepts of femininity and womanhood and the Indian family. In the interest of capital structure that is integrated with the market economy, a peaceful, homogeneous public was needed who would be inspired and unified by the spirit of 'Indianness'. In this way a dominant state tried to promote the interest of the capitalist economy. Therefore, a discussion on popular Hindi films would have the tendency of becoming a politically conscious discourse, for nationalism is also a construct created in the interest of capitalism. In this article popular Hindi films from the 50's to the 90's of the twentieth century, which have tried to directly or indirectly endorse or document this political objective has been analyzed, and an effort has been made to estimate how far they have been successful in this attempt and why.
Since 1947 till the present day Hindi films have played a significant role in the creation of national culture or 'Indianness'. However, the concept of nation building against the socio-economic context immediately after independence definitely underwent a change in the 90's when 'Indianness' was being defined against the backdrop of globalization. But, while tradition was extolled some ideas and a mindset typical of 'Indianness' were also promoted, that presented a counternarrative to the western culture. Examples to elucidate this point are the concepts of femininity and womanhood and the Indian family. In the interest of capital structure that is integrated with the market economy, a peaceful, homogeneous public was needed who would be inspired and unified by the spirit of 'Indianness'. In this way a dominant state tried to promote the interest of the capitalist economy. Therefore, a discussion on popular Hindi films would have the tendency of becoming a politically conscious discourse, for nationalism is also a construct created in the interest of capitalism. In this article popular Hindi films from the 50's to the 90's of the twentieth century, which have tried to directly or indirectly endorse or document this political objective has been analyzed, and an effort has been made to estimate how far they have been successful in this attempt and why.
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