Gentrification and Nationalism as the Key Binary in Bollywood Cinema

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The songs in the film are also important to the nationalist perspective as according to Sangita Gopal, the songs speaks more than the kiss in western films. Gopal claims that there is a distinct difference in Indian films and western films as the Indian films rely heavily on the songs and dance as a medium to portray and represent love, whereas a western film looks to the physical connection between the love characters (Gopal, 2011). The Indian films rely on the songs as they are traditional and are representative of the culture and society by which they live. Gopal claims that the song is more relatable to the people of India and the song carries more weight. It shows that the film is in fact nationalistic as it uses the stylistic devices more commonly associated with Indian film. In addition to the songs, the film also has the key aspects to a Bollywood film by having stars, song and dance, a hero/heroine and a plot. By providing the basics of the film to the people of India the filmmakers are unaware of their nationalistic attempts to make the film conform to the standards set by the people of India.

To further the nationalistic standpoint, and to diminish the claim of Ganti on the marginalization of India, Dil Chahta Hai is clearly demonstrating India as the important factor as the main characters all fall for Indian girls rather than the Swiss girl that he had previously met in Goa. However, he eventually falls in love with an Indian girl and the film shows him reverting back to his home country. The women in the film could become a metaphor for the emerging cultural changes and globalization that is occurring in the modern society. The main character realizes that the love of his nation is far too endearing and despite his brief escape from the society he still goes back to his origins. It can hence be claimed that the film is in essence a nationalistic affair.

To criticize the nationalistic aspects of the film there is a necessity to understand the problems that arise when trying to portray or represent a single class or group that the nation wants. In the case of Dil Chahta Hai there is the representation of young men who are college educated. The single group being represented forces the nation to gain pleasure in hegemony. In this case, hegemony is in essence a representation of a single class or group and in the process marginalizing a large number of groups therefore creating a dominant class representation. This was highly criticized by Satyajit Ray as he believes that the representation in Bollywood is lacking.

To conclude, the film Dil Chahta Hai can be interpreted as a film only intent on making money as demonstrated by Ganti and the theory of gentrification of the film industry. The middle-class representation in the form of the main protagonists and the changing target audience is examples of which the film is purely an economic venture and provided as a ‘Temple of Desire’ and pure entertainment for the audience. However, the film could possibly be interpreted as having a deeper intent with the concept of nationalism shining through as the main aspect. In this film’s case the use of song and dance are distinctly Indian and highly representative of the Hindi film industry and its origins from Parsi and Urdu theatrical traditions. Yet despite this view it can be criticized and has been criticized by the great realist filmmaker Satyajit Ray. But, the film is clearly a combination of both the gentrification and the nationalistic approaches as the key-binary is exemplified by the combination of tradition and modernity in the films. There is an attempt to move forward with the justification of using song and dance, yet the song and dance still persists as the main form of connection with the audience in the film.

Bibliography

Ganti, T. (2012). Producing Bollywood: Inside the Contemporary Hindi Film Industry. Orient Blackswan Private Limited.

Gopal, S. (2011). Conjugations: marriage and form in new Bollywood cinema. The University of Chicago Press.

Mishra, V. (2002). Bollywood Cinema: Temples of Desire. Routledge.

Virdi, J. (2003). The Cinematic ImagiNation: Indian popular films as a social history. Rutgers University Press.