Cultural Specific in Indian Movies - Case Study Example

Introduction Indian film industry is the largest industry in the world in terms of producing number of films every year. Historically, it has focused on producing films that only catered to the specific audience without considering the fact that movies produced can be universal in their theme too. The greater focus on the specific culture and value system therefore restricted Indian movies only to the audience which was more familiar with that culture. The international orientation of the Indian movies also followed the same audience that migrated to Western countries as Diaspora.(Booth,1995). However, all is set to change for the Bollywood because of the new changes and fresh approaches that are being introduced in the industry. Formally recognized as industry during 2001, Indian film industry is also now making its efforts to capture the international market by targeting their movies to the non-Indian audience too. However, given the cultural specific nature of the Indian movies, questions also arise as to whether the Indian films will be able to fit into the tastes of Western Audience? Whether the cultural aspects of the Indian films will be acceptable to the international audience? Questions also arises as to whether the universal message in Indian films will be acceptable to the Western Audience and they will be watching Indian movies like they use to watch Hollywood movies? This question will therefore discuss two broader issues of what cultural specific in Indian movies is and what is universal in them besides contemplating on the issue of their acceptability to Western Audience. What is cultural specific in Indian movies? India is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country with diversified population with different cultural and religious identities. Films in India are mostly made in three languages i.e Tamil, Telugu and Hindi with highest Cinema attendance in the world. The specific cultural reflections in Indian movies include showing scenes of religious prayers, portraying different rituals and occasions such as marriages etc. Apart from that portraying of different songs and dances also reflect upon the relative cultural aspects of the Indian Society itself. For example, Indian films often show dancing which is probably true reflection of the culture because in most parts of India, dancing on different occasions such as marriages, birth of new child etc is a normal phenomenon. Due to its social and cultural diversification, Indian movies always portrayed strong cultural aspect by making movies which reflected upon certain typical culture. Right from the beginning of the industry, Indian films portrayed mythological tales which were so common in the Indian culture. Secondly, it is believed that the India has consciously followed the strategy of protectionism wherein it disallowed foreign productions to take place within India thus the films that were produced within the country focused mostly on the national sentiments and feelings and attempted to exploit the emotional association of audience towards their country as well as culture.(Dagnaud&Feiglson,2009). The early history of Indian cinema also indicates that it was deeply influenced by the mythical stories which were already part of popular Indian culture. Ramayana and Mahabartha remained two of the most influential works which fascinated not only the general public but the creative minds of the India also. Consequently, the films that were developed later on contained the influence of both of these events and subsequent encroachment of culture and cultural identity started to influence Indian cinema.(Gokulsing & Dissnayake,2004). Patriotism is another important element that needs to be discussed within the context of culture because Indian history of Patriotism is unique to itself. The values that have been put forward by Gandhi are considered as the most important virtues of Indian society and a whole movie name” Lage Raho Munna Bhai” was made on the Gandhian ethics and cultural values. This movie was one of the biggest hits of the years owing to the fact that it appealed to the masses and represents the popular culture of Mumbai by amalgamating it with Gandhian values, film basically attempted to present a fine balance between the present and past of India. In a sense, it is therefore easy to infer that Indian films truly represent the very culture of the country and may be mostly suited to the typical South Asian audience of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin. However, the recent surge in the number of movies depicting the universal themes which may be of interests to the Western audience too. Movie “Black” is considered as one of the landmarks in that direction wherein a completely new dimension of Hindi Cinema was explored. What is universal in Hindi Cinema? It is argued that Indian cinema is familiar to most people in the world as it is widely seen in countries like Russia even. However, despite such large scale audience, Indian cinema is still considered as alien to most of the Westerners.(Hogan,2008). However, with the better technology as well as more money being put into the Industry, Indian movies are also becoming more familiar to the Western Audience due to English sub-titles provided in the DVDs. It is also argued that the sort of traditionalism that is shown in modern Indian movies is basically a result of the cross between the Indian culture and the demands of the modern cinema. In a sense what is depicted in modern Indian films is basically a reflection of more universal themes that Indian films are now integrating into itself. Thus the themes in Indian movies now are global but are presented local. This therefore clearly points towards the increasing universality of the Indian films and how fast new breed of directors is catching up to tap the new and more modern universal themes.(Bahri,2007). It is also argued that the underlying themes of the Indian movies are universal in themselves and what is presented on the screen is just a local adaptation of the universal values. The emotions, values, the infighting between right and wrong as well as the love and sentiments are basically the very universal themes that are presented in the Western movies in some other context. For example, films like “Krantiveer” present a universal theme of patriotism however, it is projected in much larger context of bravery and self sacrifice. Self sacrifice for the cause of nation as well as for a particular cause also remained one of the dominant themes in Hollywood movies also wherein movies like “Saving Private Ryan” truly focused on the patriotic aspects of ones’ lives. Similarly, the Indian alternative Cinema which presents so called Art movies tend to show more realistic and universal themes. Most of the movies that were presented during 1970s were those which were largely universal in their theme and same trends are now being copied in the modern Indian movies too. This transition to more universal themes therefore can make Indian cinema more acceptable to the Western Audience. Most recent movie, “ My name is Khan” truly reflects upon the universality of Indian movies wherein tension between the Muslim terrorism and modern US history is depicted in much vivid details. Such themes therefore can appeal to the Western viewers and they may find it easier to watch Hindi movies rather than just focusing on the Hollywood movies. It can therefore be safely concluded that there are many underlying themes in Indian films which are universal in nature and can appeal to all type of audience. With proper exposure and market access, Indian films can serve as important alternative source of entertainment for Western viewers owing to their diversified nature and broad based themes. Features alien to Foreign Viewers Despite the universality of the Indian movies, there are still some features of the movies that may not be entirely acceptable to the Western viewers. First of all, Indian films often contain songs containing dances which are not usually the feature of the Hollywood or other Western movies. Songs presented in the movies are often vulgar as well as present a certain degree of nudity with some unnatural expressions. Such attributes of the Indian films therefore may not fit into the tastes of the foreign viewers. Secondly, the relative emotions that are shown in the movies also seem to be unrealistic because loud crying and emotional crying are not generally found in the Western movies. Such intense emotional depiction also does not fit naturally into the viewers’ perception and even Indian viewers increasingly regard this aspect of Indian films as rather unnecessary and unnatural to human psychology. Conclusion Indian Film industry is largest film industry in the world with over 1000 production of films per year. They are often known for their strong depiction of the Indian culture and values however, with the passage of time, the underlying themes in Indian movies are becoming more universal in nature. This transition towards more universality of Indian films has started to give Indian films an increasing acceptability into the international market. However, there are still certain features such as dances, songs, and emotional scenes which may not be entirely acceptable to the Western audience and Indian producers may have to look for more radical changes. References 1. Bahri,D. (2008). "The Namesake" . Film Quarterly,. 61 (1), pp. 10-15 2. Booth,G. (1995). Traditional Content and Narrative Structure in the Hindi Commercial Cinema . Asian Folklore Studies. 54 (2), pp. 169-190. 3. Dagnaud,M & Feigelson,K. (2009). Indian cinema as a cultural exception *. Available: http://www.global.asc.upenn.edu/docs/ICA2009/Dagnaud_Feigelson.pdf. Last accessed 24 March 2010. 4. Gokulsing,K, Dissanayake,W (2004). Indian popular cinema: a narrative of cultural change. 2nd ed. New Delhi: Trentham Books. 161. 5. Hogan,P (2008). Understanding Indian movies: culture, cognition, and cinematic imagination. Texas: University of Texas Press. 256. Read More