ALTERNATIVES TO LOVE: INDIAN CINEMA REINVENTED IN GREATER ASIA

Abstract

As conventional Bollywood continues to thrive, independent productions supported by Netflix and other streaming apps are embracing more insurgent themes and challenging storylines. While Netflix steers its Asian production arm toward South Korea, India remains a vital focus on the world cinema scene. Following the lead of maverick actor/producer Amir Khan in the wake of Dhobi Ghat (2010), films such as A Death in the Gunj (2016) and Sir (2018) not only feature women’s themes but aggregate the colour and movement of Indian cinema while enlisting serious subject matter. Netflix and other streaming apps may provide a vital platform, but the traditions of culture and cinema predate this distribution opportunity by centuries. Drawing from film theorists such as Ashvin Devasundaram, Madhuja Mukherjee, Chidananda Das Gupta and Neelam Sidhar Wright, I examine the two exemplary films as textual analysis and story-based in a historical context. Along with the influence of Hindu mythology, this paper seeks a template for effective, globally relevant cinema which does not pander to Edward Said’s notion of Orientalism. While considering the storytelling traditions of Rabindranath Tagore and Satyajit Ray as literary and cinematic voices, this paper also consults Western screenwriting gurus Stephen Cleary and Robert McKee in its search to support the artistic aims of streaming-based art cinema from India. India, especially at this time of pandemic crisis, deserves to be championed for its centuries of unrivalled artistic achievement and unparalleled cinematic exuberance.