A Critique of Bollywood As Soft

Culture

Ashok Ranchhod and Soumik Parida

University of Southampton

Bollywood as Soft power

• The most glamorous soft power attribute of India

• Touched millions of people across the globe

• Bollywood has been a popular cultural ambassador abroad

“When people abroad go and watch an Indian movie, they not only get entertained, but also get an overview of India

and its culture which helps them create a perception”

Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Indian ex-minister for External Affairs

Bollywood as Soft power

• Which key Indian movies, influenced the global perception about India

• Which countries accepted Bollywood

• Bollywood cine stars

Key questions

Key movies• Middle East, Africa, the former Soviet Union

and East Asia. A cult movie in China

• Dubbed into Persian, Turkish and Arabic (re made in Turkey as Avare in 1964

• Localized versions of the song ‘Awara hun’ were created in Greece, Middle East, Russia, Turkey, Romania and China

• The movie touched upon similar social issues, about the problems of different classes, which very few movies of those times did

Awara (1951)

Key movies

“Why was that film so special? Especially in Bulgaria - a country on a Balcan peninsula with such a different

culture from India? First of all, it was so different from the Soviet films that were broad-casted at that time. It

was full of life, passion, love, music, and nevertheless - it was a social film - about the problems of the different

classes. And it made a country so far away close.”

Petya Kirova

Key movies• Russia, Spain, Greece, Ecuador, Peru,

Bolivia and French colonies

• Mother India was also commended across the Arab world, in the Middle East, parts of Southeast Asia, and North Africa and was shown in countries such as Algeria even after a decade of its release.

• Ranked 80th in Empire’s list of 100 best cinemas of the world.

Mother India (1957)

Key movies

• Southern and central Asia, Eastern Africa, the Middle East, Turkey and Soviet Union. It was one of the most successful Indian films in the Soviet Union, calling an audience of 40 to 63 million viewers there.

• The story of the underdog along with music, especially ‘Jimmy jimmy’ and ‘I am a disco dancer’ became a rage in Mongolia, Soviet Union, former countries from Soviet Union like Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan

Disco Dancer (1983)

Baimurat Allaberiyev : A factory worker from Tajikstan became an instant star in Russia after singing songs from Disco Dancer.

Key movies

Key movies• Massive hit in India, UK, USA and South

Africa and was predominantly popular among Indian diaspora

• The movie shows India in a pure fantasy space

where dirt and lower classes do not exist. The film celebrates the romantic love and clean relationship between individuals. There is no sex, no pressure and no violence

• A 20-year-old girl said that the movie left her with a clean sense

Key movies• 3 Idiots set record collections in the USA, Fiji,

Australia and some African territories, UK, Canada and even South Korea

• One of the few Bollywood movies which was successful in China

• In a survey done in China and Hong Kong, the movie gained a cult status among all the people who saw it. The movie gave a common perception among the people that India is a colorful country where everybody sings and dances. They loved the catchy songs, colorful cloths and dramatic scenes.

Beyond Bollywood Boundaries

Bollywood in Russia

Bollywood started to get prominence in Soviet Union since 1940’s

Chinnamul (1951)

• The first Indian film festival in Moscow happened in 1954. A million people attended it in the first 4 days.

• Indian movies were more popular than any other foreign film showed in Soviet Union. 210 Indian movies were shown till 1991 in Soviet Union.

• Between the period of 1954 and 1989, 41 American movies and 38 French movies attained blockbuster status whereas 50 Indian movies attained that during the same period.

Bollywood in Russia

Bollywood in Russia

• Soviet audience sympathized with the melodramatic Indian cinema with good and evil characters

• The colorful costumes, songs, dance numbers, locations allowed viewer to indulge in cinematic tourism.

• Viewers felt that situations depicted in Indian cinema were similar to their own

Bollywood in Russia

Bollywood in Russia

Latif Faiziyev & Umesh Mehra

• Bollywood came into Africa through Lebanese film distributers in 1950’s

• The locals adhered to these movies - because many issues like arranged marriages, struggle for independence, importance of honor, family name, morality, fight against exploitation of poor was integral to their society

• Predominant in Nigeria among the Hausa people and Ethiopia

Bollywood in Africa

Bollywood in Germany

• Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham was the first Indian film to run on the German television channel RTL2.

• The fans of Bollywood and especially Shahrukh Khan are either pre teen boys and girls or adult women from various age groups and classes.

• Bollywood became popular through television channels and internet sites created by fans

“When I asked the young German lady why she loved Bollywood, she told me that watching Bollywood movies,

made her cry”

Shahrukh Khan

Bollywood in Germany

• Bollywood has not been able to bridge the gap created post Soviet break up. A Russian channel started to show old films but major releases still don’t get released in the cinemas.

• Bollywood is losing its touch in African nations as there is disassociation with the current cinema

• Shahrukh Khan’s movies are eagerly awaited in the German speaking nations. Movies like My name is Khan was quite successful.

Conclusion