‘Shining Indians’: Diaspora and Exemplarity in Bollywood
Commercial Hindi cinema plays a central role in the negotiation of national identity. For decades, the expatriate Indian served as a counter-example for acceptable behaviour, a living testimony of inappropriateness. In the mid-1990s, following the liberalization of the Indian economy, the rise of Hi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Centre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du Sud
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| Series: | South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/3000 |
| _version_ | 1797316350962565120 |
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| author | Ingrid Therwath |
| author_facet | Ingrid Therwath |
| author_sort | Ingrid Therwath |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Commercial Hindi cinema plays a central role in the negotiation of national identity. For decades, the expatriate Indian served as a counter-example for acceptable behaviour, a living testimony of inappropriateness. In the mid-1990s, following the liberalization of the Indian economy, the rise of Hindu nationalism and the advent of a multiplex-going urban middle-class, the stereotype was turned around. The Non Resident Indian (NRI) became the epitome of Indianness and embodied at once capitalist and consumerist modernity and patriarchal, Northern and Hindu traditionalism. This change was meant to cater to a lucrative niche market and reflected an uneasy transition period. In addition, the on screen NRI role models were seen as an instrument of Western modernity in India and of India’s recognition as an international power in the West. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T03:17:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d940d83d8437412c911160d4cc46f97e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1960-6060 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T03:17:03Z |
| publisher | Centre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du Sud |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-d940d83d8437412c911160d4cc46f97e2024-02-12T15:38:45ZengCentre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du SudSouth Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal1960-6060410.4000/samaj.3000‘Shining Indians’: Diaspora and Exemplarity in BollywoodIngrid TherwathCommercial Hindi cinema plays a central role in the negotiation of national identity. For decades, the expatriate Indian served as a counter-example for acceptable behaviour, a living testimony of inappropriateness. In the mid-1990s, following the liberalization of the Indian economy, the rise of Hindu nationalism and the advent of a multiplex-going urban middle-class, the stereotype was turned around. The Non Resident Indian (NRI) became the epitome of Indianness and embodied at once capitalist and consumerist modernity and patriarchal, Northern and Hindu traditionalism. This change was meant to cater to a lucrative niche market and reflected an uneasy transition period. In addition, the on screen NRI role models were seen as an instrument of Western modernity in India and of India’s recognition as an international power in the West.https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/3000role modelsachieversexemplaritydiasporacinemaBollywood |
| spellingShingle | Ingrid Therwath ‘Shining Indians’: Diaspora and Exemplarity in Bollywood South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal role models achievers exemplarity diaspora cinema Bollywood |
| title | ‘Shining Indians’: Diaspora and Exemplarity in Bollywood |
| title_full | ‘Shining Indians’: Diaspora and Exemplarity in Bollywood |
| title_fullStr | ‘Shining Indians’: Diaspora and Exemplarity in Bollywood |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Shining Indians’: Diaspora and Exemplarity in Bollywood |
| title_short | ‘Shining Indians’: Diaspora and Exemplarity in Bollywood |
| title_sort | shining indians diaspora and exemplarity in bollywood |
| topic | role models achievers exemplarity diaspora cinema Bollywood |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/3000 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ingridtherwath shiningindiansdiasporaandexemplarityinbollywood |