Postcolonial Studies and Bollywood

 Postcolonial Studies and Bollywood

Rang De Basanti

Rang De Basanti is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language drama film written, produced and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and co-written by Rensil D'Silva. The film follows a British film student traveling to India to document the story of five freedom fighters of the Indian revolutionary movement. She befriends and casts five young men in the film, which inspires them. to fight against the corruption of their own government. It features an ensemble cast consisting of Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Atul Kulkarni, Soha Ali Khan, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor and British actress Alice Patten. 

Postcolonial study in the movie 

The story is about British documentary filmmaker who is determine to make film on Indian freedom fighters based on a diary entries by her grandfather, former officer in Indian Imperial police.

When we look at this film as postcolonial way we find some interesting things. In the movie when British female protagonist She came on Indian airport at that time how Indian people gathered to meet her with excitement, so it’s shows the impact of white person on our mind.

When outsider sees the act of bribe it’s illegal for them but in India, it become normal for us. This scene very well shown in movie and how Sue react on it, camera also focused well.

Sue : इन लोगो ने जान दी थी आज़ादी के लिए तुम्हारे देश कि. 

This dialogue represent that these Indian characters not know anything or they don’t focus on their own country, she came and she try to awaken them for freedom and patriotism.

When Daljit and Pande fight at that time Sue try to patch up them so if we look at  Postcolonial theory it said that why white people required for patch up?why we Indian aren't able to do that?

Sue : अपनी ट्रेडिशन का सम्मान करना ही चाहिए.

The other thing is when Sue speaks Hindi, DJ is shocked, because he thinks that white people can not speak and understand Hindi. This is a single story in our mind also. We think the white people can not speak our language. 

                                                Lagaan

On the independence day of India, 15th August 2018 after flag-hoisting at university ground we have planned to watch “Lagaan – once upon a time in India” movie at our department. This movie was released in 2001. It is a sports-drama film, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, produced by Aamir Khan and Mansoor Khan, written by Gowariker and Abbas Tyrewala. The setting of movie is British India. Patriotism is in the core of movie. The film has some hidden messages also. Here I’m interpreting film as per my understanding.

1) Patriotism

The main theme of this movie is patriotism. The setting is India under British rule, so the passion for “our land” will be there. In this movie farmers have to pay yearly lagaan (tax) to the king and king to the British rule, but from last two years they are suffering from draught and the arrogant British captain Russell has doubled the tax because king has denied to eat meat. After that captain Russell challenged the people of village to beat them in cricket match and three years tax will be erased. Now they all are doing hard work to beat British team. This shows their passion for their land and their rights. Ram Singh, Lakha, and Arjan who are working for British people they also left their work and shows their passion for freedom from tax.

2) Love Triangle

At very shallow level if we look this film is also same like other Bollywood film which has love theme as importantly as other main theme. Here in this film also Gauri who is living in village who loves Bhuvan. Both are living in same village. Bhuvan also loves Gauri. One other person  who also lives in same village Lakha loves Gauri. Elizabeth, sister of Russell also fall in love with Bhuvan. So we can find heartbroken Elizabeth and jealous Lakha.

3) Religion

Religion is also in the center of the movie. The temple of Lord Krishna is situated at height, which signifies their faith and place of religion. Before starting any work they pray to god for their victory. The king also staunchly believes in religion and because of that he denies to eat meat to captain Russell. Villagers are suffering from draught for last two years then they believe that if they will pray to god, god will send rain. When Bhuvan accepts the challenge of cricket match no villager was ready to play but when first time Bhuvan hits the ball and ball hits the bell of temple than they found this as omen. In between the movie whenever they find themselves in difficult situation they all gather and pray to god. By doing all these things film maker wants to show the power of religion and prayer.

4) Archetypes

This movie is same like other movies also follows some archetypes. The first archetype is “Draught”. When movie starts, the scene of draught comes which signifies sorrow and hopelessness in life of villagers.

Then “Temple” is another archetype in this movie. Temple is symbol of goodness, positivity, hope and happiness. Which we can see in movie that whenever villagers are in temple they are happy or they have hope of something positive and good.

Third is “Rain”. Rain is symbol of happiness. In this movie also when villagers see the dark clouds they start celebrating. At the end also when they won the match rain comes and again everyone are happy.

Then “Hero” or “Central character” is also an archetype here. As Hero will be savior same happens here. Bhuvan is central character in this movie, so he saved all villagers from three years tax, at last moment he also make team won the match. He is the one who is first to solve every problem.

5) Leadership 

Bhuvan has got great leadership qualities. He is the first one to accept the challenge when other people are seeing this as harmful he is seeing this challenge as an opportunity. At beginning no one is with him but he knows how to built the team. He also knows everyone’s ability and he use that abilities effectively. Only building team will not going to help he also make all team members work together and for whole team and not for an individual. When it comes to team he don’t think about other things he include untouchable in his team when other members are denying to play with untouchable, and he also make them all to understand. He takes action when it is necessary, he hit six at the last ball of the match and make his team win the match. These all are great leadership qualities which Bhuvan describes.

8) Subalterns

Here we can apply subaltern theory and we also can find hierarchy here. In this movie India is under control of British rule so first subaltern is India, and at first place come king. Here king is also under the control of British rule and he can’t do anything against them. Then under the king comes villagers. They are helpless front of king, they have to obey the decision of king. Then comes the women of village, as they are controlled by male. They live life like do what is said to do. At last comes untouchables. They meant to live away from all other villagers. In this movie we have one character named Kachara, who is untouchable. He is so afraid of other people he constantly under fear of not touching anyone and not to make any mistake.

9) Post-colonialism

The only thing represents post-colonialism in this movie is game of cricket. We accepts to play cricket because we want freedom from tax but now in free India why this game is more famous than any other game. It clearly shows that how still British people ruling our mind. This is the reason why cricket is more played and watched than our national game.

Thank You...

SR: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

SR: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 Hello Friends!

                         Today I'm going to write about the task about SR: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie given by our Professor Dr. Dilip Barad sir. 

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (/ˌtʃɪmɑːˈmɑːndə əŋˈɡoʊzi ;[note 1] born 15 September 1977) is a Nigerian writer whose works range from novels to short stories to nonfiction. She was described in The Times Literary Supplement as "the most prominent" of a "procession of critically acclaimed young anglophone authors [which] is succeeding in attracting a new generation of readers to African literature", particularly in her second home, the United States.

Adichie, a feminist, has written the novels Purple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), and Americanah (2013), the short story collection The Thing Around Your Neck (2009), and the book-length essay We Should All Be Feminists (2014). Her most recent books are Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions (2017)and Notes on Grief (2021). In 2008, she was awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant.

1) Did the first talk help you in understanding of postcolonialism?

Here She also talked about that It is impossible to talk about the single story without talking about power. There is a word, an Igbo word, that I think about whenever I think about the power structures of the world, and it is "nkali." It's a noun that loosely translates to "to be greater than another." Like our economic and political worlds, stories too are defined by the principle of nkali: How they are told, who tells them, when they're told, how many stories are told, are really dependent on power. 

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's "The Danger of a Single Story" Ted Talk, in July 2009, explores the negative influences that a “single story” can have and identifies the root of these stories. Adichie argues that single stories often originate from simple misunderstandings or one’s lack of knowledge of others, but that these stories can also have a malicious intent to suppress other groups of people due to prejudice (Adichie). People, especially in their childhood, are “impressionable and vulnerable” when it comes to single stories (Adichie 01:43). Adichie asserts that media and literature available to the public often only tell one story, which causes people to generalize and make assumptions about groups of people.

Adichie shares two primary examples to discuss why generalizations are made. Reflecting on her everyday life, she recalls a time where her college roommate had a “default position” of “well-meaning pity” towards her due to the misconception that everyone from Africa comes from a poor, struggling background (04:49). Adichie also clearly faults herself for also being influenced by the “single story” epidemic, showing that she made the same mistake as many others. Due to the strong media coverage on Mexican immigration she “had bought into the single story”, automatically associating all Mexicans with immigration (Adichie 08:53). These anecdotes emphasize how stereotypes are formed due to incomplete information, but one story should not define a group of people.

2.Are the argument in second talk convincing?

Adichie's TED Talk argues that "feminist" isn't a bad word and that everyone should be feminist. She begins with a brief anecdote about her friend Okoloma, with whom she grew up. Okoloma was a great thinker and enjoyed debating Adichie about anything and everything. One day, during a heated debate, he called Adichie a "feminist." She didn't know what the word meant at the time, but understood that it wasn't a compliment. In fact, Okoloma was criticizing her. She never forgot this incident.

Adichie then focuses on the wage gap and the gendered nature of economic power. In Nigeria, for instance, it's assumed that any woman with money has gotten that money from a man.

Adichie concludes by saying that people do a great disservice to both men and women by teaching them to adhere to strict gender roles.

3.What did you like about the third talk?

We are living in the world of 21st century. Post-modern era in which people are highly sophisticated and love to do Showoff and also putting down their moral values. So, Chimamanda said that telling lies is telling lies to yourself. Making betrayal with self. To get peace, to live happily, to sleep calmly say truth to self as well people also. For that one should be courageous enough to resist and to protest. She said…

"Whenever you wake-up

That is your morning, what matters is you wake up.

So, It is very interesting to know about Chimamanda African author with voice of Marginalized people. Presenting very new and fresh thought about feminism and importance of truth in post-truth era.

Thank You...

ThAct: Shashi Tharoor and Dark Era of Ingorious Empire

 ThAct: Shashi Tharoor and Dark Era of Ingorious Empire

Hello Friends!

                       Today I'm going to write the task about ThAct : Shashi Tharoor and Dark Era of Ingorious Empire given by our Professor Dr. Dilip Barad sir. 

Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor (IPA: [ʃɐʃi t̪ɐɾuːr]; born 9 March 1956) is an Indian politician, writer and former international diplomat who has been serving as Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, since 2009. He was formerly Under-Secretary General of the United Nations and contested for the post of Secretary-General in 2006.

He also serves as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology and All India Professionals Congress. He formerly served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs (2014 to 2019). In 2019, Shashi Tharoor received the Sahitya Academy Award for his book An Era of Darkness in a non-fiction category in English language.

● His speeches videos are :- 

1. Speech at Oxford Union.

2. Looking back at the British Raj in India: The University of  Edinburgh.

3. Exclusive interview by Karan Thapar On His book  "An Era of Darkness."

4. About British Colonialism in India in His New Book ' An Era of Darkness'.

1. Write on key arguments in Shashi Tharoor's book - " An Era of Darkness".

Shashi Tharoor’s An Era of Darkness, is one breathless read. In it, he aggregates all the arguments required to establish that British colonial rule was an awful experience for Indians and he does so with a consummate debater’s skill. His book is, in fact, an expanded take on British exploitation of India that famously carried the day for Tharoor in an Oxford debate not too long ago.

According to Tharoor, there was nothing redeeming in British rule of our country. What India had to endure under them was outrageous humiliation on a humongous scale and sustained violence of a kind it had never experienced before. In short, British rule was, according to Tharoor, an era of darkness for India, throughout which it suffered several man made famines, wars, racism, maladministration, deportation of its people to distant lands and economic exploitation on an unprecedented scale. An indignant Tharoor even demands a token restitution and public apology from the British for all the harm they had caused India. This is something, as his debate established, wildly popular in India.

The makers of India

Kartar Lalwani’s very well researched book, The Making of India — The Untold Story of British Enterprise, is a compelling account of the great infrastructure the British created in India — the railways being one of the most important ones.

In writing this book, it is obvious that instead of being even-handed, Tharoor has chosen to present the arguments against British rule in India with strength and force, and he is right in doing so. Until An Era of Darkness came along, there was no single work that clearly and unambiguously catalogued all the harm done to India under British rule.

Tharoor admirably fills the gap by holding a mirror to the British, and the West, that they have a case to answer. And answer they must, as old imperialisms, with renewed vigour and with the same specious ‘civilising’ arguments, have never really ceased devastating the world, from faraway places like now well-forgotten Grenada and present-day West Asia and the Middle East.

Looted with impunity

Everything the British did in India, Tharoor asserts, was for their own benefit and never for that of the Indians. They also had, Tharoor tells us, perfected a policy of divide and rule, breaking treaties at will and making war and looting with impunity. Tharoor is right, of course. There are few Indians who would not have heard of the treachery that enabled Clive to triumph at Plassey or of the incredible amounts of ill-begotten wealth the East India Company officials hauled back with them to England.

There was scant appreciation, Tharoor tells us, of India’s contributions in men, material and money, to the wars that the British fought within India and overseas, especially the two World Wars.That British rule in India was bad in parts has never been denied by anyone, least of all by the British. Their archives are full of accounts of British depredations, covering the entire period of their rule in India. Several of their historians have brought out the suffering the British inflicted on India and Indians throughout their rule of our country. What Tharoor, however, seeks to establish through his book, is that British rule was unremittingly rotten and indefensible by the standards of its time and ours. He makes his points with bare-knuckle indignation and irresistible passion.

2. Write critique on both the films with reference to Postcolonial insights.

The Black Prince :

The Black Prince' is the tale of subjugation of the last Sikh king of Punjab, Maharaja Duleep Singh, the son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh directed by Kavi Raaz. The dilemma in the entire film is over identity. The identity crises, the belongingness, the religious conflicts play a very vital role in shaping the future coarse of the black prince who has been giving the throne at the age of five upon the death of the father and has been abducted by the British government at the age of fifteen.  

"What you seek is all gone now, my black Prince"

This is a chronicle surrounded over the identity and the fate of the last king of Punjab who loosens the throne and was never allowed to return. It is surrounded around the kingdom exploring relations with Queen Victoria. It is about the story lost in history and the colonial rule have never narrated it, the postcolonial way of looking to the subjects is the narration of the film. It unveils the whole new chapter of Indian History - from the prince's lost kingdom to his journey of being converted to Christianity. Hence, the narrative highlights the things and oppressions which the British have done to the subjects. 

Victoria and Abdul :

Victoria & Abdul is a 2017 British biographical comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Lee Hall. The film is based on the book of the same name by Shrabani Basu, about the real-life relationship between Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her Indian Muslim servant Abdul Karim. It stars Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Michael Gambon, Eddie Izzard, Tim Pigott-Smith (in his final film role), and Adeel Akhtar. The film had its world premiere at the 74th Venice Film Festival, and was theatrically released on 15 September 2017 in the United Kingdom. It has grossed over $65 million worldwide.

Abdul Karim, a young prison clerk from British India, is instructed to travel to Britain for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887 to present her with a mohur, a gold coin that has been minted as a token of appreciation from British-ruled India. Abdul is from a Muslim, Urdu-speaking family in India.

The queen, lonely and tired of her fawning courtiers, develops an interest in and then a friendship with Abdul. She spends time with him alone and gives him a bejeweled locket with her photograph. She promotes him to be her Munshi and asks him to teach her Urdu and the Quran. When Victoria discovers he is married, she has him bring his wife to England. His wife and his mother-in-law both wear black burqas, much to the consternation of the household— and the fascination of Victoria.