Networked Bollywood provides interdisciplinary analysis of the role of the stars in the transformation of Hindi cinema into a global entertainment industry. The first Indian film was made in 1913. However, filmmaking was recognized as an industry almost a hundred years later. Yet, Indian films have been circulating globally since their inception. This book unearths this oft-elided history of Bollywood's globalization through multilingual, transnational research and discursive cultural analysis. The author illustrates how over the decades, a handful of primarily male megastars, as the heads of the industry's most prominent productions and corporations, combined overwhelming charismatic affect with unparalleled business influence. Through their "star switching power," theorized here as a deeply gendered phenomenon and manifesting broader social inequalities, India's most prominent stars instigated new flows of cinema, industrial collaborations, structured distinctive business models, influenced state policy and diplomatic exchange, thereby defining the future of Bollywood's globalization.
| ISBN: | 9781009400619 |
| Publication date: | 4th July 2024 |
| Author: | Swapnil Rai |
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 300 pages |
| Genres: |
Film history, theory or criticism Individual film directors, film-makers Cultural studies Media studies International relations History of specific companies / corporate history Politics and government |