Haunting Bollywood: Gender, Genre, and the Supernatural in Hindi Commercial Cinema

264 Pages·2017·12.98 MB·English

by  Meheli Sen

Haunting Bollywood
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Haunting Bollywood
Gender, Genre, and the Supernatural
in hindi Commer Cial Cinema
Meheli Sen
University of Texas Press    Austin
Copyright © 2017 by the University of Texas Press
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Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2017
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anSi/niSo Z39.48- 1992 (r1997) (Permanence of Paper).
library of ConGreSS Catalo GinG- in- publiCation d ata
Names: Sen, Meheli, 1976– author.
Title: Haunting Bollywood : gender, genre, and the supernatural in
Hindi commercial cinema / Meheli Sen.
Description: First edition. | Austin : University of Texas Press, 2017. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: lCCn 2016007500
iSbn 978- 1- 4773- 1157- 8 (cloth : alk. paper)
iSbn 978- 1- 4773- 1158- 5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
iSbn 978- 1- 4773- 1159- 2 (library e- book)
iSbn 978- 1- 4773- 1160- 8 (non- library e- book)
Subjects: lCSh: Motion pictures—India. | Motion pictures, Hindi. |
Motion picture industry—India. | Gender identity in motion pictures. |
Sex role in motion pictures. | Horror films—History and criticism. |
Supernatural in motion pictures.
Classification: lCC pn1993.5.i8 S437 2017 | ddC 791.430954—dc23
lC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016007500
doi:10.7560/311578
For my parents, Syamali and Debaprasad Sen
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
introduCtion 1
Chapter one. Haunted Havelis and Hapless Heroes:
Gender, Genre, and the Hindi Gothic Film 22
Chapter two. The Ramsay Rampage: Horror as
Emergency Cinema 47
Chapter three. Ravishing Reptiles: Magic, Masala, and
the Hindi “Snake Film” 79
Chapter four. Present Imperfect: Bollywood and the
Ghosts of Neoliberalism 107
Chapter five. The Planetary Paranormal: Millennial Mythos
and the Disassembly of the “Hindi Film” 132
epiloGue 165
Notes 173
Bibliography 221
Index 235
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Acknowledgments
B
ookS Cannot be written alone, and firS t bookS
incur many debts. Numerous people across the globe have
made it possible for me to research and write this one.
My friends in Bombay and Pune have provided me with homes and
families in those cities over many years; their warmth and generosity has
enabled me to do the research that supports this book. I thank Sudeep
Chatterjee, Moumita Chatterjee, Sandeep Chatterjee, Meghna Kothari,
Subarna Ghosh, and Indranil Ghosh for all they have done to make my
work possible. Sudeep’s contacts in the film industry have opened many
doors for me, and I am grateful for his help.
I am indebted to Arti Karkhanis and the staff of the National Film Ar-
chive of India (NFAI) at Pune for the invaluable assistance they have pro-
vided in locating print resources and images, many of which appear in this
book.
Colleagues in the South Asian Studies faculty writing group at Rutgers
University have been the core of my intellectual community for several
years. I thank Anjali Nerlekar, Preetha Mani, Asher Ghertner, Nida Sajid,
Mukti Lakhi Mangharam, Jessica Birkenholtz, and Triveni Kuchi for read-
ing and re- reading huge chunks of this book from wobbly first drafts to
more polished versions with care, attention, and enthusiasm. Their col-
lective and impressively interdisciplinary feedback has been enormously
valuable to me throughout the writing process. Anjali has also translated
some Marathi film reviews into English for me, and I thank her especially
for these. Beyond intellectual labor that they have expended on the book,
these folks have provided more ineffable kinds of support as well—I am
thankful for the numerous meals, beverages, and conversations they have
ix