Fantasy of Modernity
Romantic Love in Bombay Cinema of the 1950s

Looks at the role of love in 1950s Bombay cinema in terms of its cultural function and its social significance.

Aarti Wani (Author)

9781107117211, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 25 February 2016

227 pages
23.7 x 15.8 x 1.8 cm, 0.4 kg

'The originality of this delightfully written book lies in its focus on the relatively neglected 1950s as a pivotal moment in the evolution of Indian popular cinema, bridging the political event of Independence, and the technological innovation of colour cinematography. Identifying the theme of romantic love as the signature of modernity, the author cuts across conventional film genres to explore this conjunction in the three domains of 'urbanity'; of film songs; and through the phenomenon of stardom. It is rare to find a work that succeeds in stitching these separate discourses so elegantly together.' Patricia Uberoi, Institute of Economic Growth

Romantic love overwhelms 1950s Bombay cinema. Love and romance is evident in the themes, lyrics and visual aesthetics of films of the period, as it is in the publicity and gossip surrounding films and film stars. Love in cinema becomes significant when social reality constrains its quotidian experience and expression. By bringing a spectacular imagination of love to centre stage, the 1950s cinema deflected anxieties of 'Indianness' even as the new aesthetic and affect of romance offered an alternative engagement with the contradictions of modernity. Fantasy of Modernity: Romantic Love in Bombay Cinema of the 1950s explores the films, the songs, the stars and the extra-cinematic discourse of the period to read love and romance as its most productive trope that mobilized a dynamic and contested public sphere.

Introduction
1. City of love
2. The song of love
3. Love and stardom
Conclusion
Bibliography
Filmography
Index.

Subject Areas: Film: styles & genres [APFN], Films, cinema [APF]