Networked Bollywood
How Star Power Globalized Hindi Cinema

An interdisciplinary analysis of the role of stars in transformation of Bollywood into a global entertainment industry.

Swapnil Rai (Author)

9781009400619, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 4 July 2024

300 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.594 kg

'In this dynamic, layered book, Swapnil Rai explores the shifting role of stars (ranging from Raj Kapoor to Amitabh Bachchan, from Shah Rukh Khan to Priyanka Chopra) in the globalization of the Bollywood audience, the restructuring of the Indian media sector, and the relationship between popular culture and state power. Rai reframes, re-stories, and revitalizes the history of Hindi popular cinema with her imaginative approach and extensive research.' Henry Jenkins, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

Networked Bollywood provides an 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.

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Star Switching Power and Networked Bollywood
1. Of Vagabonds and Wayfarers: Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, and the Beginnings of Bollywood's Family- Led Film Clusters
2. King of Kings: Amitabh Bachchan and the Emergence of Bollywood's Corporate Networks
3. Global Dreamz: Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan Usher Bollywood into the New Millennium
4. Global Beauty Queens: Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka Chopra and the Female Star's Switching Power in Brand Bollywood
5. Conclusion: Bards of Change: How Streaming Platforms and State-Industry Alliance are Reconfiguring Networked Bollywood
Notes
Index.

Subject Areas: Films, cinema [APF]