The India Media Centre, University of
Westminster, in association with the London Indian Film Festival, presents
AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Whatâ??s New? The Changing Face of Indian
Cinema: Contemporary and Historical Contexts
Friday 8th and Saturday 9th July
Cayley Theatre, Marylebone Campus, University
of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1
Invited speakers include filmmakers Anurag Kashyap and Rituparno Ghosh,
Rachel Dwyer (School of Oriental and African Studies, London),
Shohini Ghosh (Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi)
Lalitha Gopalan (University of Texas at Austin).
CALL FOR PAPERS
Is mainstream Indian cinema moving into a
â??post-Bollywoodâ?? era? In recent years a
growing number of popular (and not so popular)
films made for commercial release have been
challenging the conventions of the mainstream
multi-genre, song and dance extravaganzas. These
films are being made - both within and outside
the prevailing studio system - in Mumbai,
Chennai, Kolkata and elsewhere. From Dev D to
Just Another Love Story, Udaan or Peepli Live,
cinematic language is being explored, songs are
disappearing or being used in different ways,
and strong alternative storylines are presenting
a new face of modern Indian society. These
filmsâ?? hybrid sensibilities are increasingly
appealing to the global aspirations of Indiaâ??s
urban â??multiplexâ?? generation.
The London Indian Film Festival was set up in
July 2010 to showcase this trend, bringing
cutting edge Indian films and filmmakers to
London audiences. Alongside this summerâ??s
festival, the India Media Centre at the
University of Westminster, in association with
the London Indian Film Festival, is hosting a
conference that will bring together filmmakers,
industry professionals and academics to explore
this new phenomenon within both a contemporary and an historical context.
What are these films and why are they emerging
now? Are they simply the latest in a long line
of such moments in Indian cinema â?? from the
first song-less Hindi film in 1937, to the
Bengali art house movements of the 1950s and
1960s or the so-called parallel and middle
cinemas of the 1970s and 1980s, and much
besides? What lessons can this history teach
us? What, if anything, do these films mean for the future of Indian cinema?
Papers are invited that explore any aspect of
the current and historical challenges to the
mainstream form of Indian cinema and its
hegemony over the popular cinematic imagination
of India and the South Asian diaspora. Papers
may deal with film-making in any language and of
any era or region, and can include â?? but are
not restricted to â?? the textual, industrial,
commercial and reception contexts of films that
subvert the mainstream, and/or the critical
contexts within which they have been debated.
Conference team: Rosie Thomas, Daisy Hasan, Radha Dayal, Helen Cohen.
General enquiries: please contact Daisy Hasan: (D.Hasan /at/ westminster.ac.uk)
Abstracts: please e-mail your 200-word abstract
to Helen Cohen: (cohenhe /at/ westminster.ac.uk)
All submissions should include the title of the
conference (Whatâ??s New?), the title of the
paper, an abstract and should list the
authorâ??s full name, with contact information
and affiliation. The deadline for the submission
of abstracts is 31st March 2011 and those whose
abstracts are accepted will be notified by 15th April 2011
