Rang De Basanti

 Hello ! 

I am Nidhi Jethava and I am a student of MK Bhavnagar Bhavnagar university department of English. In this blog I am going to discuss postcolonial criticism in popular Bollywood movie, ' Rang De Basanti'. 

So discuss some of the important aspects of movie which reveal this theory. 

Before discussing postcolonial theory in these movie.  I would like to give you a brief indication about  what does postcolonialism mean ?

About Postcolonialism. 

Postcolonialism, the historical period or state of affairs representing the aftermath of Western colonialism; the term can also be used to describe the concurrent project to reclaim and rethink the history and agency of people subordinated under various forms of imperialism. Postcolonialism signals a possible future of overcoming colonialism, yet new forms of domination or subordination can come in the wake of such changes, including new forms of global empire. Postcolonialism should not be confused with the claim that the world we live in now is actually devoid of colonialism.

Postcolonial studies in ‘Rang De Basanti’

Rang De Basanti (transl. Paint it Saffron) is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language drama film written, produced and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and co-written by Rensil D'Silva.

The film follows a British film student traveling to India to document the story of five freedom fighters of the Indian revolutionary movement. She befriends and casts five young men in the film, which inspires them to fight against the corruption of their own government. It features an ensemble cast consisting of Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Atul Kulkarni, Soha Ali Khan, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor and British actress Alice Patten. The film was shot primarily in New Delhi.

The film was released globally on 26 January 2006, the Republic Day of India. Upon release, the film broke all opening box office records in India, becoming the country's highest-grossing film in its opening weekend and holding the highest opening-day collections for a Bollywood film. It received critical acclaim, winning the National Film Award for Best Popular Film, and being nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2007 BAFTA Awards. Rang De Basanti was chosen as India's official entry for the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category, though it did not ultimately yield a nomination for either award. A. R. Rahman's soundtrack, which earned positive reviews, had two of its tracks considered for an Academy Award nomination. In India, Rang De Basanti won Best Movie at the Filmfare Awards.

This movie consists of so many aspects for thinking like feminism, postcolonialism, colonialism, historicism etc.

So let’s discuss this movie with postcolonial aspects. 

This movie is divided into two plots. One is about documentaries which consist of the theory of anti colonization. Another is globalization which consists of the theory of postcolonialism. 

Gandhi vs Revolution :- 

So many events took place in the movie which consist of this postcolonial theory. In the initial part of the movie we can see Sue who is playing a very important role in the making of the documentary when she came to India we can see the affection towards foreign people. Her project does not get approved by the producers who believe that ‘Gandhi sells.’ Refusing to forgo it, Sue decides to continue with this project on her own as she decides to go to India and make the film.

Aggression :- 

 Karan depicts an invasive approach in his desire to go to America once he gets his degree. A similar evasive approach and even a sense of revulsion is exhibited by his father who does not want Karan to be a part of the ‘country's drainage.’

Violence and suppression :- 

Bolter and Grusin's theoretical explanation of the distinction between immediacy and hypermediacy, although pertaining to new digital media, is meaningful in understanding the film-within-the-film strategy in Rang De Basanti. In  this movie we can see the violence and suppression. In both the plots we can see this element.

Thank You......

Lagaan as postcolonial movie

 Hello ! 

I am Nidhi Jethava and I am a student of MK Bhavnagar Bhavnagar university department of English. In this blog I am going to discuss postcolonial criticism in popular Bollywood movies. First is 'Lagaan'

So discuss some of the important aspects of movie which reveal this theory. 

Before discussing postcolonial theory in these movies,  I would like to give you a brief indication about  what does postcolonialism mean ?

About Postcolonialism. 

Postcolonialism, the historical period or state of affairs representing the aftermath of Western colonialism; the term can also be used to describe the concurrent project to reclaim and rethink the history and agency of people subordinated under various forms of imperialism. Postcolonialism signals a possible future of overcoming colonialism, yet new forms of domination or subordination can come in the wake of such changes, including new forms of global empire. Postcolonialism should not be confused with the claim that the world we live in now is actually devoid of colonialism.

Postcolonialism In ‘ Lagaan’ :- 

Lagaan (transl. Agricultural tax), released internationally as Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language epic musical sports film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, and produced by and starring Aamir Khan, along with debutant Gracy Singh and British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne in supporting roles. Made on a then-unprecedented budget of ₹250 million (US$5.32 million), the movie was the maiden project from Aamir Khan Productions and was shot in villages near Bhuj. 

The film is set in 1893, during the late Victorian period of India's colonial British Raj. The story revolves around a small village in Central India, whose inhabitants, burdened by high taxes, and several years of drought, find themselves in an extraordinary situation as an arrogant British army officer challenges them to a game of cricket, as a wager to avoid paying the taxes they owe. The narrative spins around this situation as the villagers face the arduous task of learning a game that is alien to them and playing for a result that will change their village's destiny.

Lagaan released on 15 June 2001, clashing with Gadar: Ek Prem Katha starring Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel. Lagaan received widespread critical acclaim and awards at international film festivals, as well as many Indian film awards. It became the third Indian film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film after Mother India (1957) and Salaam Bombay! (1988).

In this Movie we can discuss postcolonial study with reference of four angles. 

1. Colonial historiography 

2. Nationalist historiography 

3. Marxist historiography

4. Subaltern studies  

So let’s discuss four angles in this movie. 

These four angles work like this. In the first circle center is colonial historiography. The first circle has the concept of White and black people means colonizer and colonized peoples. In this movie we meet this concept of white or west people.

Second phase is Nationalist approach and here the center is that east and west concept. Nationalist consider the whole concept over.

In the third circle Bhuvan( protagonist) plays a very vital role. He is the person who introduced the theory of decolonization. He is ready to play cricket and tries to save everyone from the paying texts. 

On the fourth circle characters like Kachara. And we can say family of Kachara. In all, this Cricket is the most important event. The whole movie is based on cricket and Lagaan events. 

Using 'Lagaan' as a case in point, this paper argues that popular Bollywood films with their appeal to the mass audience of uprooted peasants, factory workers, the unemployed, uneducated and poor can decolonize the imagination of the Indian masses. It points out that "Lagaan's" efforts at indigenization and interrogation of prescribed discourses of modernity and history deserve credit for making possible the creation of public debates within a culture where the majority of the population is non-literate, and is unable to partake in elite discussions of culture and modernity.

http://rangakalugampitiya.weebly.com/rangas-blog/cricket-and-decolonization-in-lagaan

  

Thank You..........                                                                                            

Sunday Reading Task : Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

 Hello!

I am Nidhi Jethava and I am a student of MK Bhavnagar University department of English. In this blog I am going to discuss some of the important topics about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

About Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. 

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (/ˌtʃɪmɑːˈmɑːndə əŋˈɡoʊzi əˈdiːtʃeɪ/ born 15 September 1977) is a Nigerian writer whose works range from novels to short stories to nonfiction.[5] She was described in The Times Literary Supplement as "the most prominent" of a "procession of critically acclaimed young anglophone authors [which] is succeeding in attracting a new generation of readers to African literature",[6] particularly in her second home, the United States.

1.Did the first talk help you in understanding postcolonialism?

Answer:- 

Yes, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's first talk helped use In understanding postmodernism. In her talk we can easily find the aspects of postcolonial criticism. Adichie's talk is about how Americans consider African people. In her talk we came to know about four critical aspects.

She talks about Cross-cultural interaction.

Identity 

Language

Hybridity and lots of things. 

Here, I would like to discuss all the things in her speech. In her speech Chimamnada Adichie said that when she was child she just thought and read about foreign literature. It means she talks about pony tales. She mentioned that her characters were with skin and blue eyed. They played in the snow and they ate apples. Now Chimamand talks about her type of people. Postcolonial writers like Chinua Achebe and Camaro Laye. She mentioned that when she read African literature then her concepts were changed. 

2. Are the arguments in the second talk convincing?

Answer :- 

Yes the arguments in this video whatever she takes his concerning. In this video she talks about feminism. She mentioned one incident from one hotel. She walking alone in and one waiter consider her as sex worker. She felt angry. Then she talked about in Nigeria how women were treated. She talked a lot about how men were superior and women considered inferior.  In this video she talks about “ Gender as it functions today is a grave Injustice.” Next she talks about how differently we treat boys and girls. Next she talked about the marriage system. And she quoted “ we teach females that in relationships, compromise is what women do.”  In this video whatever she makes is connected with all colonized countries. 

3. What did you like about the third talk?

 

Answer :-

The third talk I like the most is her satire on one lady who pronounced her name incorrectly. 

A few years ago, I spoke at an event in London. The English woman who was to introduce me had written my name phonetically on a piece of paper. And backstage she held on tightly to this paper while repeating the pronunciation over and over. I could tell, she was very eager to get it right.

And then she went on to the stage and gave a lovely introduction and ended with the words “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Chimichanga.”

I told — I told this story at a dinner party shortly afterwards. And one of the guests seemed very annoyed that I was laughing about it. “That was so insulting”, he said, “that English woman could have tried harder.”

But the truth is she did try very hard. In fact, she ended up calling me a fried burrito because she had tried very hard and then ended up with an utterly human mistake that was the result of anxiety.

So, the point of this story is not to say that you can call me Chimichanga. Don’t even think about it.

The point is that intent matters, that context matters. Somebody might very well call me Chimichanga out of a malicious desire to mock my name, and that I would certainly not laugh about. But there is a difference between malice and a mistake.

We now live in a culture of calling out, a culture of outrage, and you should call people out. You should be outraged. But always remember context and never disregard intent.

 

4. Are these talks bringing any significant change in your way of looking at literature and life?

Answer :- 

Yes, these talks bring changes in my way of looking at literature. First I think that only I read is literature but after reading and listening to Chimamanda I can understand that whatever is happening near us is also literature. My perception has totally changed. 

 

Thank you

En Era of Darkness The British Empire in India

 Hello! 

 I am Nidhi Jethava and I am a student of English literature. It’s my first blog of semester three. We are dealing with term postcolonialism. Here, I am going to discuss some of the interesting topics of Shashi Tharoor. 

About Shashi Tharoor :- 

Shashi Tharoor (IPA: [ʃɐʃi t̪ɐɾuːr]; born 9 March 1956) is an Indian politician, writer and former international diplomat who has been serving as Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, since 2009. He was formerly Under-Secretary General of the United Nations and contested for the post of Secretary-General in 2006.

He also serves as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology  and All India Professionals Congress. He formerly served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs (2014 to 2019). In 2019, Shashi Tharoor received the Sahitya Academy Award for his book An Era of Darkness in a non-fiction category in English language.

● His speeches videos are :- 

1. Speech at Oxford Union.

2. Looking back at the British Raj in India: The University of  Edinburgh.

3. Exclusive interview by Karan Thapar On His book  "An Era of Darkness."

4. About British Colonialism in India in His New Book ' An Era of Darkness'

In his speech ...

◆ He give two types of recently writing:- 

1. One is the contemporary scholarship on the field because he said he was not by professional historian that they had been doing...so, he had read Academic journals, books which shows the states of the thinking today by historian, sociologist and others of this issue.

2. Also read upon the lots of contemporary apologies for empire.

● Tharoor further adds that .... people like Lawrence James and more -  the bunch about the British writers who actually acquired a fair amount of visibility & even has a best sellers in which they had conducted self justifying, excersises, glorifying empire or of the very least portray through Rose Tincture recipe. 

   And in this book he wanted to be able to take their claims which had dangerously gone without reputation for some years and conform that had on which is Shashi Tharoor try to do in this book.

• Write on key arguments in Shashi Tharoor's book - An Era of Darkness.

Answer :- 

An Era of Darkness The British Empire in India is a very well-known book. It consists of the argument against British raj in India. As we know from school time we learnt that Britisher gave us so many good things, like post, railway, textile so many things. Shashi Throor describes unthinkable aspects. British colonies had exploded and those two eras were  dark ages for Indians. The book talks about these aspects. The book consists of post colonial theory as well. So let's discuss some of these aspects.

1. Self Exploration.

One of the interesting things postcolonial critics do is self Exploration. In the book An Era of Darkness he also talks about self exploration. According to Shashi Tharoor, British Raj was a disaster for India. India forgot that before British raj India known as ' sone ki chodiya'. This book represents a very beautiful argument about self Exploration.

2. Questioning.

One of the significant topics postcolonial criticism ponders is questioning. Shashi in his oxford union  speech mentioned this concept very well.

The proposition before this house is the principle of owing reparations, not the fine points of how much is owed, to whom it should be paid. The question is, is there a debt, does Britain owe reparations? As far as I am concerned, the ability to acknowledge your wrong that has been done, to simply say sorry will go a far far far longer way than some percentage of GDP in the form of aid. What is required it seems to me is accepting the principle that reparations are owed.[14]

— Shashi Tharoor

Write critique on both the films with reference to postcolonial insights.

Answer  :-

The black prince :- 

The Black Prince is a 2017 international historical drama film directed by Kavi Raz and featuring the acting debut of Satinder Sartaaj. It tells the story of Duleep Singh, the last Maharajah of the Sikh Empire and the Punjab area, and his relationship with Queen Victoria.

The story of Dupeep Singh is very interesting. His mother constantly emphases on his kingdom which is in British Raj. It consists postcolonial discourse as well.

Victoria and Abdul. 

Victoria and Abdul is another film which discussed postcolonial and decolonization. Stephen Frears’ film is based on this true story. Or ‘mostly’, as the screen reads at the beginning of the movie. If the filmmaker was at the liberty to pick parts of the actual events, he should have limited himself to exploration of the unexpected friendship between the two protagonists. The problem arises when the film delves into the unacceptable aspect of this friendship, taking the story into dark alleyways of racism, post-colonial guilt and exoticism of the Orient.

Thank you