Postcolonial Bollywood and Muslim Identity

The book captures the changing image of Muslims in popular Bollywood films through seven decades. Khatun argues that such cinematic representation has always been informed by the country's contemporary political landscape, a largely Hindu-dominant discourse.

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The book joins a growing scholarship in the field of Bollywood film studies, encompassing methodological sub-groups such as discursive or narrative studies, textual analysis, audience research, and the political economy of Bollywood. It particularly focuses on the representation of Muslims in postcolonial Bollywood cinema that draws upon earlier questions and concerns about narrative style and the politics of representing Muslims. It also includes issues concerning Muslim film genres and the chronological shift in the portrayal of Muslims that is contingent upon national politics. In Bollywood cinema, Muslims have traditionally been portrayed through the lens of religion. Narratives associated with that specific religious identity have been adapted, based on the socio-political setting of the country at the time of the film's making. The study, thus, adds to scholarship on 'representation' in popular Hindi cinema.