How was Bollywood made? (Hint: Not the American way)
India History Tour Week 7: Leisure, Cinema & South Asia's Rise, Roar & Revolt
India is the world's largest producer of films, and in 2023 its share of cinema’s global revenue surpassed Hollywood. Why then? The film RRR (Rise Roar Revolt) broke through to a global audience. Its song Naatu Naatu won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and inspired Tik Tok imitators around the world. These facts suggest, when you take a global history perspective, that Bollywood is now as central to the story of modern culture as Hollywood. It is time we delved deeper into South Asian cultural history to appreciate more richly the art, song, dance, stunts, and story of RRR.
The World Power World History Tour is going to the movies and its production centres in India, Bollywood (Bombay), Tollywood (Telegu, from which RRR came), Kollywood and others. Our film critic guide is Joya Chatterji, Shadows at Noon: The South Asian Twentieth Century. In chapter 7, “Leisure, Twentieth-century Style,” she teaches us not to be snobs about those Bollywood song, dance, and fight scenes. She reveals a deeper seam of cultural modernity in the story of Indian cinema.
“[A party guest said] I mean how is it possible that so many bad films get made? I don’t understand how people can stand to watch them, and what does it say about the mentality of the common Indian that he likes to watch them?”
What follows is also my riposte to the party guest in Bandra. It will introduce the reader to a glorious cinematic rollercoaster; and, I hope, tempt a few to try it. To all those who damn Bombay cinema as over-long, boring, derivative, repetitive, filled with improbable fight sequences, coarse songs and dance routines, here is my answer.
Chatterji, Shadows at Noon
One stupid mistake many Australian commentators and diplomats make when talking about India is to refer always to cricket as if it were the sole obsession of Indian culture. Chatterji does not make this mistake in her history of leisure. She discusses morality plays, festivals, the enduring influence of the Ramayana, wrestling, acrobatics, song, poetry, dance and, of course, the cinema.
Her discussion will help you see Indian cinema and leisure through South Asian eyes. I dive deeper into that story below, after recommending a film and two books to connect you with this cultural heritage, which RRR opened my eyes to.
Reading and Viewing Recommendations
I have three reading and viewing recommendations this week. Each artefact will connect you to India’s cultural heritage and its contemporary expression in the arts, diplomacy, and soft power.
The first recommendation is to watch or rewatch the film, RRR (Rise Roar Revolt). It was the first Bollywood film I ever watched. It contains all the elements Chatterji describes within a historical story of how India gained its independence not solely by Gandhian satyagraha, but by overthrowing a violent empire with force. India rose, roared and revolted. So did the principal characters of the film: Komaram Bheem, a fearless tribal leader on a mission to rescue a kidnapped girl, and Alluri Sitarama Raju, a steely police officer serving the British regime. These characters represent the heroes of the Ramayana itself, adapted to real historical characters who fought for Indian freedom. The film ends with a history lesson on the rebels who rose against imperial rule, with thoughts and fists. Now I have read Chatterji’s appreciation of Indian cinema, its roots in South Asia’s rich traditions of literature and music, I plan to rewatch RRR again—and enjoy the dance scenes as much as the historical fiction.
You may want to check back on my Youtube videos on RRR:
How the RRR Movie shows India is becoming a major world power.
Who are the heroes from Indian history at the end of the RRR Movie?
The second recommendation is to read the Ramayana. It was on my list of 100 Books to Read Before it is Too Late. Chatterji shows the enduring appeal of this foundational moral story and its presence in the festivals of Ramlila. RRR enacts it. India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar has written in Why Bharat Matters how it shapes Indian statecraft traditions, as much as the legends of Thucydides, Homer or Buchan’s Pilgrim’s Progress shape Western strategic thinking.
The third recommendation is Shashi Tharoor, Why I Am a Hindu. His book provides an account of the two great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
“They are polycentric and fundamental texts about such key issues in society as what constitutes ethical conduct; how a just society is made and sustained; and the duties and obligations of kings, counsellors, warriors, women and sages. They deal with great moral dilemmas and issues of right conduct, justice and fidelity, violence and redemption; they give voice to a range of actors and concerns; they provide models for social and political action; and because they are told and retold as stories, they have embedded themselves in the popular consciousness of Hindus.”
Tharoor, Why I Am a Hindu, pp. 50-51.
In the West, “Hindu nationalism” can hint at authoritarian religious fundamentalism. Tharoor (a distinguished diplomat, writer, and politician) fills out the story. His book shows how a new synthesis of Hindu tradition and modernity, as a way of life, not a rigid rite, is emerging. It is a force for cultural renewal, celebrated in RRR, and drawn on right now as India stands up, as an independent, sovereign “civilization state,” to American bullying on tariffs.
Content Catch-up
Here is your guide to catching up on my content over the last week.
The Books of Jacob Slow Read rerun looked at Chapter 6, and the question haunting the novel, why do people follow gurus and false Messiahs like Jacob Frank
On Tuesday I released the third video in my series on 100 Books to read before it is too late. III. Books 21 to 30, Achebe to Wharton
On Thursday, I discussed with Jamarl Thomas the consequences of American attempts to bully India on tariffs and an impromptu debate on international law
On Friday, I released my interview, How elites in Cold War 2.0 are causing wars and catastrophes all over the world, with historian, Tarik Cyril Amar, and journalist, Kevork Almassian, who produce a brilliant weekly show Cold War 2.0 at Syriana Analysis. Do subscribe to their substacks and YouTube channel.
You may also like to read my post from late 2024 with predictions on India’s cultural resurgence, as represented by India’s 19-year-old chess prodigy, Gukesh Dommaraju, the current youngest world champion. Chess has returned to where the game began. India’s global cultural influence has renewed itself.
Coming up next week will be some great interviews on China’s trade relationship with the West and part two of my series with Michael Carley on 1930s diplomacy from the Soviet archives. Plus, a video on Samuel Huntington, Clash of Civilizations and his weird interpretation of Australia’s 1990s flirtation with “defection from the West.”
Many thanks to all my subscribers, paid and unpaid, for supporting me in this fantastic journey through history. I hope it helps you to live in tune with a changing world. Please consider upgrading your subscription to get more from my guides, deep dives, and slow reads.
Please join me below the line to celebrate Indian culture, leisure, and modernity.