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Rajnikant’s Laptop PAL

Research Article Rajnikant’s Laptop: Computers and Development in Popular Indian Cinema

Joyojeet Pal Abstract [email protected] In the past decade, the role of information technology in development has Computing Innovation Fellow seen an exceptional spike in interest. A positive discourse on the potential of Polytechnic Institute of New York University & information technology exists not only in the booming metropolises of the de- ATLAS Institute, University of veloping world, but also in those geographical regions where digital technolo- Colorado at Boulder gies such as computers are mostly absent. Examining the public discourse on 6 Metrotech Center IT, we ªnd that mass media may well be important in constructing how people Brooklyn, NY 11201 in villages and even cities perceive computers. Taking the speciªc example of USA popular cinema in , we ªnd a strong aspirational discourse in the ways in (510) 501–8679 which computers and technology users are portrayed. These, in turn, relate to how IT and development have been portrayed in cinematic discourse over generations, in cinema from around the world, from even the earliest days of silent ªlm. Reºecting on this, we ªnd that the study of technological artifacts as represented in popular media in the public sphere has been a critical miss- ing piece of work on information technology and development.

Prologue is a hormonal brat, and Sakhti is a hardworking medical student from a poor family. The class-crossed couple decide to marry against the wishes of both sets of parents, and thus the plot thickens in Alai Payuthey, a 2000 blockbuster hit from South Indian ªlmmaker Mani Rathnam. This kind of face-off between youthful love and parental opposition to marriage, a veritable obsession of Indian cinema, is perhaps one of the oldest and most successful themes. Back in the old days, Karthik would probably have been reduced to begging ofªce to ofªce for a job wearing a tie, ªnding in his useless paper degrees a metaphorical foil for the oppressive market economy (Roy, 1954), thereafter turning to a life of dubious ethical distinction (Bapaiah, 1985; Chandra, 1986; Rawail, 1985). Meanwhile, Sakhti would probably sit at home, sacriªcing square meals and running a bare-bones household with a sanctimonious smile (- raman, 1979). A number of themes would typically be highlighted in the couple’s struggle, including the dependence of the man on the system to earn an honest living, the helplessness of the woman outside of the home domain, and the importance of parental consent and wisdom. Instead, in Alai Payuthey, the couple turns to a new place for its salvation—information technology. Karthik starts a computer software company with his friends, eventually winning an outsourced contract from the United States that ªxes the young couple’s ªnancial troubles for good, and in the process, rubbing a few parental noses in the dirt on the gold-

© 2010 USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. Published under Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. All rights not granted thereunder to the public are reserved to the publisher and may not be exercised without its express written permission. Volume 6, Number 2, Summer 2010, 39–54 39 RAJNIKANT’S LAPTOP paved streets of South Indian cities. Karthik fails Yet the number of projects offering IT access to most stereotypes of cinematic occupational charac- the poor and excluded in India as a means of terization. He is no idealistic teacher, nor upstanding expanding opportunity has increased in the last dec- cop, nor charismatic businessman. He is, at best, a ade. This article advances my previous research (Pal, lovable nerd, traveling on a motorbike to work with Lakshmanan, & Toyama, 2007), based upon 193 a laptop strapped to his back instead of in a holster. interviews across rural that recorded In effect, he is the archetype of exactly what he isn’t perceptions of IT, especially among those people in the movie—the perfect candidate for an arranged with no prior experience using computers or no marriage. direct contact with users of computers. Such percep- tions are social constructions of technology based Introduction on primary and secondary sources of information. There has been a rapid diffusion of information Here, look at the latter. Finding that media images technology across the developing world, and much were cited by several respondents as important has been written about implementation of good sources from which they learned about technology, practices, or about impacts on the macroeconomy, I analyze popular media imagery of computers in social relations, and the like. Little, though, has been South India. said about the way in which the technology is per- Building on past scholarship in technology and ceived; about the messages and representations of development, cinematic portrayals, and the role of IT, like those in Alai Payuthey, which shape the IT icons in aspiration, I argue, using ªlms produced aspirations and behaviors of millions. In this article, since 2000, that popular cinema reºects much of I select the example of India—a country vibrant in the middle-class faith in technology offering a con- both IT and media—to investigate these issues. crete hope for economic and social aspiration. In There is enthusiasm for the idea of information constructing my argument, there are three trends technology as offering a ladder for economic ascen- that I use: First, I examine the artifact of the com- dancy among the Indian upper and middle classes. puter itself and its portrayal as symbolizing power; For many of these people, the artifacts of change second, I examine the portrayal of the computer are visible both in the spatial evolution of skylines in user and the qualities attributed to him, and more “tech cities” like and , and in the importantly, to her; and third, I discuss the dispro- expanding options for professional advancement of portionate concentration of such imagery in South engineers in the software sector, both in terms of Indian cinema compared to ªlm from other parts of high wages and international mobility. The question the country. In framing these ªndings, I look ªrst at of whether opportunity of the kind embodied in the contrasting these ªlms with portrayals in Western image of the software engineer emerging out of a cinema, and second, I anchor my discussion within village school is grounded in reality is difªcult to the recent development discourse in India. While the answer, especially if one is informed solely by the centrality of popular cinema in building national dis- changes in inequality as seen through macroeco- courses of aspiration is possibly unique, in several nomic indicators. The few studies that do exist on aspects, to the nature of media consumption in the subject suggest that participation in the “IT lar- India, I argue that conceptions of development— gesse” remains restricted across economic and cul- both those which are applicable to one’s own tural lines on issues such as caste, class, and religion potential and those which are seen to be relevant (Fuller & Narasimhan, 2006; Ilavarasan, 2007; for an “other”—are both deeply inºuenced by Upadhya, 2007), and while the research shows that reºections of aspiration within class contexts in pop- a sizeable proportion of IT workers have a non-met- ular media. ropolitan background, education among their par- ents, especially mothers, tends to be high ( & 1. Related Work Brihmadesam, 2006). In short, the idea that access There is much related work to draw upon in writing to the information technology revolution in India this article. Perhaps the most important of this is a offers ºatter access to social and economic ascen- small, but rich, body of work on South Indian cin- dancy may be more of a middle-class imagination of ema, much ignored in lieu of its more internationally opportunity in Indian society. popular northern cousin, . Arguably the

40 Information Technologies & International Development PAL most important and relevant theme running through has been literature on the creation of online identi- the work on South Indian cinema has been that of ties of diaspora communities of Filipinos (Ignacio, the blurring between screen and real life regarding 2005), Chinese (Wenjing, 2005), and Nigerians the characterizations of stars and their image man- (Bastian, 1999), for instance, or on issues of self- agement in the public sphere (Dickey, 1993; Jacob, representation in Sub-Saharan Africa (Fürsich & 2009; Srinivas, 1996; Velayutham, 2008). Robins, 2002). The negotiation and careful crafting More broadly, this work carries forth several rele- of online identity and networks has also been stud- vant bodies of work that I refer to very brieºy. In ied with regard to groups such the Zapatistas examining popular cinema as a mode of institutional (Garrido & Halavais, 2003) and West African online information, this article advances further discussions scammers (Burrell, 2008). And yet, an important dif- in ªlm theory on nationhood and aspiration (Foster, ference between these and the cinematic represen- 2005; Friedberg, 1994; Higson, 2002). It is particu- tations lies in the intended audience. We have much larly important here that this discussion is situated to learn from how people create self-perceptions within the frame of transition—in our case, the idea and intend self-representation online, but the audi- of technology generally, and IT speciªcally, as a ence in such cases, are people who are already tech- bridge between social exclusion and inclusion into nology users. In comparison, the popular cinema of “development.” There is much work on the idea of India is aimed at consumption, both by people who the transnational identity in transition in cinema, reºect themselves as ascendant by being IT users, particularly in terms of political reimagination, such and by audiences outside any immediate access to as post-fascist or post-totalitarian cinema in Ger- the technology, possibly looking for a way in. many (Fehrenbach, 1995), Spain (Hopewell, 1986), and Latin America (Burton, 1986). Such work con- 2. Methodology tributes valuably by chronologically deªning both Some elements of the survey data reported above what one is, and what one is not, within the frame are included in this article; however, the main focus of a critical change factor—in this case, the political. is an analysis of ªlm. I have reviewed 91 ªlms from In the cinema we examine here, this critical change Western and Indian cinema that incorporate themes factor is frequently the access to the computing arti- of relevance to technology and development. Of fact. Also, dealing with constructions of the self and these, 47 are speciªcally Indian ªlms from the 1990s the other, there has been much recent work done and 2000s that depict computer users or computing on identity within a globalizing context, such as that artifacts in some form. These ªlms are largely in the which has been written on transnational Asian iden- Tamil and Telugu languages, for reasons I discuss tity in ªlm (Lu, 1997; Van der Heide, 2002), on Mid- later. Regarding the way the ªlms were selected, dle Eeastern ªlm (Tapper, 2002), or on Ghanaian quite simply, I watch a lot of ªlms, and I make a and Nigerian video ªlms concerning value negotia- note whenever I see a computer on screen and then tion on issues of religion and “African-ness” include that for analysis. I also identify ªlms by run- (McCall, 2002; Meyer, 2004). We draw on a rich ning searches on various terms either on IMDB (the body of work on Indian popular cinema oriented Internet movie database) or websites that review both more broadly on issues of national identity Indian ªlms. (Chakravarty, 1993), and more speciªcally on cul- The textual analysis I present here is primarily my tural change (Gokulsing & Dissanayake, 2004; own reading into the characterization, and in the 1 Rajadhyaksha, 2003). few instances where I have managed to contact the Within the growing literature on identity on ªlmmakers or others associated with the ªlm, I use the Internet, there has been much work on both their input in this description. To explore the ques- self-perception and online representation (boyd, tion of intentionality in the way that the computers 2007; Nakamura, 2002). Related to the cinematic were characterized, I spent some time in the ªlm themes of globalization and development, there industry discussing the ideas emergent in this article

1. Needless to say, this literature review only scratches the surface of the kinds of relevant work. For example, an addi- tional area of recent growth has been in activist cinema, which appeals to a widespread audience, such as Abderrahmane Sissako’s Bamako (2006), in addition to copious documentary cinema on the subject.

Volume 6, Number 2, Summer 2010 41 RAJNIKANT’S LAPTOP and interviewed people from the Tamil and Telugu production, and traces its origins to the early Soviet ªlm industry whose work is discussed here. These cinema highlighting technology as a nationalist include four directors and one distributor: Rajiv enterprise. This theme, often attributed to Lenin’s Menon, Suhasini , Siva view of cinema as a means of social and economic Anantasubramanian, , and distributor Dr. propaganda (Youngblood, 1992), was later emu- Srinivasan from Abirami Films. Each of these inter- lated in several other nationalist cinematic traditions viewees is associated with at least one of the ªlms I around the world, where cinema has been seen as cover here, some with several. Mr. Menon is the both a symbol and, simultaneously, a propagandist director of Kandukondain Kandukondain, a land- tool of modernity (Singer, 2001). Broadly, two mark ªlm in the representation of women as com- related themes have fallen under this umbrella: The puter users. Ms. Ratnam is a veteran director in ªrst was that of a struggle between traditionalism whose ªlms are known for strong and modernism, one seen in several “third world” depiction of female characters. Siva cinemas (Akudinobi, 1995; Lopez, 2003); and the Anantasubramanian is the director of Chukkalo second was of the use of technology (especially big Chandrudu and was the assistant director on Alai industry) in nation-building, which India, in particu- Payuthey, the ªlm introduced at the very start of this lar, saw a fair share of in the postcolonial years article. Siddharth is a ªlm director, but he is inter- (Mukherjee, 1960). While technology in a more gen- viewed here mostly because of his work, prior to his eral sense was a consistent theme of cinema, com- directorial career, as a ªlm publicist who worked on puters themselves did not appear until well into the several of the big budget ªlms mentioned here. 1950s, and even then, they tended to be fanciful, Lastly, Dr. Srinivasan heads distribution operations clunky, large panels (reasonably similar to what com- for Abirami Films, the largest ªlm distributor in puters really looked like!) used in science ªction cin- South India, which distributed a number of the ªlms ema. I cover, including the iconic Sivaji. The ªrst ªlms to feature computers were science newsreels in the immediate postwar period, and in 3. Discussion 1951, the ªrst ªlm featuring a rudimentary com- Ideas of technology and society in cinema have puter was When Worlds Collide, about a war to dated back over a century to the fanciful silent short keep earth safe from a renegade asteroid (Maté, ªlm, Trip to the Moon (Méliès, 1902), and the repre- 1951). Several such ªlms followed. The rising popu- sentation of technology in cinema has straddled the larity of television in the United States spurred the lines between science ªction and what may be, and appearance of computers on the small screen, start- between technology and social readjustment. The ing with the 1962 sci-ª show The Jetsons (Zaslove & latter, especially the idea of technology as Nichols, 1962), then in scattered episodes of the transformative, came to center stage in the 1920s spy-caper serial The Avengers (Newman, 1961), and and 1930s, around the period and often the theme ªnally in 1966, with the hugely popular sci-ª series of rapid industrialization. Scholars have been inter- Star Trek (Roddenberry, 1966). This fantasy arche- ested in two important and fairly consistent themes type from Western media was heavily reprised in around technology and society in cinema. The ªrst, Indian cinema, though perhaps the more interesting the dystopian ideas of technology and urban living discussion is the longevity and distance from reality either in the present or future are well-represented of this fantasy phase. The image of the fantastic in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927), a futuristic epic set machine lends an easy segue to our next theme. in a fractured 21st century, or in Charles Chaplin’s This was the dystopian imagination of computers Modern Times (1936), set on a dehumanized 20th guided by the popular conceptions of artiªcial intel- century factory ºoor. These ideas of technology as ligence as typiªed by the man versus machine face- mystical, all-pervasive, and potentially at odds with off in 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968). humanity have been a consistent theme of cinema The individual human intermediary of computers and literature throughout the decades of vast tech- on screen remained by and large the socially awk- nological change around the world (Atkinson, 2005; ward scientist. It wasn’t until the late 1970s and Bendle, 2005). A second early theme had a more early 1980s, when the use of computers in schools proactive view of technology, primarily industrial increased signiªcantly, that the media introduced us

42 Information Technologies & International Development PAL to a new technology user—the young geek. Around limited outrage to the colonial censors (Akudinobi, the early 1980s, a spate of “hacker” ªlms came out 1995; Osten, 1933). Independence threw open the featuring teenagers and youngsters using comput- ºoodgates, and Nehru personally took something of ers, a trend started by the Canadian Hide and Seek, a ªrst step in recognizing the importance of cinema about a kid who sets off a nuclear emergency by in the nation-building exercise, commissioning Ital- hacking into a mainframe (Bonnière, 1977). The ian director Roberto Rosselini to make a ªlm on ubiquitization of computers on screen, where the India in 1950. Thereafter, he supported ªlms like computer moved out of being a scientiªc spotlight (Khan, 1957) and several of Raj to being an everyday item, started around the late Kapoor’s early post-independence ªlms (Mishra, 1980s, with ªlms focusing on industries where com- 2002). In this period, a number of the top puters had become fairly commonplace, such as ªlmmakers in the industry were from the banking and ªnance (Stone, 1987). By the 1990s, socialist activist movement of the freedom period. around the time of the Silicon Valley economic Socialist secular writers were formerly active in boom (Faden, 2001), and especially the widespread the freedom movement, and subsequently incorpo- permeation of the Internet,2 there was a huge spike rated several nation-building themes into their cin- in technology-related blockbuster cinema made for ema. But it was farther south, in the Madras ªlm popular consumption in Hollywood. As we shift our industry, that cinema as an explicit electoral weapon focus over to discuss the representation of technol- was imagined by politicians and ªlmmakers alike ogy in Indian cinema, we ªnd many of these themes (Dickey, 1993). The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam repeated, with one striking exception. While the (DMK) as a political party was quick to use ªlms as a computer user as “hacker” is a consistent theme in propaganda tool for spreading its message, begin- Hollywood (and used selectively in India, as we shall ning a trend that is now synonymous with several see), the computer user as “aspirational” is almost South Indian cinematic cultures: casting movie entirely missing. The software engineer in Holly- actors in physical and metaphorical form imitating wood is not an “upwardly mobile” character; temple idols, usually with scantily concealed political instead, he or she is automatically part of a geek undertones (Hardgrave, 1973).3 Development was a universe, and their characterization, when sympa- consistent theme of South Indian cinema, and it thetic, is generally related to their intellectual prow- continues to be one now. However, the explicitly ess rather than their class mobility. polemical ªlms of the 1950s gave way by the 1960s In exploring why technology in cinema is impor- to ªlms in which the lead character and the artifacts tant to our understanding of postliberalization India, or actions surrounding him (yes, usually “him”) were we turn brieºy ªrst to the importance of cinema in the primary tools of symbolism. public discourse in India. The political importance Much work has been done on the cinematic cul- and development discourse of cinema gained early ture of India, on its representation of modernity recognition among the Bolsheviks following Lenin’s (Appadurai & Breckenridge, 1995; Dwyer & Patel, own afªrmation of cinema as a tool of propaganda 2002; Rajadhyaksha, 2003), and more recently, on (Kepley, 1990). Much Indian popular cinema under television in the post-liberalization India (Mankekar, British rule was politically censored and limited to 1999). In looking at computers and computer users non-nationalistic themes, with the exception of a on screen, we contribute to the discussion on mid- few cloaked swipes at the colonial government dle-class values and aspirations and their manifesta- through wordplay in dialogue or songs that slipped tion in the public sphere. through the cracks. Most progressive themes were In this relation, it is also important to mention restricted to social issues perceived as part of the work that has examined the impact of such screen “White Man’s Burden” in India, an example being portrayals, as the idea of this article originated in cinematic attacks on the caste system, a theme of work in rural India that showed that “computers”

2. This is somewhat comparable to the appearance of computers and computer users in India, which became much more common a decade later, when home computers achieved reasonable (though far from ubiquitous) permeation in urban India. 3. This development came into being despite the fact that DMK was an explicitly atheist party.

Volume 6, Number 2, Summer 2010 43 RAJNIKANT’S LAPTOP were high on parents’ aspirations, even if mass installed computers in a primary school, a 21-year- media was their primary source of information on old teacher offered an interesting insight on com- technology (Pal et al., 2007). Much work in recent puters and the workplace at the village computer years has focused on the inºuence of cinematic and center. Both her parents were illiterate casual labor- televisual representations on public imagination, ers. including on economic and social decision-making I want to move out of the village. I am looking for (Dolnick, 2008; Fernandes, 2000; Holbert, Shah, & a job with computers because my parents will let Kwak, 2003; Jensen et al., 2007; MacPherson, me move to Udupi or even Bangalore if the work 2007). Interestingly, while much work has focused is in computers. For any other job, they won’t let on the protagonists and their characterizations as me leave the village. (, computer teacher, elements of modernity (Jacob, 1997; Pandian, 1992; Rural Udupi, , interviewed December Sharma, 1993), little has focused on the actual arti- 2005) facts themselves, despite, as we will ªnd, much con- About a year later, an interesting corollary to tinuity among these symbols of modernity. Geetha’s statement came from a taxi driver inter- From the early days of Indian cinema, the idea of viewee, who lived in the neighboring state of Tamil modernity has had a tenuous track record—in some Nadu and was a father of two girls in their 20s. quarters, because of its perceived closeness to West- ern values. Consequently, technology and its repre- Both my daughters work in Chennai in comput- sentations have frequently been caught in an ers. In the early days, we would never let our [re- awkward, contested space between traditional and ferring to the Thevar caste] women travel to the city to work, but if they work for computers that modern values, often implying the schism between is good. There are good facilities with only ladies rural and urban landscapes. One of the earliest ªlms housing, and many other families from our village to straddle this space was Dharti Mata (Bose, 1938). have sent their daughters to work in Chennai The title literally means “Mother Earth,” and the now. (Selvaraghavan, taxi driver, Coimbatore Dis- ªlm features two friends, one who goes abroad to trict, , interviewed October 2006) study and returns home an urbane engineer to ªnd mineral wealth on his ancestral soil, and his buddy, There is already a growing body of work on who stays back and decides to stay true to his rural female technology workers in Indian call centers roots and farm the same earth on which the former that probes this issue more closely (Radhakrishnan, wants to drill. The clash between the protagonists 2008), and the local movie theater is a starting point ends with the village-bound son-of-the-soil winning into some of the changing social conceptions of out, an ending that would reprise itself repeatedly women’s work. over the years. If we think back to Indian cinema, and to the Fast forward to the new millennium, and to typical occupations of women on screen, well, rea- Kandukodain Kandukondain (Menon, 2000), the sonable women ’t have jobs; those who do typi- Indian remake of Sense and Sensibility. Here, the cally do so because of the failure of some critical protagonist is a woman who lives in her ancestral male provider. Thus, the dead, drunk, or incapaci- village, but when the going gets tough, she leaves tated rural husband or father gives way to the for the city and ends up living happily ever after as a woman who works the ªeld, at the risk of lascivious software engineer. Kandukondain may not be the attention of the agrarian landlords or plantation archetype for all ªlms of the generation, but as a managers (Khan, 1957; Roy, 1958). When the popular blockbuster, the ªlm featured several of the female ends up working in the city, if she’s generally key themes that we highlight here on the changing less educated or desperate enough, she will likely view of modernity, especially because of the end up as a casual laborer at risk from the lecherous reversed gender roles in the ªlm. building contractor (Chopra, Y., 1975; Krishnamurthy, 1981). Now, these informal sector 3.1 ICTs and Gender Empowerment jobs tend to go to the “mother ªgures,” arguably During ªeld research in rural Karnataka in 2005 that because the pitch for visual glamour is somewhat would eventually lead to this exploration of cinema, diminished by the sweat of bricklaying. The young in a village where the local government had just

44 Information Technologies & International Development PAL heroine in a ªlm tends, more often, to work in the Sowmya is that she remains “traditional” to the organized sector. end, but straddles the modernity space effortlessly. Here too, many of the same issues exist. There She dresses conservatively, except for dream are screen roles in which women portray alternatives sequences with song and dance, serves her family to the mother ªgure, such as nurses or doctors dutifully, and acquiesces to an arranged marriage. (Balachander, 1987; Majumdar, 1962; Sahu, 1960) When she does start her software job, her work- or caring social workers or teachers (Chopra, Y., place does not demand ºashy hackers; instead, her 1973; Kapdi, 1979; Kapoor, 1955; , interactions with her engineer boss highlight the 1983). These are reasonably respectable jobs for importance of the traditional urban middle-class women, and not macho enough for the male pro- work ethos. Despite her success, she does not turn tagonists. The female character who fails to secure into a slick skirt-wearing executive, and in not doing any of the above spills over into the organized so, she kills two birds with one stone: She remains employment sector. The villainy of the rural landlord the agreeable screen heroine and succeeds as poster and the urban building contractor are now reprised child for “appropriate ICTD”—a woman who both in the lascivious, white-collar, bourgeois rogue who wins her way out of poverty and manages to stay, harasses female coworkers (Balachander, 1977; culturally, rather untainted. Chopra, B. R., 1978; Prakash Rao, 1976). In rare When the software movement started, it was cases, there can also be the daring self-starter sales- emancipator—for example, Jane Austen wrote woman (Neelakantan, 1972; Paranjpe, 1981; Rawail, Sense and Sensibility before the Suffragist move- H. S., 1949) or the spoiled heiress-boss (Kanwar, ment, so in my adaptation, the two protagonists 1994; Mirza, 1992). In most of these cases, a male stand for art and knowledge. The heroine moves character, usually the hero, offsets the perils of the from a rural to urban setting and out of poverty woman’s tryst with his domain of the economy. Of by becoming a software engineer. My protagonist course, exceptions exist; for example, the woman was not to be an angelic face of rural ethic ...I embraces the perilous world with vengeance or con- saw this (the new India) as a meritocracy ...I nivance, the former when she takes on the role of speciªcally chose technology for what it repre- sented—knowledge and egalitarianism. (Rajiv Hindu goddess Durga as a police woman (Dixit, Menon, director, Kandukondain Kandukondain, 1976; Rama Rao, 1983) or as an avenging angel interviewed December 2009) (Bhogal, 1988; Chopra, B. R., 1980). What remains degenerates quickly in the caste hierarchy of profes- While there had probably never been an Indian sions, from the mildly uncomfortable bar dancer or ªlm with a female character playing an engineer, performer (Hussain, 1973; Sippy, 1982), to the cir- save for the oddball automobile mechanic’s daugh- cumstantial prostitute (Balachander, 1973; Samanta, ter, the female software engineer and female 1971; , 1980), and ªnally, to the campy gang- outsourcing center workers became popular in a ster’s moll (Anand, V., 1967; Hussain, 1973; huge way around this time (Bhadran, 1999; Goud, Ramachandran, 1973). 2003; Madan, 2004; Prabhakar, 2002; Kandukondain Kandukondain took a gentle step Selvaraghavan, 2007; , 2002; Yelleti, 2008), in a different direction. The female protagonist in including in ªlms featuring a reversal of roles, where the ªlm, a Brahmin girl, Sowmya, is reduced to pen- the female lead plays an accomplished technologist ury after being hoodwinked out of her ancestral vil- of some form, but the male lead is portrayed as pro- lage home by evil relatives. She proceeds to move fessionally subservient (Selvaraghavan, 2005; Vamsy, from the village to the city, where she rectiªes her 2002). One ªlm stands out as an interesting contin- family’s situation by learning to use computers and uation of the progress in Kandukondain. In the Tel- getting a job as a software engineer. Her character ugu ªlm Anand (Kammula, 2004), the protagonist, not only lifts her entire family out of poverty, but , takes Sowmya’s position a step further. Here, emerges as the most valuable technologist in her she not only supports herself through a software ªrm and almost relocates to the United States to job, but sheds much of Sowmya’s demure qualities, work as an engineer before better sense prevails, both in reinforcing her independent identity and in and she marries her wooing admirer. What is challenging traditional behavior roles expected from uniquely compelling about the characterization of her by suitor and in-laws alike.

Volume 6, Number 2, Summer 2010 45 RAJNIKANT’S LAPTOP

An even more interesting addition to the technol- a café with some young people and a few ogy and gender empowerment idea comes in the laptops. This is cheaper from the art direction per- ªlm Swagatam (Dasarath, 2008). In it, the male pro- spective, and shows youth, modernization, tech- tagonist is a demanding customer at an arranged nology—all in one. (Siddharth, director, Balae Pandiya and Publicist, interviewed December marriage matchmaking bureau. The manager of this 2009) bureau (coincidentally, the female lead) has an online candidate repository, and she tells the male There are few windows more insightful into the lead to use the computer to ªlter through his aspirational environment in India than the marriage requirements for a spouse. She kindly reminds the market. Typically, the highest catches in the dowry hero that a woman’s greatest trauma is being market in rural India went to male holders of gov- rejected at the arranged marriage meeting, and that ernment jobs that offer (among other things) stabil- technology should be used effectively to circumvent ity, an invaluable element in the rain-dependent this problem, and thereby, to empower women. agrarian landscape (Sambrani et al., 1983). Films Given that marriage is practically an ever-present have long portrayed doctors and “big ofªcers” as theme in Indian cinema, it is not surprising that sev- good catches for families trying to marry off daugh- eral other ªlms have used technology as a go- ters. In the 2000s, that role was taken over by the between for arranged or other marriages (Kathir, software engineer4 returning (or not) from the 1999; Prabhakar, 2002). United States. Although the computer as a cupid connector has An early example of this new classic “catch been a fairly strong theme through most Indian cin- groom” of South Indian cinema was Arvind Swamy, ema, the female software engineer has been less so. who, in the blockbuster hit (Rathnam, 1992), Regional cinema in languages such as Bhojpuri played a computer engineer whose arranged mar- (mainly screened in North-Central India), Bangla riage is a plot point early in the ªlm. Over time, two (mainly screened in West Bengal), and Oriya (mainly broad strands of software engineer-related marriage screened in Orissa) largely caters to rural audiences, scenarios have emerged: The ªrst depicts the engi- or what is referred to in trade parlance as “B cir- neer as the middle-class hero (Kranthikumar, 2001; cuits,” and still features a lot fewer women in pro- Renjith, 2002; Vasanth, 2007); and the second is the fessional positions. In those very same states that counterpoint in which parents desire a groom who speak Bhojpuri, Bangla, or Oriya, the A-circuit thea- is a software engineer or NRI (non-resident Indian), tres typically show ªlms, regardless of the but the hero is usually a son-of-the-soil type majority language of the local populations. In Hindi (Menon, 2000; Narayana, 2006; , 2002). While cinema, on the other hand, female characters who the endgame of these ªlms is often an ode to the use computers have tended to be more Westernized anti-hero, the focus on the software engineer as or upper class, such as the student who studies essential to middle class aspiration is nonetheless computer science in college as a qualiªcation— highlighted. before her eventual marriage—like in In some ªlms, the less-than-desirable character Hum Aapke Hain Koun (Barjatya, 1994), or the turns to computers as a means of social acceptabil- “smartypants” in Koi Mil Gaya (Roshan, ity, and in others (Bhargavan, 2007; Ravishankar, 2003). Their characters are signiªcantly different 2002), the drive is primarily economic, often explic- than those of the Sowmyas or Roopas, where the itly as a means of getting jobs in the United States appropriation of information technology into the (Menon, 2001; Rasool, 2004). We ªnd among male middle class domain has been less of a concern. In software engineers a distinction between the north our discussion of aspiration, we return to this issue. and South Indian stars. In Hindi (north Indian) ªlms, the engineer stereotype is typically applied to the 3.2 Aspiration “cool youngster” hacker characters, usually teen If we want to show a modern scene for the audi- idols, (Anand, 2008; Ghosh, 2004; Roshan, 2006; ence, we can either rent a Mercedes car, or show

4. In the late 2000s, South Indian actresses Renuka Menon, Gayathri Raghuram, and Kanika Subramanian all left the ªlm industry to marry software engineers in the United States. In the past, the common stereotype/joke was of ac- tresses leaving the ªlm industry to marry doctors abroad, which is both interesting and a potential topic for a larger study on the “legitimacy” of actresses.

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Singh, 2007), and very comparable to the Holly- actors typically associated with mass cinema tend to wood depictions of teenage computer users from portray larger-than-life characters and have outsized the 1980s and 1990s. Most of the South Indian public images (Pandian, 1992). Recently published depictions, however, are not necessarily hackers work on mass ªlms has brought attention to their who do cool things with computers, but rather, they importance as bringing “agency” for young fans are people who have IT-related jobs. This distinction who assiduously worship such stars’ ªlms, in ways is interesting, as it underlines the differences that create an image trap for the male star (Srinivas, between the viewing cultures of popular Hindi and 2009). A mass star, he is accepted precisely for his regional cinemas, a theme that has been articulated righteous predictability. in Ashish Rajadhyaksha’s examination of the The dialogue in mass ªlms is typically political “[W]esternizing trend” of Hindi cinema and populist, almost propagandist, and can probably (Rajadhyaksha, 2003), an upper-class, urbane narra- be traced back to the ªlms of M. G. Ramachandran, tive, in short. In contrast, in South Indian cinema, popularly known as MGR, who never drank or while the fantasy sequences (songs, dance, etc.) smoked on screen, committed no act of villainy, have roughly the same “modernity” as their Hindi remained staggeringly attractive to women, helpful counterparts, the narrative themes are much closer to every needy person, and entirely unbeatable in to the wider middle-class audience appeal. Thus, the any physical or intellectual contest. MGR went on to persistence of software engineer characters is seen become a hugely popular politician in Tamil Nadu, not just in the “urban” South Indian cinema (mean- remaining virtually invincible at the polls. His ªlms ing urban in both setting and primarily appeal), but weren’t propagandist in theme, but were instead also in the “mass” cinema. propagandist in characterization. Thus, the ªlm would be a regular potboiler, much in the theme of 3.3 The “Mass Film” and the Iconization formulaic entertainment, but within the ªlm, his of Computers character would be larger than life in both action “Computers can be used to ªght evil. We can do and dialogue. The dialogue from his ªlms and his anything with a computer” (Shivraj, fifth grader, bombastic screen style were synonymous with his Devanahalli, Karnataka, during an interview in political persona, and his fan clubs served as political January 2007). mobilizers. MGR’s political (and cinematic) mirror “Computer can save us. When neighbouring image in neighboring (with a rela- country is attacking, this is known to our scien- tively comparable cinematic culture) was N. T. Rama tists by tracking it on the computers” Rao (conveniently called NTR), a screen superstar (Udhaykumar, fifth grader, Coimbatore, Tamil who rose to become the state’s political supremo in Nadu, during an interview in January 2007). the 1980s. In this section, we turn to the difference between MGR’s “mass star” successors are somewhat less the aspriational cinema, which we cover in the pre- pious in contrast, but fairly comparable in their abili- vious two sections, and the “mass ªlms,” which not ties to commit superhuman acts, deºect bullets, and only highlight an interestingly different view of tech- most important, save mankind. Fans of mass stars nology and modernity, but also bear uncanny resem- frequently refer to their cherished stars with blance to some of the Hollywood characterizations honoriªcs such as “Dear Leader” or “Elder Brother,” of the past. By mass ªlms, we refer here to the ªlms and many of the stars end up in politics. The open- that are primarily aimed at urban lower-class and ing few weeks of a ªlm by a mass star can almost rural viewers. The term, derogatory as it may seem, certainly expect to play to full houses, as well as to is quite commonly used by ªlmmakers and analysts prompt celebrations and prayers that accompany alike to refer to “people’s” cinema, and several any release or key dates, such as the ªlm’s 100th major ªlm stars have come to be associated with day in theaters. Fan clubs frequently arrange discus- this movement. While these terms can also refer to sions of the said star’s ªlms, but rarely do they dis- low-budget movies made for rural audiences, a fairly cuss the quality of the acting or characterization large share of mass ªlms are actually big-budget (these are typically beyond critique); such meetings productions, usually featuring a movie star with a are typically praise sessions for the star. Entire tomes signiªcant, often frenzied, fan following. Such of scholarly literature are devoted to the functioning

Volume 6, Number 2, Summer 2010 47 RAJNIKANT’S LAPTOP and discourse of fan clubs for mass stars (Dickey, appropriate appraisal and corrective action by the 1993; Srinivas, 1996). hero on the other end of the Internet connection The use of information technology by these mass (, 2004; Shankar, 2005) stars is particularly interesting, because their audi- The quotation from Shivraj at the start of this ences are often not the middle-class Indians who section was not an isolated one. We were surprised watch many of the urban-based ªlms noted earlier. at how often, during our interviews in rural India, Interestingly, then, we ªnd the ideas of IT use in the same answer was repeated to us over and such mass star movies somewhat simplistic, but still over—”Computers can do anything”—with its in line with the overall theme of what a mass star source ranging from children’s fantasies to adults does—save the world. Typically, a mass star is a per- with no direct experience with computers, but who fect son-of-the soil, thus almost always speaking in nevertheless allocated human attributes to the the vernacular throughout a ªlm (unlike in Hindi machines, for example, saying “Computers can ªlms, for instance, where English is often inter- teach us English” in clear seriousness. It is far- spersed with the Hindi dialogue), excelling and pro- fetched to ascribe such notions speciªcally to ªlms, moting local arts, and so on. In a sense, the mass but it is worth looking brieºy at some of the omnip- stars’ use of computers is comparable to their use of otent deeds of computers. Perhaps a compelling English. Mass stars generally use English only occa- analogy would be that computers can do anything, sionally, laconically, and with much emphasis, usually just like Rajnikant. It is not surprising in this light to when challenged by an English-speaking adversary know that movie star was selected as or intransigent love interest. In the same vein, a the Brand Ambassador for the rural computing ini- mass star may use a computer just to underline that tiative in , Akshaya. he can, even if it is entirely irrelevant to the plot. As If we look back, before the computer-using days a son of the soil, he is able not just to play the of the mass stars, shades of fantasy and omnipo- game by the rules of the hinterland, but he can also tence among computers in Indian ªlm were akin to match up to modernity (Sivamani, 2002). Western cinema of the 1960s, especially in early Indian science ªction (Parvez, 1986; Srinivasa Rao, There is no star with a bigger draw than Rajnikant. For his fans, he is perfect, he is their 1991). Computers and their ability to make visual leader. If there is a latest technology, Rajnikant magic broke box ofªce records with international should be able to use it in the eyes of the viewers. Miss World pageant winner Rai’s ªrst (Suhasini Mani Ratnam, director and partner, Ma- screen appearance in (Shankar, 1998). Here, dras Talkies, interviewed December 2009) her brother creates a visual double of Aishwarya to convince twin brothers that they are both in love In Sivaji The Boss5 (Shankar, 2007), by some esti- with two different girls, a reasonable exercise in bal- mates the top-grossing Indian ªlm of all time, ancing technological savvy with the need for Rajnikant, arguably India’s most maniacally followed romance in scripts. Jeans and the hugely popular star, plays the eponymous hero, a software engi- MTV video of Michael Jackson’s single “Black or neer-cum-social worker bent on rectifying the ills of White” (Landis, 1991), featuring faces that morphed the Tamil world. In his quest, Sivaji uses his voice- into one another (or was it simply the glut of recognition-enabled laptop to control his vigilante Photoshop engineers in India?), also helped to cre- operations and outmaneuver his rivals. Similarly, the ate one of the most enduring computer tricks in use of computers to maintain and control databases Indian ªlms, which is still a common feature of mass of villains has been used effectively by megastars ªlms—the ability of a machine to take a scanned Vijaykanth (Murugadoss, 2002), picture of a child lost several years ago and morph (Vinayak, 2003), and Ajithkumar (Vasu, 2006; out of it a perfectly accurate image of the adult ver- , 2007). The idea of computers as a sion, while auto-adjusting for sartorial grace and the tool to assist heroes in cleaning up society has been few extra facial pounds on the likes of Vijaykanth used to much effect recently, mostly in ªlms featur- (, 2006; Vidhyadharan, 2008). ing websites for “submitting un-rectiªed crimes” for

5. BOSS in this ªlm stands for “Bachelor of Social Science.”

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4. Conclusion where, as in the aspirational characterizations, they are unique and deeply related to the prevalent dis- Is there intentionality in these portrayals? As some- course of technology being a means of social and one who has written and failed to sell scripts in the economic leapfrogging. What is also remarkably tell- past, I can speak from experience that there is, in ing is the much greater prevalence of technology- fact, some degree of production-level engineering of related themes and characterizations in South Indian characterizations. ªlms compared to north Indian cinema, given the We think about every smallest detail in the char- disproportionately higher concentration of IT-related acterization. It is essential for the common viewer industries and opportunities in the major South to digest the protagonist’s profession. It may be Indian metropolises. These cities, like , different for other parts of the country, but if you Chennai, and Bangalore, saw tremendous demo- present a software engineer as a hero, even a vil- graphic, landscape, and social transformations in the lager in Andhra Pradesh will immediately pick it late 1990s, the same time that computers as movie up. It will not be considered elitist. (Siva Ananthasubramanian, director, Chukkallo characters spiked up the charts. Chandrudu, interviewed December 2009) Many of the aspirational characters may well draw their original inspirations from real-life Despite this, I would argue that the question of “heroes,” often engineering graduates from the intentionality is impossible to answer, given the hinterland who moved to the cities, saw remarkable recursive loop of whether society inºuences media growth in their own incomes and social statures, or vice versa. and then frequently moved abroad, where they The idea for this research emerged from con- enjoyed opportunities that would have been much founding outcomes in other research that indicated more challenging to aspire to a generation back. a mismatch between people’s stated interest in Most importantly, many of these graduates were information technology and their actual use of ICTD women. What the cinematic analysis shows us is, projects in rural India. People were very excited indeed, a reºection of a larger perception of what about computers and the possibility of their own counted as the “India Rising” metaphor for the access to them, but they were unclear how IT could urban middle classes and the rural aspiring middle be practically useful in their lives. Further, such ideas classes, which, incidentally, largely comprise the reg- about technology were seen to not just inºuence ular ªlmgoing population. It is the aspirations of researchers’ estimation of what the likely adoption these classes that we see portrayed in a subsection for certain ICTD projects might be, given the appar- of South Indian cinema today. We can then compare ent enthusiasm about technology, but they could the output geared for these aspirational markets also inºuence the population’s own propensities to with the poorer hinterland markets of the mass invest in ICTD projects without necessarily having a ªlms, which take on a simplistic form, carrying clear idea of the value of such technology. For seri- forth, with selective ªlters, the transplant of the ous scholars of ICTD, attributing this phenomenon middle-class imagination of technology down the mainly to the “buzz” around technology is not ade- economic and social chain. quate, and an examination of the discourse encom- In conclusion, we turn brieºy to the iconoclastic passing this buzz is necessary. As ICTD matures as a proposition of popular Indian cinema being strong body of independent literature, it will be vital proactively used to impact development. Were the to incorporate learning from existing bodies of screenwriters of the ªlms we noted contemplating thought in development studies. Here, I aim to issues of technology and development, and of gently open the windows into the concerns of criti- impacting society, or is what we see here a sheer cal theory and discourse analysis. reºection of popular psyche? Irrespective of that, as This analysis of computers and cinema in India demonstrated, research has already shown that cer- brings to light a number of interesting ªndings tain types of entertainment media experiences in about how ªlmmakers have chosen to portray tech- India have had positive social outcomes, especially nology in Indian cinema, and it is particularly inter- regarding gender-related issues like female child pro- esting to look at where these portrayals are tection and domestic abuse prevention. This could comparable to other cinematic traditions, and well be dangerous knowledge for the ICTD commu-

Volume 6, Number 2, Summer 2010 49 RAJNIKANT’S LAPTOP nity, a signiªcant part of which is comprised of social life. The John D. and Catherine T. scholar-activists. Indeed, some of us may question MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media whether cinema and other forms of mass media and and Learning, 119–142. culture can or should be proactively used to impact Burrell, J. (2008). Problematic empowerment: West information technology uptake. It is important that African Internet scams as grassroots media pro- we think of these questions. We are, after all, in duction. Information Technologies & International development, and for many of us, all research Development, 4(4), 15–30. implies the responsibility of considering real-world intervention capability. When we do start thinking in Burton, J. (1986). Cinema and social change in Latin that direction, perhaps a social scientist in the room America: Conversations with ªlmmakers. Austin, can point out the parallels of such ideas with TX: University of Texas Press. Leninistic cinematic propaganda and ask if technol- Chakravarty, S. (1993). National identity in Indian ogy intake ought to be promoted at all. After all, popular cinema, 1947–1987. Austin, TX: Univer- asking questions is what we do; decisive action, on sity of Texas Press. the other hand, is Rajnikant’s domain. ■ Dickey, S. (1993). The politics of adulation: Cinema Acknowledgments and the production of politicians in South India. This material is based upon work supported by The Journal of Asian Studies, 52(2), 340–372. the National Science Foundation under Grant Dolnick, S. (2008, May 1). Keep movie heroes alco- #0937060 to the Computing Research Association hol-free, Bollywood urged. The Washington Post, for the CIFellows Project. p. C7. References (Scholastic Texts) Dwyer, R., & Patel, D. (2002). Cinema India: The vi- sual culture of Hindi ªlm. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers Akudinobi, J. (1995). Tradition/modernity and the University Press. discourse of African cinema. Oak Ridge, TN: Iris Publishing Group. Faden, E. (2001). The cyberªlm: Hollywood and computer technology. Strategies: Journal of Film, Appadurai, A., & Breckenridge, C. (1995). Public Theory, and Culture, 14(1), 77–90. modernity in India. In C. Breckenridge (Ed.), Con- suming modernity: Public culture in a South Fehrenbach, H. (1995). Cinema in democratizing Asian world (pp. 1–22). Minneapolis, MN: Uni- Germany: Reconstructing national identity after versity of Minnesota Press. Hitler. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. Atkinson, P. (2005, December). Technology and the vision of utopia. Paper presented at Imagining Fernandes, L. (2000). Nationalizing the global: Me- the Future: Utopia, Dystopia and Science Fiction dia images, cultural politics and the middle class conference, Monash University, Melbourne, Aus- in India. Media, Culture & Society, 22(5), 611– tralia. 628. Bastian, M. (1999). Nationalism in a virtual space: Foster, G. (2005). Class-passing: Social mobility in Immigrant Nigerians on the Internet. ªlm and popular culture. Carbondale, IL: South- Review, 1(1). ern Illinois University Press. Bendle, M. (2005, December). Zarathustra’s revenge: Friedberg, A. (1994). Window shopping: Cinema The sordid utopia of contemporary science ªction and the postmodern. Berkeley, CA: University of ªlms. Paper presented at Imagining the Future: California Press. Utopia, Dystopia and Science Fiction conference, Fuller, C., & Narasimhan, H. (2006). Information Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. technology professionals and the new-rich mid- boyd, d. (2007). Why youth (heart) social network dle class in Chennai (Madras). Modern Asian sites: The role of networked publics in teenage Studies 41(1), 121–150.

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