ENGLISH 20a Bollywood: Popular film, genre, society Spring 2017 M/W/Th 11-11:50am

Professor Ulka Anjaria Phone: (781) 736-2162 Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Wednesday, 12-2pm Office: Rabb 239

TFs:  Abigail Arnold, [email protected]  Paige Eggebrecht, [email protected]  Haram Lee, [email protected]  Jennifer Thomas, [email protected]

The industry of popular Hindi film known as Bollywood is an increasingly globally recognized form of popular culture. Based in Mumbai, India, Bollywood is one of the handful of global film industries that has managed to retain its identity in the face of Hollywood’s global reach. At the same time, Bollywood films are known for their over-the-top storylines, their binaristic morality (good vs. evil), their constant breaks into song and dance and their formulaic happy endings. Is this just mass culture devoid of artistic merit, or is there something more to Bollywood films? This course will introduce students to Bollywood through screenings of a range of films from the 1950s until today. We will place individual films within their larger political, social and aesthetic contexts, as well as develop a set of reading practices that allow us to find meaning in melodramatic texts which often appear resistant to interpretation. Topics discussed will include nationalism, modernity, religion, gender, family, sexuality, globalization, war, diaspora, cinephilia, heroism and villainy. At the same time, students will consider how technologies of filmmaking, practices of visual representation, and generic features such as stars, storylines and song-and-dance sequences contribute to the centrality of popular film in Indian life. While the overall approach will be multi-disciplinary, literary and filmic methodologies will be the primary lens through which the class is conducted. By the end of the course, students will  be able to identify and interpret the basic formulaic elements of Bollywood melodramas;  be able to read individual texts in relation to larger generic paradigms (as, for instance, variations on a theme);  be able to write effectively about film, with attention to story and textual details as well as the visual field;

1  gain an increased understanding of and respect for cultural traditions other than their own.

Course Requirements:

1) Attendance at all course sessions. This class is structured around nine film screenings, with a small amount of reading. The bulk of the material will be presented in class lecture. Thus it is absolutely essential – not only for your attendance grade but for your papers – that you show up to class. In the first week of class, attendance will be taken via a sign-up sheet. It is your responsibility to find the sign-up sheet and email me if you missed signing up. After TF assignments, you will be expected to check in with your TF before or after lecture to record your attendance. Four unexcused absences will be taken as grounds for failing the course. You are responsible for all the material covered in missed classes. If you miss more than three classes you must meet with the instructor and find a way to prove your continued engagement with the class (i.e. extra response papers, etc.).

Religious Exemptions: Please inform the instructor as early as possible about any anticipated absences due to religious holidays, and be prepared to make up the work missed on those days. For a full description of Brandeis’s regulations governing coursework and religious observance, please see http://www.brandeis.edu/das/downloads/AcademicCourseworkandReligiousObser vations.pdf.

Athletic Exemptions: Participation in an intercollegiate sport must be documented in a letter from the Athletic Director and presented to the instructor at the beginning of the semester, accompanied by a schedule for the season. Class sessions missed due to travel for athletic events should be made up in consultation with the instructor. For the full guidelines on conflicts between coursework and intercollegiate athletic competition, please see http://www.brandeis.edu/das/downloads/GuidelinesforAthletes.pdf.

Policy on laptops and mobile devices: In order to avoid distraction in the large lecture setting, laptop computers will not be allowed unless a special request is made to me in person. Use of cell phones in class for talking, texting or reading/writing email is also prohibited. If I or the TFs see you using your phone during class, you will be asked to desist, and it will be counted against your attendance grade for that day.

2) Participation. Because this is a large class, we will be breaking up the group into four discussion sections where you can engage with the material in a more intimate setting. You are expected to participate in conversations in section. This includes asking questions and speaking in class where appropriate, and also coming to see the professor or your TF in office hours to discuss the material further, to get clarification, or to brainstorm potential paper topics. If you are shy about speaking in class, coming to office hours is the only way to convey your engagement in class, so please take the time to do so.

2 3) Quizzes. There will be brief quizzes on the films. The quiz will include three or four straightforward questions on the film, which you will have no trouble answering if you have seen it. The purpose of the quizzes is to ensure that students do not fall behind on the film viewing, and to guarantee a high level of class engagement. If you are absent without an excuse you will receive a zero on the quiz.

4) Papers. You are to write three papers over the course of the semester, two scene analyses and one comparison paper. The first paper will be on Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. For the second paper, you can choose to write on Mother India, Amar Akbar Anthony or Deewaar. For the comparison paper you can choose any two films that you have not written about before (i.e. you cannot write two papers on the same film). For all these assignments, you will have access to the films on LATTE and on reserve in the library, so you will be expected to have repeatedly watched the scenes you discuss. Please refer to chapter 3 (“The Language of Film: Signs and Syntax”) of James Monaco’s book, How to Read a Film, which is on reserve at the library, for terminology and other guidance on how to write about film. You may also refer to any of the critical readings assigned in the course. Please feel free to meet with your TF to discuss your ideas for these papers. Please submit your papers on LATTE. Unexcused late papers will be marked down 2 points for every day they are late.

a) Scene analysis. For these two assignments, you will be expected to execute a detailed reading of the filmic techniques and formulaic qualities of one particular scene of your choosing from one of the course films. Although you do not need to go into detail about the context of the scene, you should situate the scene within the larger thematic and generic features of the film as a whole (in other words asking: Why does this particular scene matter?). This paper should be 2- 3 pages long. It need not have a single argument with a thesis statement, but must be clearly structured around one or two key ideas. You may analyze a scene discussed in class but you should offer your own interpretation. These papers are due on February 7 and March 7. We will discuss the assignment in detail in section on February 2.

b) Comparison paper. For this paper you will compare and contrast two different films’ treatment of mothers, brothers, fathers or lovers. The focus will be on how these figures work formally in the text rather than only as characters or themes. This paper should be 4-5 pages long and unlike the scene analysis, it should have a thesis statement that advances an argument about your texts in relation to one another. This paper is due on April 7.

5) Podcast. This is a group project that will require you to choose a film that is not on the course syllabus and create a 5-minute podcast that incorporates music with analysis of the film you have chosen, and presents comparisons and contrasts between your film and the others on our syllabus. More details about the assignment will be handed out in class. You will be asked to choose your group of 3 in the first two weeks of the semester (if you don’t have a group we will help you form one) and to choose your film about halfway through the semester. I will hand out a list of films for you to choose from on a first-come-first-serve basis. You can refer to the book 100 Bollywood Films (on reserve at the library) or Ganti, pp. 201-216 to help choose a film. You

3 can also petition to watch a film not included on the list. Feel free to consult with me for additional recommendations. Your group will present your podcast in section on April 27.

NOTE: Plagiarism will be treated as a serious offense and will be penalized. All references must be fully cited. If you are unclear about what constitutes plagiarism, or unsure of how to cite your sources appropriately, please consult with me, or with the “Student Resources” information on the following Brandeis webpage: http://lts.brandeis.edu/teachlearn/support/academic- integrity/index.html

Grading:

Attendance: 10% Participation: 10% Quizzes: 15% Scene analyses (2 papers): 25% Comparison paper: 20% Podcast: 20%

If you need academic accommodations because of a documented disability you should contact me, and present your letter of accommodation, as soon as possible. If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodations you should contact Beth Rodgers-Kay in Academic Services at 6-3470. Letters of accommodations should be presented at the start of the semester to ensure provision of accommodations. Accommodations cannot be granted retroactively.

Required Text (available at the Brandeis Bookstore; e-version ok):

Tejaswini Ganti, Bollywood: A guidebook to popular Hindi cinema All other readings can be found on LATTE

Course Schedule: *Note: This schedule is subject to change during the course of the semester, so please bring your copy of the syllabus to class every day.

January 18- Introduction to course

Module I: Understanding Genre

January 19- Introduce yourself on LATTE

4 Tejaswini Ganti, Bollywood, pp. 2-3, 105-107, 160-169 Leo Braudy, “Genre: The Conventions of Connection” (pp. 613-619) Ashis Nandy, “The Popular Hindi Film: Ideology and first principles”

Recommended: Ganti, pp. 5-26

January 23- Ganti, pp. 90-102 Neepa Majumdar, “The Embodied Voice” Sangita Gopal and Biswarup Sen, “Inside and Out: Song and Dance in Bollywood Cinema” Watch “Chammak Challo” and “The Making of Chammak Challo” (videos on LATTE)

January 25- WATCH Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (The True-Hearted Will Win the Bride, dir. Aditya Chopra, 1995)

January 26- Ganti, pp. 84-87 and 125-135 Anupama Chopra, “Shah Rukh Khan: A Global Icon”

January 30- Rachel Dwyer, “Yeh Shaadi Nahin Ho Sakti!: Romance and Marriage in Contemporary Hindi Cinema”

February 1- Rosie Thomas, “Melodrama and the Negotiation of Morality” (pp. 157-161, 164-173)

February 2- SECTION Timothy Corrigan, A Short Guide to Writing About Film (online link) Ravi Vasudevan, “Shifting Codes, Dissolving Identities” (pp. 106-8)

Module II: Mothers, Brothers, Fathers, Lovers

February 6- WATCH Mother India (dir. Mehboob Khan, 1957)

**Scene analysis 1 due Tuesday, Feb 7 by 9pm (upload to LATTE)

February 8- Ganti, pp. 26-33, 107-120, 218

5 Sumita Chakravarty, National Identity in Indian Popular Cinema (pp. 149-156)

February 9- Rachel Dwyer and Divia Patel, “Female Character Types” Ravi Vasudevan, “Visual Codes of Narration (I): Iconicity, Frontality and the Tableau Frame” (pp. 312-4)

February 13- WATCH Amar Akbar Anthony (dir. Manmohan Desai, 1977)

February 15- Ganti, pp. 33-36, 148-153 and 223 look again at Rosie Thomas, “Melodrama and the Negotiation of Morality” (esp. pp. 164- 8)

February 16- Naresh Fernandes, “Remembering Anthony Gonsalves” (pp. 271-276) Vijay Mishra, “Textual Symmetry/ Asymmetry” (pp. 171-78)

February 20- NO CLASS

February 22- NO CLASS

February 23- NO CLASS

February 27- WATCH Deewaar (The Wall, dir. Yash Chopra, 1975)

March 1- Guest speaker: Professor Raka Ray, UC Berkeley

March 2- SECTION

March 6- Ganti, pp. 120-124 Rosie Thomas, “Melodrama and the Negotiation of Morality” (pp. 173-177)

**Scene analysis 2 due Tuesday, March 7 by 9pm (upload to LATTE)

March 8-

6 Priya Joshi, “Cinema as Family Romance” (pp. 10-14) Susmita Dasgupta, “The Birth of Tragedy”

March 9- SECTION

March 13- WATCH Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (From Disaster to Catastrophe, dir. Mansoor Khan, 1988)

March 15- Ajanta Sircar, “Love in the Time of Liberalization,” (pp. 43-45)

March 16- Ganti, pp. 36-46 and 171-184

March 20- WATCH Veer Zaara (dir. Yash Chopra, 2004)

March 22- Saba Naqvi Bhaumik, “Politics of Indian War Films” Kavita Daiya, Violent Belongings (pp. 161-167)

March 23- SECTION

March 27- WATCH Main Hoon Na (I’m Here Now, dir., Farah Khan, 2004)

March 29- Kavita Daiya, Violent Belongings (pp. 156-161)

March 30- Ganti, pp. 46-55 and 228-229

April 3- WATCH Kapoor & Sons (Dir. Shakun Batra, 2016)

April 5- Rachel Dwyer, “Zara Hatke (‘Somewhat Different’)” (pp. 197-201)

April 6- SECTION

**Comparison paper due Friday April 7, by 5pm (upload to LATTE)

7 April 10- NO CLASS

April 12- NO CLASS

April 13- NO CLASS

April 17- NO CLASS

April 19 (Brandeis Monday)- Sangita Gopal, Conjugations: Marriage and Form in New Bollywood Cinema (pp. 138- 141 and 146-148)

April 20- Ali Nobil Ahmad, “Explorations Into Pakistani Cinema”

April 24- Guest lecture by Meenu Gaur, contemporary Pakistani filmmaker

Module III: Cinephilia

April 26- WATCH Om Shanti Om (dir. Farah Khan, 2007)

**Podcast on final film and write-up due April 27, in section (by 11am)

April 27- SECTION – PODCAST PRESENTATIONS

May 1- Ganti, pp. 73-84, 153-159, and 194-200 Anupama Chopra, “Bollywood Dreams” (pp. 1-5) and “King of Bollywood” (pp. 211-22)

May 3- Paromita Vohra, “Tracking SRK’s film journey is to map the growth of the Indian middle class”

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