CallingCalling GodGod onon thethe WrongWrong Number:Number: ReligionReligion inin HindiHindi CinemaCinema Tuesday, March 28, 5:30 PM McCLUNG MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AND CULTURE, AUDITORIUM

Since December 2014, three of the biggest hits in the 100-year history of Indian cinema have been released. These include PK, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, and Baahubali: The Beginning. What is striking is that the two films,PK and Bajrangi Bhaijaan, both comedies, are set the context of clearly designated Hindu practices, with two directly concerning and . In her talk, Professor Dwyer will discuss how these films show religious groups in a new way, breaking with the conventions of the Islamicate genres, showing different communities and their beliefs and practices. The connection between the films and the current imaginary in is complex and exciting.

Reception to follow. Free and open to the public.

Rachel Dwyer Professor of Indian Cultures and Cinema School of Oriental and African Studies University of London Professor Dwyer received her BA in Sanskrit at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, followed by an MPhil in general linguistics and comparative philology at the University of Oxford. Her PhD research at SOAS was on the Gujarati lyrics of Dayaram (1777-1852). She has published 11 books, several of which are on Indian cinema. She recently completed ’s India: Hindi Cinema as a Guide to Contemporary India.

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