Deepa Mehta (1950–)

2018 ◽  
pp. 210-227
Author(s):  
Anna Sarkissian
Keyword(s):  
Deepa Mehta

scholarly journals Mind The Gap Exploring The Experiences Of Diasporic Media Producers And Representations Of Cultural Diversity In Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul De Silva
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Prime Time ◽  
Media Industry ◽  
Screen Media ◽  
Feature Films ◽  
Deepa Mehta ◽  
Authentic Voice ◽  
Diasporic Communities

Prime-time narrative is the most watched and influential genre of television. It creates a sense of belonging and contributes to identity formation. It also receives the largest amount of publicly mandated funding in the form of investment, subsidies, and tax incentives in Canada. Anecdotal and empirical evidence suggests that despite legislation requiring equitable representation in all aspects of screen media, and over thirty years of many “special initiatives” and training and mentorship programs, little progress has been made in the area of equitable representation in narrative programming. This dissertation investigates the representation of diasporic people of colour in the screen-media industry in Canada. In particular, it studies how “authentic voices” from these communities are finding expression in the area of prime-time television narrative programming (scripted comedy and drama) and feature films, which ultimately find their largest audiences in broadcast screen platforms on television and increasingly via the Internet. The focus is on the legislative frameworks pertaining to the reflection of “diasporic communities of colour” in the production of screen media, specifically for prime-time broadcast in narrative, or what is referred to in the industry as “scripted programming,” as well as on the current realities faced by creators of screen media from diasporic communities of colour in telling their stories in this arena. Through a case study of the television series Little Mosque on the Prairie, it examines the issues that affect the expression of “authentic voice” from individuals who have had the opportunity to work in the area of narrative screen media in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada’s public broadcaster, which has as one of its key priorities the reflection of the cultural diversity of Canada. The issues involved in the production of feature films by diasporic people of colour is examined through a case study of the film Heaven on Earth, written and directed by Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta. Mehta’s film presents a unique situation in which the filmmaker, due to the previous international success of her film Water, was able to access the financial resources to produce the film in Canada and maintain her “authentic voice” without mediation in the production from external players. Part of this case study includes a documentary film featuring an interview with Deepa Mehta conducted in 2017 about her film Heaven on Earth.

scholarly journals Bollywood of India: Geopolitical Texts of Belonging and Difference and Narratives of Mistrust and Suspicion

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-129
Author(s):  
Iqbal Shailo
Keyword(s):  
Regional Differences ◽  
British India ◽  
Deepa Mehta

A number of Bollywood films create meaning and geopolitical narratives through dialogue, raw images, settings, costumes and historical contexts. This study examines three contemporary Indian films —Earth (Deepa Mehta, 1998), Lagaan (Ashutosh Gowariker, 2001) and Sarfarosh (John Matthew Matthan, 1999) — that explore sub-continental history with a particular focus on insecurity, mistrust and suspicion.  It discusses how socio-cultural and regional differences are (re)produced and how geopolitical meanings of ‘we’ and ‘they’ are narrated and constructed through Bollywood. These films construct an image of identity, belonging and difference, emphasizing that Hindus and Muslims are Indians however some legacies and suffering brought on during the partition of British India are still alive in memories when discrimination and exclusion are practiced in their ancestral homelands.

Ontological Shivers

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
Film History ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Romeo And Juliet ◽  
Baz Luhrmann ◽  
Classical Realism ◽  
Deepa Mehta ◽  
Franco Zeffirelli ◽  
Theoretical Developments

This essay explores major movements in film history through the lens of Romeo and Juliet adaptations, including films by Irving Thalberg and George Cukor, Renato Castellani, Franco Zeffirelli, Baz Luhrmann, and Deepa Mehta. More specifically, the essay offers a critical examination of theoretical developments in the notion of realism—including classical realism, neorealism, realismo rosa, and post-realism.

scholarly journals Self-reflexivity and the Representation of The Indian Diasporic Community in Deepa Mehta’s Bollywood/Hollywood

2021 ◽  
pp. 76-85
Author(s):  
Sangeeta Gupta PhD
Keyword(s):  
Film Industry ◽  
Romantic Comedy ◽  
Indian Culture ◽  
Strong Connection ◽  
Home Culture ◽  
Diasporic Community ◽  
Deepa Mehta ◽  
The Way

This paper discusses Deepa Mehta’s lighthearted romantic comedy Bollywood/Hollywood as a representation of the Indian diasporic community settled in Canada. What makes this film especially interesting is that it focuses on how, for overseas Indians, Bollywood offers the possibility of accessing the home culture in a globalised world. Bollywood as an industry is synonymous with the genre of family melodrama, and when Mehta uses this term it represents, not just the Bombay Film Industry, but also the cultural iconicity of the genre, which in turn represents the film sensibility of the entire ‘mass’ of Indians located within the country and in the diaspora. At one level, the film is a lighthearted comic portrayal of the Indo-Canadian community in Toronto and its strong connection with “our magnificent Indian culture” (B/H) through the Hindi movies churned out by Bollywood. At a closer look at a number of scenes, light is cast on the way Deepa Mehta emphasizes the cultural divides through interesting narrative and visual constructions. The actual argument of the film emerges in a dialectical reading and recognition of the oppositional forces operating within and without the narrative world. What is particularly striking about this film is its self-reflexivity. It announces itself as a Bollywood melodrama and celebrates this identity. Bollywood is thus positioned as both a subject and an object of contemplation—a world of Cinema that is a part of our memory and a vehicle of history. The critique of the formula also comes from within the formulaic narrative itself. Deepa Mehta constantly uses the genre and also plays around with it in interesting ways

scholarly journals The lost identity of Mother India: Rape, mutilation and a socio-political critique of Indian society

2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-76
Author(s):  
Šarūnas Paunksnis
Keyword(s):  
Indian Society ◽  
Main Argument ◽  
Indian Culture ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Political Critique ◽  
Deepa Mehta ◽  
Partition Of India ◽  
Traditional Understanding ◽  
Main Operating

Vytautas Magnus UniversityThe article discusses a film by Deepa Mehta, a filmmaker who is a part of the so-called Indian Parallel Cinema, and a critic of Indian culture and society. The main argument of the article is that in the landmark film Earth, Mehta portrays a character to personify the idea of Mother India. Mehta’s vision of Mother India is rendered psychoanalytically as being raped by her sons—something that had started during the partition of India and continues till our times. The article introduces and re-thinks categories of Indianness, rape, alienness, which are vital to our understanding of contemporary Indian culture and society. One of the main operating categories of the article is identity—what it means in our modern times, and what it means to lose it—something that happened in 1947 during the partition, and is still continuing. The article also stands in opposition to the traditional understanding of the Mother—in contemporary times, as it is argued, Mother is not cherished by her Sons, instead, she is raped and mutilated, as a consequence of ontological insecurity and desire for identity.

scholarly journals Mind The Gap Exploring The Experiences Of Diasporic Media Producers And Representations Of Cultural Diversity In Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul De Silva
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Prime Time ◽  
Media Industry ◽  
Screen Media ◽  
Feature Films ◽  
Deepa Mehta ◽  
Authentic Voice ◽  
Diasporic Communities

Prime-time narrative is the most watched and influential genre of television. It creates a sense of belonging and contributes to identity formation. It also receives the largest amount of publicly mandated funding in the form of investment, subsidies, and tax incentives in Canada. Anecdotal and empirical evidence suggests that despite legislation requiring equitable representation in all aspects of screen media, and over thirty years of many “special initiatives” and training and mentorship programs, little progress has been made in the area of equitable representation in narrative programming. This dissertation investigates the representation of diasporic people of colour in the screen-media industry in Canada. In particular, it studies how “authentic voices” from these communities are finding expression in the area of prime-time television narrative programming (scripted comedy and drama) and feature films, which ultimately find their largest audiences in broadcast screen platforms on television and increasingly via the Internet. The focus is on the legislative frameworks pertaining to the reflection of “diasporic communities of colour” in the production of screen media, specifically for prime-time broadcast in narrative, or what is referred to in the industry as “scripted programming,” as well as on the current realities faced by creators of screen media from diasporic communities of colour in telling their stories in this arena. Through a case study of the television series Little Mosque on the Prairie, it examines the issues that affect the expression of “authentic voice” from individuals who have had the opportunity to work in the area of narrative screen media in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada’s public broadcaster, which has as one of its key priorities the reflection of the cultural diversity of Canada. The issues involved in the production of feature films by diasporic people of colour is examined through a case study of the film Heaven on Earth, written and directed by Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta. Mehta’s film presents a unique situation in which the filmmaker, due to the previous international success of her film Water, was able to access the financial resources to produce the film in Canada and maintain her “authentic voice” without mediation in the production from external players. Part of this case study includes a documentary film featuring an interview with Deepa Mehta conducted in 2017 about her film Heaven on Earth.

Elsewhere

2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 77-82
Author(s):  
Bilal Qureshi
Keyword(s):  
Religious Right ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
New Delhi ◽  
Film Festival ◽  
Traditional Values ◽  
History Writing ◽  
Arranged Marriages ◽  
Lesbian Relationship ◽  
Deepa Mehta ◽  
Hyphenated Identity

FQ Columnist Bilal Qureshi reflects on Deepa Mehta's film Earth at an important moment in Indian and global history. Writing from New Delhi, he had the opportunity to speak to Mehta in person about her life and work, and that discussion is woven into this column. Since making Earth almost twenty years ago, Deepa Mehta has seen her stature grow to include film festival premieres, an Oscar nomination, and a platform as one of the rare women auteurs on the international stage. She has lived in Canada since the 1970s, but her most celebrated films are not about immigrant displacement or hyphenated identity. Rather, she has always told Indian stories. From the groundbreaking story of a lesbian relationship between two housewives in suffocating arranged marriages (Fire, 1996) to the forced exile of widows in orthodox Hindu scripture (Water, 2005), she has confronted uncomfortable social realities in Indian society. Although she has been labeled an anti-national and had sets burned and cinemas attacked by the religious right for insulting traditional values, she has taken the challenges in stride and continued making films.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document