Audiences 2.0

From large screen to television to personal devices, experiencing cinema shifted from being communal to familiar and intimate. The emotions, perceptions, understanding, practice, and behaviour of watching movies are simultaneously transforming. However, in a multi-cultural multi-lingual country like India, still carrying characteristics of Gemeinschaft, what is the impact of transnational online streaming platforms on its audiences? The chapter explores the possibility of changes among Indian audiences as a result of exposure to online streaming platforms. In examining the transformation of viewers, the chapter addresses audiences' changing relations with the screen. It traces the evolution of audiences based on the concepts of spectator and performer proposing the digital audience is now a performer rather than just a spectator. The chapter navigates the changing flow of online streaming with active audiences. It raises the concern of digital capitalism and resulting politics of aesthetics in the transformation of regional or national audiences to transnational audiences.

Cartographies of Indian Cinema

The origin of cinema in India has transnational roots and can be traced back to as early as the 1920s. The multicultural connections were not only evident in terms of the cast and the crew but also in terms of the reach of the subject matter as portrayed on screen that had a global appeal. Application of modern technology and interactions between communities created a glocal space that transcended geopolitical boundaries. It is also interesting to note how actors and filmmakers from other nationalities became an integral part of these narratives. This culminated in an excellent combination of foreign technical knowledge and the creativity of the Indian film fraternity that produced an array of unforgettable masterpieces. This chapter attempts to chart the history and map the course of Indian cinema by applying a transnational lens and reexamining the cultural and social implications of these films. Moreover, it aims to situate the evolution of Indian cinema, keeping in view the intersection of gender, race, class, religion, and other categories.

Depiction of Naxalism in Telugu Cinema

Naxalism has become a menace, assumed gigantic proportions, and become difficult to contain. Naxalism has donned different roles depending on the geopolitical, social, and economic conditions. India is in a peculiar disposition to address Naxalism, which is rampant, largely fueled externally and internally by way of violence, extortion, sympathisers, and advocacies in the form of urban Naxals. This chapter will discuss how Naxalism is widespread in India and the way it is depicted in Indian movies in general and Telugu movies in particular. It is an attempt to bring to the fore what is compelling for people to resort to Naxalism, delving upon the framework of Bazinian realist, psychoanalytic, and ideological film theories.

Voicing the Voiceless

Cinema always represented the society, and any visual representation about ‘not so commonly discussed' topics becomes crucial as they are the image blocks for the future generation. The power of cinema is high among Tamil audience, which is evident from the emergence of two great political leaders who are byproducts of it. It is essential to understand how sexual minorities are represented in a culture-specific society. In India, representation of the third gender was insensitive, and Tamil cinema is no exception. These representations cannot be ignored as ‘just in screen' as screen represents reality. Nevertheless, few fair images are making a significant impact on the audience about transgender. Studying representations about sexual minorities in Tamil cinema is important in today's context, where young minds are exposed to digital platforms. This chapter explains the description of the transgender community in Tamil cinema and analyses its impact on society.

Exclusion and Inclusion of Tribes in Satyajit Ray's Cinema

The Adivasis or original inhabitants of India occupy more than 8% of India's total population and contribute a rich cultural inheritance in the Indian cultural milieu. In large part of Central, East-Central, and North-Eastern India, the so-called mainstream people have intensive contact with the tribal people. They keep feelings of hatred in their mind about these tribes. This hateful and annoying attitude of the larger society towards tribal people has been inevitably reflected in the literature, art, and other expressive media of the so-called higher community. Film media also, though in a limited range, evidently reflects such feelings, such attitudes. Parallel cinema sometimes brings up the life of the forest dwellers and Dalits. Such movies mainly focus on backward peoples' struggle for survival and unbearable exploitation of their life. However, tribal people are rarely portrayed accurately, and whenever it happens, the view of the upper-class people towards the backward tribes become prominent.

Breaking Stereotypes

Indian films are gradually coming of age: becoming more realistic, bold, and daring. Indian short films are getting candid: talking openly about issues rather than brushing them under the carpet. The digital media boom and the advent of social media have made the short film genre popular. In the fast-paced age where people, caught up in the humdrum and rat race of everyday life, are generally becoming impatient about everything, the short film has come to the rescue of filmmakers and film lovers. Gone are the days where everyone had ample time and patience to watch a three hour feature film or a two hour saga. In case of a short film, the message gets conveyed in a quick, crisp, and focused manner, without beating about the bush. Women-oriented short films like Her First Time, Juice, The Day After Every Day, Mama's Boy, Going Dutch, Pressure Cooker, The Girl Story, Ek Dopahar, Khaney Mein Kya Hai, White Shirt, Naked, etc. are breaking stereotypes of the patriarchal notions about women. The chapter probes the portrayals of women characters in Indian short films.

Shadowing Lines of Stardom and Politics

Rebel star Ambareesh, a popular Kannada film actor and a politician, is considered a cult figure for various reasons including his contentious political career and unquestionable stardom. He was well known for controversial, witty, and sleazy statements in public. Yet he gained considerable attention within the party as he represented dominant Vokkaliga voters in Old Mysore part of the state. A large number of films cast him in scripts comprising a rebellious young man who would take down the entire system single-handedly. In his political career as an MP and state minister, he always shocks his party leaders with his “who cares” attitude like in his films. It is not only the rhetorical, chauvinistic statements alone that gained him popularity. The on-screen jingoism towards a region, roles appealing to feudal set up also welded Ambareesh's image as a “Proud son of Mandya.” The current chapter is an attempt to deconstruct the unique model of “Rebel Star,” which needs to be evaluated in the historical context of Kannada cinema along with reception among shared ideologies.

Recasting Feminine Identity in Assamese Cinema

Rarely would an auteur choose a female protagonist as the lead character for one's debut film. In 1935, Jyoti Prasad Agarwal chose a historical figure of Ahom princess Joymoti as the central character for the first Assamese film. Was it enough to portray an Ahom princess as the lead character, or was it lending the historical figure a new perspective? During the stated period in Assam, the cult of Joymoti had gathered momentum. In this discourse, much emphasis was given on Joymoti sacrificing her life rather than revealing the whereabouts of her husband Prince Gadapani to the state authorities. This chapter seeks to explore how the social status of women was addressed and tackled in the film.

Social Dynamics of Hindi Eco-Cinema and the Politics of Water

Eco-terrorism and environmentalism in Indian mainstream visual media are either eclipsed or serve as ancillary thematic props to the project. The big banners, production houses, mainstream directors, actors, scriptwriters of the industry rarely undertake eco-cinematic projects since these movies fail in box-office collection. However, the beginning of the 21st century has seen a paradigmatic shift with the advent of “green movies.” Interestingly, Nila Madhab Panda's Kaun Kitney Paani Mein (2015) and Aparnaa Singh's Irada (2017) have successfully projected on the silver screen the problem of groundwater contamination and the scarcity of water leading to ecocide. The current chapter explores how eco-cinema has become a critical platform to talk about grim ecological matters like water contamination and depletion to sensitise the audience regarding the need for water conservation.

Bollywood and Social Media

Public relations (PR) always play an essential role in promoting the movie and reaching out to the massive scale of audiences. Especially in the current situation, the role of PR is more vital because of the fragmented space created to release of movies by the digital revolution. The Indian cinema industry may not have considered the PR seriously earlier, but in the last few years, the game of film promotion has changed. Therefore, the chapter focuses on the dynamics of PR practices prevalent in contemporary film promotional activities. The study also aims to deliberate on the changing trends in creating buzz around the films and maintaining the euphoria through various PR activities or campaigns.