Media Meet 2016 Book of Abstract

Christ University BengaluruCINEMA Breaking the 4th wallA National Level Media Seminar on CinemaOrganised by the Department of Media Studies4-5 August 2016mediameet.christuniversity.in Book of AbstractsExcellence and Service

Book of AbstractsDepartment of Media Studies Christ University Bengaluru - 560029 August 2016

Christ UniversityHosur Road,Bengaluru - 560029Karnataka, IndiaFirst published 2016Copyright © 2016, Christ University. All rights reservedNo part of this publication may be reproduced in any material or form (includingphotocopying or storing in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transientlyor incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of thecopyright holder.For information on Christ University Publications visit www.christuniversity.inReview Committee:ReviewersDr. Kannan S.Dr. Rajesh A.Dr. Ivory LyonsHead of the Department, Media StudiesPadmakumar M MCoordinator(Fr) Biju K ChackoLayout and DesignSai SusmithaEditingNikita ShroffTeam Paper Presentation

Dear Delegates and Participants,We cordially invite you to Media Meet 2016, organisedby the Department of Media Studies, Christ University,Bengaluru. Media Meet, a national level seminar,explores a wide variety of topics every year that revolvearound various themes related to the field of media.The theme for Media Meet 2016 is Cinema with thetopic, “Breaking the 4th wall”. For years now, Cinemahas enriched our imagination with realities andpossibilities; with fantasies and fictions. Today, Cinemahas evolved beyond boundaries that were once thoughtunimaginable.Through cinema, we have reached new levels ofcinematic realms. We’ve perhaps seen it all. But this isprobably what sets it apart from all other media forms– its unpredictability. Cinema has been able totranscend many boundaries and has given people greatmany reasons to believe – in the world, in humanity, instories and in themselves. It has allowed people toexplore their minds by writing, directing and altogethercreating new possibilities. Without cinema, we aredevoid of this ability to watch the magic of a 500 pagehard bound book come to life. Without cinema, we aredevoid of this ability to watch some person’s past finallyfind a screen to express. Without Cinema, we are devoidof this ability to watch all that we have been seeing butnever really looking for.Indeed, Cinema can make you believe again.At this juncture we gratefully place on record our greatappreciation and thanks to all our presenters,participants and organisers.Col Dr Fr Thomas C MathewVice Chancellor

Breaking the 4th Wall ObjectivesEvery year, the Department of Media Studies, With a view to engage in concernsChrist University hosts an annual event, ‘Media related to Cinema, Media Meet 2016Meet’ that explores a variety of themes and offers a platform to students andtopics and is organized by the postgraduate teaching fraternity to present researchstudents of the department. It is a platform that papers on topics and issues related toenables students to network, collaborate and the field.exchange ideas with industry professionals. Theaim of this National Level Seminar is to provide 1. Media Meet 2016 aims to understandstudents with academic and industry exposure Cinema in all its glory and forms. Itthat will shape all their future endeavours. follows the belief that by breaking theSince its birth in the year 2010, Media Meet has fourth wall of cinema, one will have acome a long way. Today, six years since its better understanding of the world.inception, we have explored many niche themesrelated to the media ranging from the Print 2. It also looks at exploring the varietyMedia to the Visual Media. This year, however, of cinematic realities that exist todaywe will tread the waters of “Cinema” with the and how these have helped cinema intopic, “Breaking the 4th wall.” Through it all, the evolving into what we know it as today.participation and excitement towards MediaMeet has been steadily on the rise and has been 3. This national seminar intends toconsistently met with positive feedback from create awareness among thewithin the University and outside. participants and understanding of theMedia Meet has been host to several renowned changing dimensions and nature of theMedia personalities like S P Balasubramanyam, world of cinema.Arnab Goswami, Suhel Seth, Maya Sharma andVeeraraghavan, and the Former Chairman of 4. It also aims at providing students anThe Press Council of India, Justice Markandey opportunity to interact with people inKatju. This year, however, Gautham Menon, the industry and gain from theiracclaimed director, producer and writer of the experience and knowledge.Tamil Film Industry, will be gracing theoccasion as our Chief Guest.With a subject as diverse and intriguing asCinema, the scope of exploration is unlimited. Itis easy to love cinema or even hate it, but youcan never run from it.So, come be a part of Media Meet 2016 andtogether we can break the 4th wall of cinema.Padmakumar M M (HOD)

Table of Contents1. The Future of Television Viewing | Aditya B Rao and Archie Arora 12. Invoking Nationalism and Exploring Truth in the Biopic : A Close reading of 1 Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) | Aghil P Komban 23. Depiction of inherent class hierarchy inherent in 2 2 Kanjivaram silk sarees through the movie “Kanjivaram” | Annie Swetha SA 34. Exorcising Female Rebellion- A Re-reading of the Malayalam 3 4 Film Manichitrathazhu | Anupama Nayar 45. Food as Symbolic Capital in Salt n Pepper and Usthad Hotel | Arya Aiyappan 46. The Performative Widow - Art as a manifestation of a widow's desire 5 5 in 'Parinayam' | Blessy Issac 57. Role of humour in portrayal of social issues in 6 6 Rajkumar Hirani films | Christal Velda Mitzie Ferrao8. Effectiveness of Layer Editing: A case study on the film 7 7 “The Mill and the Cross” | Dileep Raj 89. Digital way to marketing Indian Cinema – A New way of branding Indian Cinema 8 Dinesh Madagaonkar 910. Myth and Vengeance: Retelling of Myth in Sujoy Ghosh’s 9 10 Short Film, Ahalya | Eesha Saini 1011. Manik Raitong: Transmitting from Oral to Film | Etawanda Saiborne 1012. Disempowering the woman in her own movie: Making victim of the hero in 11 11 Angry Indian Goddesses | Fatema Diwan 1213. Abbas Kiarostami -the minimalist filmmaker | Geetha Bakilapadavu 1214. Cinema and Politics: A Study on the Influence of Malayalam Film Personalities on Kerala Assembly Elections 2016 | Irfan Ahmed Nazir15. The Subcontinental Responses to Shakespeare : A Study on Maqbool, Omkara and Haider | Jaincy John16. In pursuit of Identity Liberation, dignity and identity reflections of post modern women through the lead female characters in Aashiq Abu movies | Jeemon Francis and Namitha Lisbath17. Urban Feminine Identity in Bengal : Women Protagonists in Aparna Sen’s Narratives | Jhuma Basak18. The Representation of Dysfunctional Families in Bollywood | Joseph Edward Felix, Archana Thomas, Malavika Anupraj19. Semiotic Analysis of the depiction of Cultural Violence in 21st Century Malayalam Cinema - A case study of the film Palerimanikyam Kolakkesu oru Pathirakolapathakathinte katha | Juby Thomas20. Need for Censorship of TV serials in India | Kaluvoya Anitha21. A Case Study on Portrayal of Women in National Award Winning Hindi Films: PIKU and Tanu Weds Manu Returns | K Divya & Rosemol22. Path for PK: Analysing Religion, God and Identity through the character of PK | Keerthi Sudhakar Vasishta23. Characterisation of Women in Hindi Film Adaptations of Select Shakespearean Tragedies | Kritika Ojha24. Women filmmakers of India and their way of making cinema | Kritika Chowdhury25. Changing trends of dance in Indian Cinemas | Louis Bernard26. Cinema and Law | Manjula RS27. A Study of Adaptation in Grimm's Rapunzel and Disney's Tangled | Miruthulavarshini P28. Portrayal of Race in Disney Films | Mridhula Ravi

29. Neorealism in Indian Cinema | M S Divya Sindhu, Aman Pushp 1330. Offbeat Marketing Strategies for Independent Indian Cinema:A Study with Special Reference to The Movie Court | Nagashree V and Nagapriya V 1331. Women centric movies in Bollywood:Growing trend and popularity | Neha Bhushan 1332. Poetics and Politics of Queer Representation inContemporary Hindi Mainstream Cinema | Nidhi Khatana 1433. The Cine Politics of cashing in on water crises | Padmakumar M M and R Dhanya 1434. Queer Identities: Exploring LGBT Identity in Hindi Cinema | Pushpinder Kaur 1535. Women’s movement in Karnataka and its songs | Praveen Kumar 1536. Defining the ‘New Hero’ of Malayalam Cinema | Preethy Sajan 1637. Simulation and Reality in Matrix Trilogy:Philosophy for a Post-human Condition | Raju M S 1638. Emerging Trends in Funny Videos -A Case Study on a Group in Hyderabad | Raygalla Kalyan Srinivas 1739. From Kitchen to Heart: The Journey of Food as Reflected inThe Lunch Box | Sajitha M A 1740. Piku: facets and frontiers of travel narratives, characterization andthe symbols used | Salona Mishra 1741. The Vamp's Vengeance: An Exploration of the Picaresque Element and Identityof the Prostitute in 'Talaash' and 'Dev D' | Sambhavi Sudhakar 1842. A Study on Freudian and Neo-Freudian aspects in the Star Wars MovieSeries | Samrat Nath 1843. Synecdoche, New York : A Postmodern Analysis | Sangeetha Alwar and Parvathy K 1944. Legal perspective on Copyright and Insurance: A Case Study onFilm and Book | Sanjay P Shenoi 1945. The Politics of Soap Operas | Sarath Krishnan, Anila Mary Thomas and Shijina K V 1946. Censoring the Censor Board: A Legal Perspective of Censorship in IndianCinema | Satyam Rathore 2047. Exploring the various facets of Political Cinema: A conceptual overview | Saurabh Das 2048. The Politics of Biopic in Recent Hindi Cinema | Sayanty Chatterjee 2149. Guru Dutt -The Spark Of The Indian Noir | Simrran Sidhu 2150. Woman Empowerment; a change of mindset and attitude | Sindhu Shantha Nair 2251. Celluloid to Soulmates: A study on the impact of films on the perception ofromantic love among the youth | Shakti Swaminathan 2252. Death of the stardom | Shantharaju S and Vagdevi H S 2353. Kothas and Courtesans of Lucknow: Celluloid Vs Reality A study of the realculture of Kothas and courtesans of Lucknow juxtaposed with their cinematicportrayal in Indian films | Shirin Abbas 2354. The role of Bangalore Film Festival in reflecting on the queer( LGBT) groupin Bangalore | Shivangi Rastogi and Akshika Agarwal 2355. Midway Of Commercially And Socially Responsible Cinema | Shivangi Shrivastava 2456. Projection of Theatre in Cinema - A content analysis | Shrinidhi S 2457. The depth in the usage of Indian dances in Indian cinemas - then and now:a detailed review | S. Marie Stella 2558. “Two Moons” A study of the highly successful collaboration between directorSingeetham Srinivasa Rao and actor Kamal Hassan | Sriraksha V Raghavano 2559. Representation of Women in Malayalam Films | Stenza Augustine 2560. Fame of Infamy: Profiling Popular Villains and Analyzing The GroundsFor Their Popularity | Suchismita Dattagupta 2661. Suspense and Tension in cinema: An analysis of need, technique andeffectiveness | Sundaravel.E and DR. Elangovan 2662. A Collision of Two Worlds: A Postmodern Analysis of EnchantedSurbhi Shand, Dharani Dhavamani and Sherin D’ souza 27

63. Censorship and Freedom of Expression in Indian Movies: A study based onthe two movies ‘Pithavinum Puthranum’ and ‘Unfreedom’ which werebanned in India | Sojimon C C, Asha Oommen and Christy P Benny 2764. Looking Back: Rebooted Franchises and Nostalgia in ContemporaryFilm | Sweekruthi K and Varsha Gowda 2865. Content analysis of Aaaranya Kaandam: A Gangster film | S.Yamunai Selvan 2866. Representation of Catholic Nuns in World Movies- an explorative study on significantfilms | Tessy Jacob 2867. Life and/or Death: Maternal Ambivalence in HorrorMovies | Tissy Mariam Thomas 2968. Silent films to Talkies: Effects on the isolated hearing impairedaudience | T R Ramakrishnan 2969. Indian Expressionism: Traits of German expressionism in Indian cinema | Vijith M 3070. Content Analysis of Dalit portrayal in the Marathi Feature Film'Fandry' | V Loganayagi Abinaya 30



The Future of Television Viewing Aditya B. Rao and Archie Arora Christ University, BengaluruIn United States, twenty years ago, watching the television was a family ritual. Every Thursday, allthe members of a family would sit down together at 08:00 pm and watch The Cosby Show. At itspeak, The Cosby Show was pulling in 30.502 million households per episode. Monday nights weredevoted to a young Will Smith’s antics on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which was pulling in around28 million households per episode. But both these shows, highly popular with the family audiences,were slowly on the decline with the steady rise of buddy comedies like Seinfeld and F.R.I.E.N.D.S.Seinfeld changed the way television was perceived as a medium. Rather than having an ideal WASPcast, which was the case with shows like Cheers, Seinfeld had a predominately Jewish cast, andinstead of jokes being built on an elaborate set up, the humor was born out of the kvetching of theleads. For the series finale, Seinfeld had a record viewing of 38.2 million households. While priorshows had humor the was understood from mountains of Wyoming to the deserts in New Mexico,shows like Seinfeld and F.R.I.E.N.D.S. catered to the yuppie crowd, who either had no family livingwith them or were newly married and had just an infant kid, as well as the youth of the nation,studying in colleges away from their large families, who were predominantly settled in cities likeLos Angeles, New York, Seattle, to name a few. This in turn, gradually brought about a change inthe target audience of popular television, as well as the way in which television by itself wasviewed.Keywords: family, households, television, episodes, audience Invoking Nationalism and Exploring Truth in the Biopic : A Close reading of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) Aghil P Komban Christ University, BengaluruBiopics have been catching up quite fast in recent Indian cinema. Its presence almost alwaysattempts to revitalize the nationalistic vigor of the present population by invoking the charactersof our country’s successful personalities. However, it is interesting to note that the mere portrayalof life events is not enough to stir the nationalism in the viewers; the film-maker has to resort toother means as well, in order to achieve his or her successful rendering of the movie experience.This paper attempts at a close reading of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013)by studying the Hindu-Sikh imageries as well as the Indo-Pak relations that seems to havedeveloped a sense of proposed masculinity and nationalism in the audience. The paper would alsobriefly discuss the element of truth in biopics and the artistic license that the filmmaker(s) canindulge in the portrayal of supposedly true events; especially in the context of using the earliermentioned means to narrate the story.Keywords: Nationalism, Hindu-Sikh Imageries, Indo-Pak relations, Biopic 1

Depiction of inherent class hierarchy inherent in Kanjivaram silk sarees through the movie “Kanjivaram” Annie Swetha SA Christ University, BengaluruKanjivaram sarees are commonly known for their artistic beauty and aesthetic appeal. The presentpaper views the art form in the sarees of Kanjivaram, a medium for the propagation of classhierarchy as portrayed in the Tamil movie Kanjivaram. Based on the movie the study focuses onthe interconnections between class and clothing with regard to certain fabrics (silk). The studytraces how the fabric silk continues to a symbol of eminence and royalty among Indians. Secondly,the paper discusses the movie through the theories of Marxist aesthetic which give importance tothe creator and not to the creation. This idea is applied to critique the minimum wages receivedby the weaving community as shown in the movie. Using the ideas of Fashion theorist likePolhemus, Procotor and Bourdieu the paper examines how individual taste in clothing is also aproduct of class. The paper, using quantitative method attempts to analyse the poverty ridden lifeof the weaver community as depicted in the movie. The study focuses on how the art form catersonly to the ‘wealthy elites’. Lastly, the study emphasises on the social relevance of the movie‘Kanjivaram’ as it identifies the class structure operant in Indian society in terms of clothing. Thescope of the paper is limited to the movie ‘Kanjivaram’. Exorcising Female Rebellion- A Re-reading of the Malayalam Film Manichitrathazhu Anupama Nayar Christ University, BengaluruThis paper will contest the conventional reading of the immensely popular Malayalam hit filmreleased in 1993, Manichitrathazhu- which was also remade in other south Indian and Indianlanguages notable among them being Chandramukhi starring actor Rajnikanth in the lead- as apsychological thriller. The paper will argue that the film is a representation of deep seated anxietyof a prominent community in Kerala- the Nairs - stemming from different colonial and imperialrelations in the nineteenth century which had impacted the way this particular culture viewedthemselves and the complex layers of oppression that exist within this society. Using PostcolonialFeminist theory as a tool to re-read the film, the paper will attempt to establish that what isactually exorcised out from the protagonist Ganga is not the ghost of Nagavalli, the Tamil dancerbut the raising rebellion of a modern Malayalee female ‘Self’ who craves for liberation from variousoppressive mechanisms symbolised by the ‘Manichtratahzu”, the beautiful lock. The exorcizing isa result of the fear of the existing patriarchal order of the possible restoration of the old socialorder of the Nair community, the matriarchal system.Keywords: Cultural Studies, Manichitratazhu, Postcolonial Feminist theories, Nairs of Kerala Food as Symbolic Capital in Salt n Pepper and Usthad Hotel Arya Aiyappan Christ University, BengaluruMalayalam films Salt n Pepper (2011) and Usthad Hotel (2012) churned out a new recipe for successat the box office – ‘food’. Savoury and sweet dishes in the Kerala menu became mesmerizing imagesonscreen, hitherto left unnoticed in the background. Food in these films not only transcends therole of an edible, it also becomes characters to reckon with moving beyond the ethnic associationswith several dishes to forge an audio-visual aesthetics that are purely associated with our 2

experience of food and the filmic representation itself. Food impacts relationships, emotions andpersonal growth of the characters in the films. The paper is an attempt to explore how food craftsnew visual aesthetics for the viewing public and affects change in the way we make associationswith food. Semiotic analysis together with Jane Ferry’s socio-cultural perspective of food asdefining the varied ‘landscapes of power’ will form the overarching framework for the paper.Mapping of the food metaphors onto different emotional domains associated with humantemperament in films by Zahra Khajeh, Imran Ho-Abdullah and Tan Kim Hua connect our culinaryand eating practices to the realm of ‘experiential realism’. Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) byLake-off and Johnson further support the various connecting links between food and humanemotional states. Food in Usthad Hotel and Salt n Pepper become apt metaphors that cash oncuisine as a symbolic capital connecting taste to notions of goodness, badness and so on.Keywords: Malayalam films, Ethnic Associations, Experiential realism, Emotional Domains, SemioticsThe Performative Widow – Art as a manifestation of a widow’s desire in Parinayam Blessy Issac Christ PU College, BengaluruWidowhood as a harsh reality of Indian society very often occupies an important place in Indiancinema. These films play a very important role in communicating a critical message to the society;be it cultural, political or social. There are a number of movies that deal with widowhood. However,movies that depicts art as an extension of a widow’s desire is left to the imagination of writers. Theplight of widows and their inner desires are explicitly portrayed in the Malayalam film that isdiscussed in this paper. Parinayam, a 1994 Malayalam cinema, directed by Hariharan consciouslytraces the life of Kuriyeddathu Thaathri through the widow protagonist, Unnimaya, of the film.One could probably find a sense of individuality and consciousness emerging with the Thaatrinarrative. Art becomes the front stage for the widowed figure in ‘Parinayam’. It is thismanifestation of a widow’s desires in art that this paper would like to explore. For this purpose,the paper would study the similarities of desires in Unnimaya and Thaatri, as assessed through theshort-stories of Lalithambika Antharjanam. Also, the paper would look at how Thaatri becomes aninspiration for Unnimaya to assert her will in the patriarchal milieu. In short, the paper willexplore the portrayal of art as an extension of a Namboodiri widow’s desires through the movie‘Parinayam’Keywords: Widow, Malayalam Cinema, Literature, Art and desire Role of humour in portrayal of social issues in Rajkumar Hirani films Christal Velda Mitzie Ferrao Christ University, BengaluruThis study investigates the role of humour in portrayal of social issues in Rajkumar Hirani’s filmssince he is one such director who has been able to combine humour, social issues and his passionfor filmmaking and has given audiences many great films in the recent past. This paper examinesthe portrayal of social issues in these films through humour. The role of humour was examinedthrough certain psychosocial parameters, which include the theories of humour based on relief,incongruity and superiority, studies on memory and positive psychology and humour as a way toinitiate a non-violent protest and trigger aggression. The paper drew the conclusion that humourcan provide relief and make people think about and analyse the portrayed social issues throughincongruity in these films.Keywords: Psychosocial parameters, Humor, Filmmaking, Aggression. 3

Effectiveness of Layer Editing: A case study on the film “The Mill and the Cross” Dileep Raj Amrita School of Communication, CoimbatoreFilm is an important art form, a source of entertainment and a powerful medium that can educateand inform a mass audience. Video editing is an important process in the post-production stagesof filmmaking. Contemporary films uses non-linear editing, which is a computer based editingtechnique that uses software interface and supports editing in layers that would help to createvisual effects and provide a new interpretation to the scenes. This paper aims at understandinghow multi-layer editing technique is effectively used in Lech Majewski's film The Mill and the Crossand to explore the level of acceptance among broadcast and film editors. Auteur theory andFormalist theory is employed to analyse the content. The researcher has used content analysismethod for the study.Keywords: visual effects, contemporary films, editing Digital way to marketing Indian Cinema – A New way of branding Indian Cinema Dinesh Madagaonkar Mass Communication and Journalism, Karnataka UniversityThere was a time when cinema was marketed by only posters and road announcements. Now theentire segment of cinema marketing is reaching its pinnacle. The new world of Digital marketingis taking prominent position in marketing budget. This paper gives an idea about new trends inIndian Cinema marketing with present examples. The whole paper will discuss new digital trendsof Indian cinema marketing with the examples of recent blockbuster movies and justify the newtrends of marketing. The paper focuses on how Indian movie viewership as well as business isgrowing, and also how digital gadgets are giving movie marketing a new face.Keywords: Cinema, Digital Marketing, Branding Myth and Vengeance: Retelling of Myth in Sujoy Ghosh’s Short Film, Ahalya Eesha Saini Christ University, BengaluruIn Hindu mythology, Ahalya, also known as Ahilya, was the wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi.According to The Bala Kanda of the Ramayana, she was seduced by Indra (the king of gods), cursedby her husband for infidelity, and was converted into stone and liberated from the curse by Rama(an avatar of the god Vishnu). The story has many adaptations in various versions of Ramayana. In2015, Sujoy Gosh made a short film in Bengali, based on the myth of Ahalya. The purpose of thestudy is to examine the retelling of the myth in Ghosh’s film as compared to the original versionin the Ramayana. The short film is a modern adaption of this mythological story and in the film.The short film observes role reversal in its retelling. The presentation will look into this retellingof the myth and how it becomes a story of vengeance as per the original tale and how there is arole reversal between the characters. The power-point presentation will explain these points onthe basis of-Symbols, character roles and role reversal, apparels and dialogues.Keywords: Mythology, Ahalya, Rama 4

Manik Raitong: Transmitting from Oral to Film• Etawanda Saiborne St.Anthony's College, ShillongU Manik Raitong is one of the best known and perhaps the most popular folk legend in oral andliterary narratives of the Khasi people of Meghalaya. His 1984 full length colour feature film ManikRaitong was a watershed event in the history of film-making because it was the first Khasi languagefeature film to attain commercial success. This paper titled Manik Raitong: Transmitting from Oralto Film attempts to dichotomize the story of U Manik Raitong when examined against the criteriathat define legends, investigate its historical context and impinge upon the problems of a filmicadaptation of a largely oral narrative. The method of study was both descriptive and analytical innature. Both primary and secondary data were collected for the study. The primary data weregathered from empirical situations. Unstructured interview in the form of interview guide andpersonal interviews were collected from the concerned people. By identifying the characteristicsof a legend, the study finds that the story of U Manik Raitong can be classified as a legend. Despitethe fact that adapting a literary or oral work may seem easy and spontaneous, the ground realitiesare to the contrary. This paper identifies some of the key problems involved in adaptation of oralnarratives into film.Keywords: film-making, history of cinema, narrative Disempowering the woman in her own movie: Making victim of the hero in Angry Indian Goddesses Fatema Diwan Christ University, BengaluruAngry Indian Goddesses released in 2015 is dubbed as “India’s first female buddy movie with afresh, realistic portrait of women in India today.” Directed by Pan Nalin, the movie takes you on abuddy journey with six different women and ends with rape and revenge. According to thedirector, the film aims at replacing the male from the center with fresh female characters. Thepaper aims at using Lalitha Gopalan’s “avenging women” genre and her ideas on the rape-revengenarrative in Indian Cinema along with E.Ann Kaplan’s idea of the masculine gaze to show how themovie in fact, disempowers the female rather than giving her a voice. Through textual analysis, itwill look at how even though the director puts women characters at the center of the movie, hesubdues the feminine voice though stereotyped characterisation, aggression, an absent presenceof the male and the inclusion of rape and revenge. Therefore, the movie weakens the female,putting her back into the victim position rather than giving her an empowered voice.Keywords: God, India, female Abbas Kiarostami -the minimalist filmmaker Geetha Bakilapadavu BITS Pilani, GoaMinimalism- simply defined as ‘less is more’- is an experimental movement in cinema that hasbecome a signature style of filmmakers like Kiarostami. While one identifies minimalism asbasically stripping something down to its bare essentials, how artists have used it as an aestheticmovement in general and its practice specifically in film making are interesting areas to explore.It is hard to find an authoritative and comprehensive study that points out the distinguishingfeatures of a minimalist film. In my engagement with cinema I have found answering the followingquestions difficult: i. what are the defining features of minimalist cinema? and ii. How minimalism 5

can be achieved in a medium like cinema that exists only by a combination of elements borrowedfrom various art forms. In other words, cinema by its very nature, can easily fall prey to excesses.In the absence of these, it is an arduous task to go through individual film directors and identifyminimalist tendencies in each. One look at the films of directors like Bresson, Michael Snow, BelaTarr, Andrei Tarkovsky and Kiarostami convinces us that they deliberately strip down the film’snarrative and reveal only what is essential. However, all of them have their own distinctive styleof achieving it. In this paper I will first discuss the defining features of minimalist cinema and thenfocus on the minimalist tendencies like long takes, lingering shots, minimal sound track, almostbare settings as applied in Kiarostami’s Koker trilogy.Keywords: Kiarostami, Cinema, Lingering shots Cinema and Politics: A Study on the Influence of Malayalam Film Personalities on Kerala Assembly Elections 2016 Irfan Ahmed Nazir Christ University, BengaluruUnlike other Southern States in India, the voters in Kerala have usually let down the candidatureof iconic figures from the film industry during various elections in the state. Except for notabledirector Ramu Kariat's victory in Kerala Assembly polls in 1965, there were no instances of a filmpersonality winning an election in Kerala. Breaking this trend, prominent film actor Innocent wonwith a stumping majority from Chalakudy constituency against the Congress Stalwart P C Chackoin the Parliament Elections of 2014. The three major political alliances in Kerala are now fieldingfilm icons as their candidates in various constituencies in the most crucial Kerala AssemblyElections which is to be held in May, 2016, to repeat what happened in Chalakudy ParliamentaryConstituency. Cinema and Politics: A Study on the Influence of Malayalam Film Personalities on‘Kerala Assembly Elections 2016’ is an ongoing research work on how the voters in Kerala will reactto candidature of individuals from the Malayalam film industry in the Kerala Assembly Elections2016 fielded by the various political parties. This research will study the root causes for thisemerging trend in Kerala politics and also give a deep insight into the historical background of filmpersonalities in Kerala politics in comparison to other South Indian States.Keywords: Cinema, Parliament, Politics, Malayalam films The Subcontinental Responses to Shakespeare : A Study on Maqbool, Omkara and Haider Jaincy John Saint Berchmans College, KottayamThe process of adaptation and appropriation of Shakespearean plays, in Indian cinema has a longhistory. The diverse worlds within each Shakespearean drama were explored by the similarlydiverse patterns peculiar to Bollywood. Vishal Bhardwaj is the latest and most acclaimed one inthe list of those movie makers inspired by the Bard. This paper attempts to examine howBhardwaj's brilliant adaptations Maqbool/Macbeth (2004), Omkara/Othello(2006), andHaider/Hamlet(2014) survive and surpass the unquestionable authority of the great playwright'soeuvre. The paper is a deep study on the three movies using the theoretical aid of Film Criticismand it explores the beauty of Bhardwaj's adaptation in connection with the many cultural andpolitical elements. Omkara, for example, is set in the background of North Indian local politics andthe character of Langda Tyagi ( Iago, in Othello) can be treated as an icon of coarse subcontinentalrealities. Maqbool, with its elements of Gangster Films and Film Noir also provides an Indianalternative to the damnable history of Macbeth, highlighting the dark underworld life of Mumbai. 6

Haider, in its amazing transformation of philosophical speculations and personal conflicts intopolitical ideology and crisis, in a way assumes that the real Hamlet of the film is Kashmir itself.Thus, Bhardwaj's Shakespearean trilogies transmute and transform the three great tragedies,weave them seamlessly to the Indian realities and make them the contemporary Indian responsesto Shakespeare.Keywords: Adaptation, Shakespeare, moviemakers, film, criticism, political ideology, contemporary, Indian In pursuit of Identity Liberation, dignity and identity reflections of post modern women through the lead female characters in Aashiq Abu movies Jeemon Francis and Namitha Lisbath Don Bosco Arts and Science college, AngadikadavueIn most Indian movies, commonly patriarchal, femininity was acknowledged as a decorative layerin which the female characters conceal their identity till the end of the movie or were consideredas a sentimental regret. There are films that broke the conventional fetishized representation offemales by depicting them as the protagonist, and also with multiple female voices and viewpoints.These films deconstructed the widely accepted figurations and symbolizations of women in thefilms and the society. But the movies that are of post modern era with progressive concepts,scientific knowledge, emancipation of various kinds and variety of representations reflectingoneself and the world have tried to do away with the boundaries of man - woman, East - West , gay- straight and so on. Following the new trend, Aashiq Abu, a leading director in Malayalam filmindustry, while dismantling these boundaries, tries to look at the female body in search of thepossibility of instituting a different discourse on femininity. Aashiq Abu films mould characterswith independent woman oriented thoughts, keeping away the slightest touch of feminism.Through discourse and analysis this paper addresses how the Ashique Abu movies - 'Salt nPepper'(2011), '22 Female Kottayam' (2012) and 'Rani Padmini' (2015)- differ from other moviesthat attempt to break the personal and social boundaries of women. His characters are those whoquestion the male chauvinistic behaviour, who thereby get into an identity crisis and ultimatelyform a respectful identity. Abu films reaffirm the concept that a woman's true job is that of beinga woman.Keywords: Character, Woman, Femininity Urban Feminine Identity in Bengal : Women Protagonists in Aparna Sen’s Narratives Jhuma Basak NHSM, KolkataThis paper will be discussing three of Aparna Sen’s films, namely (i) Paroma – ‘The UltimateWoman’, 1984, (ii) Yugant , - ‘What the Sea Said’, 1995, and (iii) Paromitar Ek Din – ‘House ofMemories’, 2000, - all dealing with urban women in different locations of their lives in Bengalsearching for their subjective independent identity. The city operates at the subliminal level of thefilms that upholds the conflictual territory between the ‘private’ and the ‘public’ domain of awoman’s traversing threshold. The contention is equally visible at the external level, as well as itworks surreptitiously at the intra-psychic level of the women protagonists. Further, the paperattempts to study the play of sexuality in all the three women protagonists in the films, and how itoperates within their familial boundaries, their significant relationships – their complementing-role in relationships as well as their redefining-role in family and the macro-world. The nuances 7

of sexuality working at reinventing the woman’s domestic grounds as well as its response to thesubject’s internal confidence/conflicts vis-à-vis their external journey. In this to-and-fromovement, the interplay of the feminine semiotic and the masculine symbolic maybe noticeableas discussed by Kristeva, 1991. In other words, the woman’s search for her freedom to cross herthreshold into the world that found reflection in Tagore’s ‘Home and the World’ (though against adifferent background of ‘swadeshi’ Bengal) continues its quest even in contemporary narratives ofwomen’s trajectory.Keywords: Urban feminine identity, Bengali films, masculine The Representation of Dysfunctional Families in Bollywood Joseph Edward Felix, Archana Thomas and Malavika Anupraj Christ University, BengaluruThe word ‘dysfunctional’ according to the British Dictionary means a breakdown of normal orbeneficial relationships between members of a group’. Indian Cinema has been no exception andhas over decades projected in its frames archetypal narratives of discord in families; which is anexisting reality. As a constant source of depicting ‘reality’ on the silver screen it has depicted thefamily; the nucleus of a society; as closely as possible in most endeavors. These endeavors haveconstantly proven crowd pullers for decades. In recent times these narratives seem to havechanged and have become more realistic in terms of storyline and more mature in treatment. Thisis evident in very recent with films like, ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ and ‘Kapoor & Sons’ being dishedout to the audiences. This poster intends to focus on the major concerns which are the causes of‘breakdown’ in the family in the mentioned films. It also intends to analyze how close to reality thedepictions in these films are.Keywords: Dysfunctional , Family, Films, Reality, Bollywood. Semiotic Analysis of the depiction of Cultural Violence in 21st Century Malayalam Cinema - A case study of the film Palerimanikyam Kolakkesu oru Pathirakolapathakathinte katha Juby Thomas Kristu Jayanti College, BengaluruThe history of films is also the history of violent films. Because violence has been an essential partof it right from the beginning of films. The stories that illustrate the life of humanity cannot betold without the depiction of violence. The wars, clashes, miseries, oppressions, and the bloodshedseverything together comprises the history of humanity and films told us these stories. So violencehas become an integral part of every films as its has many aspects and facets of expressions.Palerimanikyam Kolakkesu oru pathirakolapathakathinte katha is a Malayalam film which wasreleased in 2002, and was directed by Ranjith. The film has employed lots of signs and symbols toexpress different forms of violence. It is a significant study because here the researcher is analyzingthe cultural violence, a form of violence through which one culture exercises power anddominance over another culture. Violence in this film consists of actions, words, attitudes,structures or systems that cause physical, psychological, social or environmental damage andprevent people from reaching their full human potential. semiotic analysis is selected as the toolto analyze the content. Hence, the scope of the study is relevant and review of literature showsthat there is relatively less research done on this film. Hence the study tries to explore how 8

semiotics of violence has been used as an important element in the film, how different themes havebeen portrayed and how various elements have supported these themes.Key words: Cultural violence, 21st Century Malayalam films, semiotics, Palarimanikyam, violence in films Need for Censorship of TV serials in India Kaluvoya Anitha St.Francis College for Women, HyderabadTelevision, one of the powerful means of communication, can influence large number of audienceswith its variety of programmes. Since its evolution in India in 1959, its popularity is growingtremendously every decade. Today, television channel owners look for more crazy andentertaining programmes for their audiences to stay in market and to make huge profits. But thisideology is raising concerns, because the negative influence of television is also growing along withthe industry every year. In the present paper, the researcher has done a study on the content ofsome of the selected. Telugu soap operas from the two Telugu states and also conducted a surveyon the impact of such content on viewers. In-depth interviews of the directors of these serials havealso been taken as part of the study to find out what makes them choose such content. The studyrevealed that the content of the soap operas is mostly objectionable and provocative in nature andcan damage the strong Indian cultural value system if not monitored and curtailed at the righttime. The study justifies the need to have censorship for television programmes, as everyindividual may not have the same capacity to control their emotions and feelings, on viewingobjectionable content. Audiences who are not realizing the damage happening to them and to theirfamilies by watching such content and making their kids watch them can become future sufferers.Key Words: Television, Serials, Ratings, Censorship, Audiences, Telugu Soap operas.A Case Study on Portrayal of Women in National Award Winning Hindi Films: PIKU and Tanu Weds Manu Returns K Divya & Rosemol Kristu Jayanti College, BengaluruThe portrayal of women in films is most debated and discussed topic in India. The manner, in whichthe women are portrayed, reflects the plight of women in the society. Bollywood film has beensuccessful in portraying Indian women of different shades in a society dominated by patriarchalvalues. As societies got into the world of modernization, the role of women has been changeddrastically. Hence the present study focuses on the how the women are portrayed in 2015 femalecentric national award winning films PIKU and Tanu weds Manu returns and attempts to explorethe identity and roles of female protagonist in the socio cultural structure in which they areexisting. The study revealed that the film's’ lead characters are representatives of unified families.Moreover, these protagonists’ perspectives on freedom are related to their socio culturalupbringing, migration and influences of metropolitan cultures. Furthermore, the study attemptsto highlights the changes of representation of women in the present day Bollywood films by usingqualitative research methodology.Keywords: Portrayal of women, Bollywood film, Identity, social culture 9

Path for PK: Analysing Religion, God and Identity through the character of PK Keerthi Sudhakar Vasishta Christ University, BengaluruFilms can have a tremendous impact on the viewing audience. Sensitive subjects like religion andidentity are often subjects that have to be treated with utmost care. The medium of cinema is oftendoubly careful when handling these issues in a market like India. A recent film which exploredboth ideas mentioned above, that is- religion and identity was Rajkumar Hirani’s PK (2014). Thefilm explores these ideas in the context of India through the eyes of an alien. This paper seeks toexplore the usage of the Alien character PK as a symbolic device for issues the film touches uponincluding God, religion, spiritual discovery and identity. The paper will analyse the character of PKspecifically along with the film in a primarily symptomatic plane and persevere to create anunderstanding of the character of PK. In taking this method to research is to attempt and establishthe social connect the film attempted. The dichotomy of identity and identity politics especially incontext of religion in India and a search for ‘Indianess’ is an area of focus with references fromnumerous research material to take for instance a paper Performing Terror, Mediating Religion:Indian Cinema and the Politics of National Belonging from the University of British Colombiaamong others an essay by Shyam Benegal- Secularism in Indian Cinema and a paper by Saba andNazia Hussien- Interrogating Practices of Gender, Religion and Nationalism in the Representationof Muslim Women in Bollywood: Contexts of Change, Sites of Continuity.Keywords: religion, identity, character, PK Characterisation of Women in Hindi Film Adaptations of Select Shakespearean Tragedies Kritika Ojha Christ University, BengaluruFilms are considered cultural carriers. They carry with them the ideas and perceptions that thenation it belongs to, propagates. Just as films propagate the ideas, the role women play in thesefilms holds major importance. Their relationships with each other and with the men around themconvey the dynamics of the genders. Shakespeare’s way of capturing these complexities has stoodthe test of time, which is why his plays have been adapted time and again in different culturalsetups and it very well fits and shapes itself according to the context is placed in. The maleprotagonists have been researched over time and again, but not much has been said about how thewomen in their lives influenced and manipulated the aura and stand of these men. Shakespearecaptured the way a woman brings the twist about in a man’s way of thinking and acting. Hiswoman’s wish is his command, which these films capture in a very subtle yet established manner.Maqbool, Omkara and Haider have been moulded into the setup of underworld, politics andmilitancy vs military in the Indian context. In these scenarios, the status of the women gets directlyderived by the men they associate with, on which my paper will be presented. The aspects of caste,religion and relationships will be looked into in this presentation.Keywords: Shakespeare, characterization, hindi film, Women filmmakers of India and their way of making cinema Kritika Chowdhury Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University, Uttar PradeshWomen are getting involved in the process of filmmaking more than ever before. Women directorsare taking over the industry by storm, giving us some of the most memorable films in the past 10

decade. The Hindi film industry has seen a lot of female filmmakers who have challenged theotherwise male dominated industry. The first aim of the paper is to explore the various facets ofpolitical cinema through the framework of ‘Social Inquiry’. Social Inquiry is a part of Social Studiesand through the probing questions it puts emphasis on understanding the manifestations ofvarious knowledge and concepts (Wood, 2013). This paper tries to understand how somefilmmakers, writers and academicians in the context of current economic and political milieu havefathomed the concept of political cinema. Anusha Rizvi’s appearance on the film scene in 2010 withthe satirical Peepli Live, which boldly dealt with the subject of farmer suicides in India also pointstowards the shift in the industry. Deepa Mehta’s film Water also set off a wave of protests in SriLanka which conflicted with filming, but the film was later nominated for an Oscar. They arechallenging the rules of the Bollywood Boys’ Club, and making some excellent cinema too. In anindustry where stars come first and directors come later, it’s great to see these women boldlystanding out and making their mark. This paper will explore the difference in the process offilmmaking by the male and female directors. It will also throw light on how female filmmakersare changing the face of Indian film industry.Keywords: Women, Bollywood, Cinema, Filmmaking Changing trends of dance in Indian Cinemas Louis Bernard Christ University, BengaluruThe Indian cinema Industry has evolved with time and so has the element of dance along with it.Dance has been an integral part of Indian cinema and with changing trends, the facelift of dancehas moved to a whole new level. The dances we see today are an evolved form, based on thewesternization of the industry and also with regard to the needs of the audience. Looking back ata century of progression from what cinema was back in time, to what it has got to, would probablythrow some light on how dance has been evolving with time, be it the influence of thechoreographers, audience, actors of the movie, the era of the movie or the theme of the movie.Conducting a content analysis by viewing some of the famous movies of the time, would helpanalyze the styles of dance or what were the factors that played a vital role to change the trendsof dancing on the big screen. The research does show that dance has been evolving in the Indiancinemas over time, based on the choreographers, the ability of the actors to dance, the theme ofthe movie, the need of the audience and the widely prominent dance style in trend.Keywords: Dance Style, Indian Cinemas, Westernization, Cinema Industry. Cinema and Law Manjula RS Christ University, BengaluruCinema acts as a powerful media influencing the society. The paper throws light on cinema andlaw discourse as both the themes come from a common social domain- ‘culture’. The interplaybetween the two forces can be understood as learning laws through cinema and cinema throughlaw. More importantly, both supplement and compliment each other and helps in the betterforming and maintaining of society’s ‘framework narratives’. By extrapolation of the mutual forcesbetween them, certain ethical questions are carved out. Is it possible to think about law as a cinemaand cinema as law? What are the limits to which both the forces interact/counteract and what aretheir potentials? Thus, numerous issues revolve around the twin subject of cinema and law. Yet,the limits of free speech and expression and such other legal restraints have not confined theexistence of cinema. Nor has the criticisms in cinema about law constrained its ambit. Thus, manyjurisprudential arguments affecting the society such as women’s right to abort, or the acceptability 11

of the death penalty etc. are conveyed best in cinemas. Thus, cinema has grown wider than a realmof entertainment and in enriching the discipline of law.Keywords: Cinema, Law, entertainment A Study of Adaptation in Grimm's Rapunzel and Disney's Tangled Miruthulavarshini P Christ University, BengaluruThis research is an attempt to compare the fairy tale Rapunzel and the movie Tangled to vindicatethe fact that Disney did not lose the fairy tale elements even after making changes from the fairytale Rapunzel to the film Tangled. This research shows that Disney’s alteration of the story is notbad and is still liked by everyone. Other researchers have answered the research question but theyhave used other examples to prove it like Cinderella and The little mermaid. The research questionis tackled by producing evidence from the Grimm’s Rapunzel and Disney’s Tangled. This researchis to compare two varied versions of the same fairy tales to discover possible similarities as well asdifferences between them. The Researcher also tries to throw light on the character Rapunzel whothrough Disney adaptation has transformed into an emancipated being from a passive girl, thesetexts also represent the social context. Disney has mostly adapted fairy tales written by Grimm.Even though Disney stands in the first place in the field of animated movie production, many criticsobjected to Disney’s film, because of the way the fairy tales have been adapted. Both the scholarsand public criticized the Disney’s way of adaptation in its movies. They say Disney has shown scantrespect for the integrity of the original creations of the author. They look down upon Disney’s ideaof adaptation and also say it has lost its fairy tale elements. This research will attempt to show thatby changing the original text Disney is trying to bring out essential attributes of the fairy tale tothe twenty-first century children without losing its fairy tale characteristics. This research opensup further possibilities of research in the field of racism and gender discrimination in Disney filmadaptations.Keywords: Disney, adaptation, rapunzel, tangled Portrayal of Race in Disney Films Mridhula Ravi Christ University, BengaluruDisney Animation Studios have produced films from 1930’s and it is the largest and most popularcompany in the field of animation. However, over the years it has gained a lot of criticism forincorrect portrayal of race and lack of racial diversity. This study aims to examine the portrayal ofrace in four Disney movies – Aladdin, Mulan, Pocohontas and The Princess and the Frog – usingcontent analysis. This research will look into how different ethnic communities have beenrepresented and racial stereotypes against each community with examples from the films. Thefindings suggested that Disney has taken a more positive approach to depicting race from anegative light from the 1990’s to the 2000’s.Keywords: Disney, Animation, Movies 12

Neorealism in Indian Cinema M.S.Divya Sindhu, Aman Pushp Christ University, BengaluruNeorealism is a new wave in the cinema industry which tries to capture the real life situation inthe society. This era started in Italy post the World War II when the socio-economic frameworkwas shattered and disrupted. Even countries like India and France followed suit to express theirfeelings of independence, hunger, poverty and so on. So we try to trace the growth of Neorealismin Indian Cinema through an analysis of background factors for origin, themes, character typology,its downfall and its current state in the film industry, commonalities with the French New Wave(Nouvelle Vague) and Italian Neorealism. Attempts have been made by researchers to studyneorealism in Italy and France but less is written about India’s neorealism or the common threadsrunning among the three. Thus, we have tried to understand Indian Neorealism in depth and havemade an attempt to analyze its connection with its counterparts (Italy and France).Keywords: Neorealism, Character typology, New wave, Indian cinema Offbeat Marketing Strategies for Independent Indian Cinema: A Study with Special Reference to The Movie Court Nagashree V and Nagapriya V Christ University, BengaluruUnfazed by the glitz and glamour of the commercial Bollywood, the Independent Indian moviemakers have produced some path breaking cinema recently which have won them accolades invarious international film festivals. Restricted by the budget, the independent filmmakers usuallytry to come up with innovative strategies to promote their masterpiece to the audience. The bestexample of out-of-the-box marketing with limited budget is the critically acclaimed Marathi movie‘Court’. This paper shows the usual marketing strategies adopted by Indie filmmakers and analysesthe unique successful marketing strategy of the ‘Court’. The paper also tries to explore other suchmarketing strategies for Independent filmmakers to help their content reach the targetedaudience.Keywords: Film Festivals, Bollywood, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter Women centric movies in Bollywood: Growing trend and popularity Neha Bhushan Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University, Uttar PradeshIn Indian films, the heroine has always been secondary to that of the hero. Her role was chartedout in context to the male character central to the script. The woman of substance was missingfrom such portrayals. Of late, filmmakers have reacted against the stereotypes set by mainstreamcinema and have dared to explore subjects from the perspective of women. Films like Kahaani(2012), Queen (2014), Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015), Neerja (2016) etc portrayed women as themain protagonist, central to the storyline. Camera’s focus shifted from the woman’s body to herstrong identity as an individual. Content and popularity of women centric Bollywood movies aredealt here. Emphasis is on the representation of women in Bollywood as independent, empoweredand in a lead role without any male protagonist. The paper reviews the women Centric Bollywoodmovies made from 2012 to 2016 to analyze and evaluate the growing trend of this theme in thesefive years. It also discusses the inclination of a new era of filmmakers in portraying women as main 13

protagonists facing and dealing with challenges in a patriarchal society and acceptance of suchthemes by the audience. Some very popular women centric films emerged in 2012 which increasedthe inclination of filmmakers towards this theme but 2013 was a lean year as there were no suchprominent that year. 2014 was the beginning of the era of women centric films which saw filmssuch as Highway, Mardaani, and Mary Kom.Keywords: Bollywood, Patriarchal society, Protagonist, Stereotypes, Women Centric Poetics and Politics of Queer Representation in Contemporary Hindi Mainstream Cinema Nidhi Khatana Christ University, BengaluruThe present paper is an attempt to bring out the poetics and politics of representing the theme ofhomosexuality in contemporary popular cinema in Hindi, commonly known as Bollywood. Thoughit has a long history of marginalizing and portraying homosexuals as caricatures, Bollywood hastaken a more serious and sensitive approach towards this subject in recent times. Hindi featuresfilms like Aligarh (2016), Dear Dad (2016), Angry Indian Goddesses (2015), Double Standard (2015),Margarita, With a Straw (2014), Ajeeb Daastan hai yeh (2013), Just Another Lover Story (2010),Dunno Y Na Jane Kyun (2010), Honeymoon Travels (2007), AIDS: My Brother Nikhil (2005),destabilize the essentialized ideology of heteronormativity and produce intense discourse onalternative sexuality. As previous studies focus on the presence of queer subtexts in popularcanonical films and the prejudice of Bollywood for stereotyping the queer community, the presentpaper through the study of three films taken critically examines the complex issues of alternativedesire, double consciousness, and space struggles with regards to homosexuals in contemporaryIndian society. This work analyzes how such cinematic representations challenge the hegemonicideological stereotyping of gender and sexuality and thus become the empowering site forproducing and reclaiming identity and space for homosexuals. However, these representations atthe same time also become questionable for their lopsided emphasis only on a particular class ofsociety. The present study has used the theoretical framework of Queer theory with specificreference to Judith Butler, Adrienne Rich, and Eve Sedgwick among others for an in-depth contentanalysis of the selected films to explore the power relations, social evaluations, and institutionalbiases that underlie the marginalization of homosexuals in society.Key Words: Queer, Gender, Homosexuality, Identity, Hindi Cinema The Cine Politics of cashing in on water crises Padmakumar M M and R Dhanya Christ University, BengaluruKaththi, the biggest hit of 2014 in Tamil Cinema, is a fit case for studying cine politics. With thedirection of renowned A R Murugadoss and star actor Vijay in the lead, Kaththi did soar in thepopularity charts. However, the film was in the news for a host of other reasons as well. Right fromthe production team to the script, the film was mired in controversy. While a lot has been writtenabout - 1. Lyca Productions having been allegedly in close association with former President of SriLanka Mahela Rajapaksha and therefore, by extension the funding for the film coming from ananti-tamil source, 2. the script having been allegedly stolen by director Murugadoss from one ofhis former assistants Gopi – the disputations the film was caught up in, less attention has beendevoted to a cultural analysis of the film's core conflict. This paper hopes to unpack the politicaleconomy of Kaththi, with specific reference to the central concern of the plot, i.e., water crisis.India is a land with plentiful and diverse water woes, ranging from vagaries of the monsoon, to 14

water-intensive agricultural practices in water scarce areas, to unregulated exploitation ofaquifers, to unpredictable floods and droughts, to construction of big dams, to commodificationand privatisation of water; to water pollution, to water-borne diseases. Farmer suicides, theKarnataka-Tamil Nadu water sharing row, the Plachimada case against Coca Cola, the Marathwadacrisis, etc. are a few recent examples of how water has been at the heart of many a socio-politicalentanglement. As more and more water-centered problems are realised, awareness about virtualwater, water footprint, rainwater harvesting etc, are as well emerging. Kaththi as a popular film,exploits such a contemporarily sensitive backdrop. It takes the moving case of a few villagersstruggling to be the just owners and beneficiaries of their groundwater and spins a pro-public andanti-corporate popular narrative. Using Cultural Studies methodology and Discourse Analysis as amethod, this paper will carry out a qualitative research and study the cine politics of the watercrises in Kaththi.Keywords: Exploits, Tamil Films, Water Queer Identities: Exploring LGBT Identity in Hindi Cinema Pushpinder Kaur Punjabi University, PunjabCinema is undoubtedly the greatest thing to have happened to the queer movement in India. Sexualminority comprises of all those people who fall under the categories of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual andTransgender. India is one of the many countries where homosexuality is still considered a taboo.Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises homosexuality was introduced by theBritish in colonial India in 1861 and it still stands in the country’s books. Invisibility of statutorylaws makes the LGBT community victims of gender violence and other human rights abuses. Overthe years, the representation of LGBT community in Hindi cinema has found itself under thescanner. Hindi cinema has witnessed a steady display of LGBT characters, some for the comic effectand some, however, stayed true to reality and made an effort to treat the subject in a sensitive andrealistic light. More representation is needed in terms of cinema which can provide the much-needed platform for interaction between people who are still in the closet. This research paperaims at exploring various issues related to the community depicted in the films, which has longbeen deprived of their true identity and representation in the social and cultural sphere of societyand an active role which Hindi Cinema can play in bringing them into the mainstream discoursethrough their realistic and authentic screen representation.Keywords: Gender identity, Homosexuality, LGBT, Queer cinema, Section 377 Women’s movement in Karnataka and its songs Praveen Kumar SVP Institute of Kannada Studies, MangaloreThere have been many studies on social movements in India during the last three decades. Thesesocial movements represent the creativity and dynamics of the civil society. Social change is themain object of all social movement. Karnataka State is also having a notable history socialmovement which is one of the pioneers in their direction in the state. Women’s movement mainlyconcentrated on the issue of sexual harassments in workplaces, domestic violence, gender issue,equal wages, and property rights and so on. T Vimochana, Forum of the women’s rights, Samathavedike, United women’s forum, women’s voice, Manasa etc are actively conducting their strugglefor the cause of the women. Creating the awareness and drawing attention of the general publicregarding women’s problems through the various techniques like street campaigning, distributionof the leaflets, exhibition of placards, street dramas and songs. Many participants like SabihaBhumigowda, Vydehi, Vijaya, Sharifa K, and Anupama H S have professed their mission and vision 15

in the form of poetry and poetic expressions in Kannada language, which are popularly known as‘Horatada Haadugali’. This research paper mainly focuses on how the song helps to create anawareness in common people, ways of presentation and songs which gave a helped women’smovements in Karnataka.Keywords: Women, Struggle, cause, movement Defining the ‘New Hero’ of Malayalam Cinema Preethy Sajan KeralaThe middle-aged hero romancing a damsel half his age, the all powerful gangster or a villagesatrap, the police officer who challenges the system, the naive villager — these staple heroicimages, banking on the star value of the actor, had taken Malayalam Cinema to an all time low atthe beginning of this century. 2011 ushered in a welcome change with the release of Salt n’ Pepperdirected by Aashiq Abu. The film’s hero is a 45 year old archaeologist, who falls in love with adubbing artist over phone conversations, but hesitates meeting her owing to insecurities about ageand appearance. The multi-starrer Traffic portrays characters struggling with their vulnerabilities— a corrupt police officer, a reluctant city commissioner, an egoistic film star and a rogue doctor.With more films portraying the ordinary and the regular as the hero, the trend continued with 22Female Kottayam, where we find leading actor Fahad Fazil donning the role of an anti-hero; thepolice officer in Mumbai Police who insecurities about his sexual orientation drives him tocompromise his friendship; an aspiring yet confused youngster in Ustad Hotel and the youngheroes in Bangalore Days trying to come to terms with their ideals, aspirations and personalstruggles.Keywords: Malayalam Cinema, New Hero, Superstar Simulation and Reality in Matrix Trilogy: Philosophy for a Post-human Condition Raju M S Kuvempu University, ShimogaThe research paper focuses on the postmodern aspects of Simulation and Reality in the MatrixTrilogy films. Post-human condition which is a dystopian condition of Postmodernism has raisedsome ethical questions about human existence. The research paper has tried to tackle thisfundamental question of human existence on the backdrop of Jean Baudrillard’s philosophicalwork ‘Simulacra and Simulation’. The research is an eclectic philosophy which has united all theWestern and Eastern philosophies. In this world of Cyber Technology, human being has beenconverted as a being always using the faculty which he lacks i.e. ‘the power of computer’. Thoughhuman brain is more complex and superior than computers, the combination of both can cause anevolution of human species. This is the post-human condition. Man’s power of vision, dreaming,premonition, conditioning himself in the world of Real, Simulacrum and Virtual has beenenhanced. The film Matrix-trilogy is such a film negotiating with this postmodern condition. Andthus it can anticipate the next Fourth Generation (4G) that will be a superhuman with his enhancedfaculty of understanding this World, Cosmos, Truth, and Reality. So many scholars includingBaudrillard have failed here to articulate the eclectic nature of the postmodern condition does it.This seminar Paper tackled the research question of how post-human condition utilizes thesimulated phenomenology to overrule the actual, real world of existence. The key impact of myresearch was the construction of a new philosophy of postmodernism.Keywords: Postmodernism, Superhuman, Cyber Technology, Phenomenology 16

Emerging Trends in Funny Videos: A Case Study on a Group in Hyderabad Raygalla Kalyan Srinivas Christ University, BengaluruThis research paper presents the current trend in Hyderabad on Funny (Humorous) Videos. It talksabout how a lot of youngsters are forming small groups and making these videos. It also focuses onthe aspects of technicalities involved in making these videos as the background of the youngstersis non-technical. The elements used, the impact it makes on audience is also analysed and studiedin detail. The core aim of this paper is to find out the trend in Hyderabad. Most of the video contenttouches upon language, places, psychological behaviours and social situations faced by people intheir daily lives.Keywords: Funny videos, Hyderabad, Technical elements, psychological impact From Kitchen to Heart: The Journey of Food as Reflected in The Lunch Box Sajitha M A Farook College, KozhikodeThe paper unveils the labour-intensive dabbawala system followed in Mumbai and the socio-cultural conflicts of a middle-class family related to that as projected in the Hindi movie, TheLunchbox. The dabbawalas collect lunch boxes from restaurants or homes and deliver to people atwork. In this 2013 Indian epistolary, romantic film written and directed by Ritesh Batra , adisgusted wife Ila tries to gain the care and affection from her indifferent husband through thedelicious food that she sends to him in the metallic lunchbox. The irony is that through a rare mix-up, the food Ila prepares for her husband gets delivered, not to her husband, instead, to Saajan, awidower, about to retire from his job as an accountant. The paper presents the paradox of foodpreparation. On the one side it has become a well-established industry as in the case of DabbawalaSystem and on the other hand, it is a monotonous activity for a woman who spends most of hertime in the kitchen. The director clearly portrays the psyche of an ordinary Indian housewife whoconsiders it her prime responsibility to prepare tasty food to her husband. The paper presents thedilemma of the marginalised category from a feminist perspective and establishes the viewpointof Simon de Beauvoir that “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman”. The paper also dealswith the intimacy which develops between a married lady and a widower who have not seen eachother but are bonded with each other because of a lunchbox.Keywords: Postcolonial, kitchen, lunch box Piku: facets and frontiers of travel narrative and the metaphors used Salona Mishra Christ University, BengaluruSometimes we go to see a film, to forget what life is like. Other times we go to remember. Withvarious movies experimenting on the technique of travel narrative, this paper will explore theconcept of “home’’ and also the infliction of themes such as minimalism and realism in the same.This presentation will focus on the metaphors used to represent the existential angst of thecharacters. It will showcase eccentricities as an attempt for one of the protagonists, “Bhaskor”, tostand out; to get a validation of identity. Moreover, Piku as a unique study shows the journey oftravelling back home and not away from it; not as an escape from life’s regular rather as an attemptto find its essence. This road trip with the Bengalis and the Non Bengalis together and thereforethe conversations involved also brings out the concept diasporic identity in India. The journey, 17

while representing the continuation of life, the entire process of children taking care of theirparents, representing the cycle of it. Therefore, “Sometimes we go to see a film, to forget what lifeis like. This presentation will focus on the metaphors used to represent the existential angst of thecharacters. This road trip with the Bengalis and the non-Bengalis together, therefore, theconversations involved also brings out the concept diasporic identity in India. The journey, whilerepresenting the continuation of life, the entire process of children taking care of their parents,representing the cycle of it.Keywords: Minimalism, Realism, Piku, representation The Vamp's Vengeance: An Exploration of the Picaresque Element and Identity of the Prostitute in 'Talaash' and 'Dev D' Sambhavi Sudhakar Christ University, BengaluruThere has been much research on the representation of vamps in Indian cinema. Her character isoften juxtaposed and understood in relation to the heroine, the veritable reverse of the former.However, what has not been adequately analyzed is the circumstance that leads to theaforementioned characters’ involvement in the trade, and the mammoth impact it has on them,their existence and survival. This paper seeks to explore the complexities of characters of the twoprostitutes, namely, Rosie in Reema Kagti’s Talaash- The Answer Lies Within and Chanda in AnuragKashyap’s Dev D. In this regard, the paper delves into the circumstances leading to the positionsoccupied by them, and analyses the representation of their characters in Bollywood as socialorphans. It has been observed that their characters have picaresque elements, owing to theepisodic nature of their individual stories, their tryst with immensely damaging social realities,their firmness in the face of such adversity and their sense of absolute amorality. In examinationof the representation of their characters in popular cinema, the paper employs Anneke Smelik’sFeminist Film Theory and Judith Butler’s Theory on Gender Performativity. The objective of thispaper is to ensure a deeper understanding of the situation of such characters within a certainconventional framework in visual narratives and media.Keywords: Bollywood, Vamp, Picaro, Female, Representation, Feminist Film Theory, Performativity. A Study on Freudian and Neo-Freudian aspects in the Star Wars Movie Series Samrat Nath Christ University, BengaluruStar Wars is a famous science fiction and fantasy blended movie saga created by George Lucas thatbegan in the year 1977 and is still able to hold onto viewer’s attention. The viewers can perhapsrelate easily to the characters in the movie saga because they are sketched as per the basic Freudianand Neo-Freudian psychodynamic theories in Psychology. It deconstructs certain events andaspects of the screenplay and character development of the saga and compares them with basictheories like Id, Ego, Superego, Conscious-subconscious-unconscious mind and dream analysis, asto show the underlying influence of Freudian and Neo-Freudian theories. It takes into account theperspective of innate forces shaping the personality of the members of a particular dynasty, asproposed by Freud. The Neo-Freudian concept of ‘archetypes’ (i.e. good or evil characters withotherwise similar skills) has been extensively used in the movie series as well. Hence,unconsciously the viewers get attached to the characters in the movie due to their immensesimilarities with real life human personalities they see around them every day. The paper strivesto establish the importance of connecting with audience psychology as an important contributingaspect for the success of a movie, as seen in the case of the Star Wars Canon. It helps to show how 18

important it is to connect to the target audience at a subconscious or unconscious level that helpsany media creation to receive easy acceptance and hence, financial success.Keywords: Star Wars, Freudian Theories, Neo-Freudian Theories, Psychology, George Lucas. Synecdoche, New York : A Postmodern Analysis Sangeetha Alwar and Parvathy K Christ University, BengaluruThe paper considers the dystopian drama Synecdoche, New York (2008) to highlight the notions ofpostmodernism as stated by Jean Baudrillard through a detailed analysis of the character of CadenCotard, the protagonist. The paper will focus on the idea of Simulacra and Simulation as “no longera question of imitation, nor duplication, nor even parody. It is a question of substituting the signsof the real for the real” (Baudrillard, 1994) as observed through the superimposition of the playand his real life. The paper will also attempt to integrate the ideas of Depthlessness and Weakeningof Historicity as developed by Fredric Jameson. The movie offers scope for a coherentunderstanding of the notion of Simulacra and Simulation. The director, Charlie Kaufman also hintsat the influence of Baudrillard through Caden’s idea of naming his play “Simulacra”. The paper willbe co-authored and presented orally. Ref: Baudrillard, J. (1994). Simulacra and simulation. AnnArbor: University of Michigan Press.Key words: Postmodern Analysis, Baudrillard, Simulacra, Jameson Legal perspective on Copyright and Insurance: A Case Study on Film and Book Sanjay P Shenoi Christ University, BengaluruThe author has well tried to provide a brief idea on copyright and insurance as two different toolsto protect film industry as well as books which are usually linked to film industry. The awarenesson the application of insurance as a tool for protection is generally not known to the public. Thepublic had the assumption that the presence of copyright was the only option for protection. Asthe concept of book insurance and film insurance is new to the arena, and there is a need to pointout the importance, need and impact of copyright; difference between copyright and insurance;insurance; and how the principles of insurance is applied in film and book insurance. The absenceof much literary works in this area makes this brief work relevant. The idea of insuring the bookwas a new idea to many librarians, as they usually thought that library insurance includes bookstoo, which was not totally true. The basis that most of the films were based on novels or literaryworks, as well as the conversion of the films into books, makes it vital to point out that insurancecould be applied in these areas. This being mostly unknown or uncommon, the author tries topopularize the option of insurance to these sectors, without reducing the importance of copyright,as the purpose of both are entirely different.Keywords: Copyrights, Insurance, conversion, films The Politics of Soap Operas Sarath Krishnan, Anila Mary Thomas and Shijina K V Don Bosco Arts and Science College, AngadikadavuThe paper named ‘Politics of Soap Operas’ is a semiotic analysis of the television soap operas inIndia, which normalise, and legitimize the values of the hegemonic ideology of the dominant 19

section in Hindu religion. This paper analyses how the Hindu higher caste monopolizes the TVscreens and how it effects in the marginalisation of the other religions and minorities. The studyis being conducted on the selected TV serials in Hindi and Malayalam, basing the theme, plot, andthe character representation. This study elaborates how our perspective on life undergoeschanges, effected by the consistent watching of these serials. This paper helps to decipher thepolitics of soap operas and how the conventions are ‘formed’ under the interests of a small group.The paper named ‘Politics of Soap Operas’ is a semiotic analysis of the television soap operas inIndia, which normalise, and legitimize the values of the hegemonic ideology of the dominantsection in Hindu religion. India, being a multicultural society, has many religious, linguistic, racial,and ethnic entities; however, the television soap operas present the culture of only the views ofthe upper class. The Politics of Soap Operas Hindu society. The ethnic and tribal people arecompletely erased from the scene; Muslim and other minority religions are given comparativelylesser space in the whole discourse of miniscreen. This paper analyses how the Hindu higher castemonopolizes the TV screens and how it effects in the marginalisation of the other religions andminorities.Keywords: soap opera, representation Censoring the Censor Board: A Legal Perspective of Censorship in Indian Cinema Satyam Rathore Christ University, BengaluruCinema has been one of the most potent tools of expression since its inception. It has been seen asa medium through which a larger picture of the society is depicted on the screen. Being a sourceof introspection it tended to bring about a positive change in the society. This paper aims to putforward the role of cinema as a medium of expression of ideas and free thought. It further tends toassert the need and scope of regulation which is being provided under the Cinematograph Act,1952. This paper seeks to critically analyse the role of the Censor Board in the certification of thefilms as defined under the law, while supplementing it with various precedents as decided by theIndian Judiciary. This paper also throws light upon the misuse of censorship as done in this regardto curb the freedom of expression through cinema and how this sacred fundamental right has beenzealously guarded by the Judiciary through its reasoning and judgment. As a conclusion, this paperaims to analyse mechanisms through which delicate balance between freedom of expression andreasonable restriction can be maintained such as -via regulation through law in order to upholdthe fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression for the betterment of the society, andpublic interest.Keywords: Censoring, Censor Board, Cinema, Reasonable Restriction Exploring the various facets of Political Cinema: A conceptual overview Saurabh Das MICA, AhmedabadIt is argued that all films are political, even though they are highly entertaining by nature. Theyare political because the messages they disseminate express various identities. Further, they alsodepict the inhabited roles we play in society and thus give us a comprehensive understanding ofthe world we live in. In this paper, the first aim has been to explore the various facets of politicalcinema through the framework of ‘Social Inquiry’. As the idea of a political cinema rests on thenotion that its form and content will challenge the dominant discourses and often giving voice tothe voiceless through raising various social and political questions, this paper explores how somefilmmakers, writers and academicians in the context of current economic and political milieu havefathomed the concept of this medium. It is also found that in the making and distribution of 20

political films there are certain obstacles, viz. political and economic. So, another aim of this paperis to understand those obstacles through the framework of ‘Power’ as discussed by Michel Foucault(Foucault, 2002). Lastly this paper explores the prevailing aesthetics in political cinema andinvestigates the various kinds of filmmaking which engages its audience. As this paper bringsanecdotes and suggestions from various writers, academicians and filmmakers in addressing thecomplex issues derived out of embedded political messages in films, it becomes quintessentiallyimportant to address and understand them.Keywords: Political Cinema, Capital, Power, Social Inquiry, Production and Distribution The Politics of Biopic in Recent Hindi Cinema Sayanty Chatterjee Indian Institute of Technology, MadrasGlobalization has opened up the horizon for various apparatuses to facilitate different sorts of narrativesin cinema. Biopic is one of them. One has been witnessing a plethora of films dealing with this genreand subsequently doing well in the box office too. This paper attempts to look at the specificphenomenon of the resurgence of biopics in the post 2010 Hindi Cinema. Through the exploration offilms like The Dirty Picture (2011), Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013), Mary Kom (2014), and Neerja (2016),the endeavour was to locate the politics behind their making at this particular juncture and the changedperspective in the reception of such films. With post-liberalization, media intervention into our societyand lives somehow disrupted the Benjaminian ‘aura’ that used to pervade a celebrity’s life. Now, peopleare interested in the ‘making’ of their esteemed celebrity as well because of the ample media access andthe tools of internet at their disposal. And the interest is not only limited to yesteryear’s magneticpersonalities, but also to the living celebrities. The paper tried to follow the trajectory of this altered‘response’ to such kind of films and attempts to find the reason that makes them a success. Thetheoretical framework through which this issue has been looked at is the paradigm of ‘reader’s response’to a film in a post-liberalized, media empowered globalized world of modern India. The research wouldamount in documenting the emergence of a particular genre at a particular point and in analyzing theprocess from a globalized market-based standpoint.Keywords: Empowerment, liberalization, Modern Guru Dutt -The Spark Of The Indian Noir Simrran Sidhu Presidency college, BengaluruCinema has always reflected our lives in different shades. The reel life may seem difficult to relateto as it is tinged with the emotions of the director and the actor. A single shot of a movie can leaveus inspired or at times amused. The work of the team crafts a movie with uncompromising effort.Guru Dutt is one such stalwart in the Indian Film Industry who successfully translated the real selfto the reel exploring the complexities of an enigmatic soul. The objective of the study is to analyzethe dexterity with which Guru Dutt adopted elements of noir in his films. The research paper seeksto understand the essence of the noir that Guru Dutt adopted effortlessly in his work - marked byhis quintessential easiness as an actor as well as a director. The paper attempts to capture thetechnicalities Guru Dutt aced at the noir genre - though not accepted, then, but at present have ahuge cult following. The paper adopts a qualitative methodology comprising of content analysis ofGuru Dutt's movies - Kaagaz Key Phool , Pyaasa , Baaz , Sahib Bibi Aur Gulam and Aar Paar . Theintricate weaving of the dance sequences to the perfection in every scintilla of scenes have been 21

discussed in an attempt to reflect the crisp craft Guru Dutt spun in a noir which was at a nascentstage in the Indian film industry.Keywords: Cinema, Guru Dutt, Cult, Noir Woman Empowerment: A change of mindset and attitude Sindhu Shantha Nair Christ University, BengaluruEmpowerment is a systematic approach to build a stronger, powerful women community both inself-empowerment and professional empowerment. Strengthening women should move from aconcept to a realization, since women form indispensable beings of society, nation and the worldat large. Traditionally, women were made so powerless that, today we are debating to empowerthem. The fixation of woman in a frame is yet to change. Indian girls were and still are brought upon models portraying selflessness, self-denial, sacrifice, and as the vulnerable weaker sex. Theegalitarian concept still does not exist in certain sections of the society. Majority of women in Indiaare unaware of their rights as citizens, and still are willing or forced to accept an inferior status.They do not think themselves to be physically strong or they are not adequately protected fromexploitation. Rural women are yet to receive the privileges enshrined in the constitution. She bearsfewer children and is freed to a great extent from the housework drudgery by modern appliancesand change in lifestyle. Today’s women receive higher education; the modern woman is inclinedtowards social issues and tries to improve the social status of women at large. The challenges ofwomen empowerment are the bottleneck which exists in the society in the form of disparity,crimes, atrocities, female infanticide, victimization, humiliation, torture and exploitation ofwomen. Patriarchy to parity is the need of this hour.Keywords: Empowerment, Lifestyle, Patriarchy, Self-Fulfillment, Egalitarian Concept. Celluloid to Soulmates: A study on the impact of films on the perception of romantic love among the youth Shakti Swaminathan Mount Carmel College, BengaluruOn March 29, 2016, Egypt Air MS181 en route to Cairo was ‘hijacked’ and diverted to Cyprus. Afterexcruciating hours of tension, speculation over lax security protocol, possible ISIS involvementand agonising wait for the hostage passengers, it was revealed that the suspected terrorist was justa man who wanted to visit his ex- wife in Larnaca. In another incident, a woman in England jumpedinto the Atlantic ocean, hoping to reunite with her husband who was off on a cruise. In the realworld, such news shock one in their boldness, exaggeration of emotion and extreme gestures. Yet,a second glance reveals that they could have been scripted for multiplexes: this is the idealtemplate for modern love. Closer home, a couple in India, inspired by the Kamal Haasan- RatiAgnihotri starrer ‘Ek duuje Ke liye’, committed suicide by jumping of a valley after facing stiffparental opposition to their relationship. ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’, a film based on the bestseller eroticnovel of the same name, was released under the guise of a romance film on Valentines Day 2015.On inspecting, the film contained themes of abuse and sadomasochism. A large number of today’syouth grow on a staple of movies which consciously or at times inadvertently feed them withdefinitions of love, romance ideals and prescriptions for happiness. Movies also have records oflegitimising potentially dangerous behaviour such as stalking. This paper attempts to study theextent to which movies play a role in shaping the concept of romantic love among the youth and 22

discern if they are responsible for fostering the gap between reality and expectations.Keywords: Romance, films, Effect on youth, Film education Death of the stardom Shantharaju S and Vagdevi H S Christ University, BengaluruGone are the days, when stars were worshiped as living gods; gone are the days when they wereidolized or their cutouts were immersed in gallons of milk. Mostly, the culture of having theirfavorite stars on the back of car or auto too getting old fashioned. Probably, not just because of thechanged era. Mostly because of multiple reasons like reachable technology,omnipresent televisionprogrammes, over exposure to cine characters on TV and the changed consumption pattern andat. all. The measurement of film’s success is also based upon first three days of box office grossingnot based on Silver Jubilee or Golden Jubilee measures. One can not expect a vernacular languagefilm like Bangarada Manushya or national langauge’s romantics like DDLJ to run for years. Thenhow the film production is coping with all these changes? This need to evaluated which calls for aseparate debate. The current paper is a perspective visual textual content analysis of changedpattern of cinema consumption which in turn tries to explore the changed scripts.Keywords: Stardom, Audience, Cinema, Technology Kothas and Courtesans of Lucknow: Celluloid Vs Reality A study of the real culture of Kothas and courtesans of Lucknow juxtaposed with their cinematic portrayal in Indian films Shirin Abbas Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University, Uttar PradeshThe paper is a study of the portrayal of Lakhnavi courtesans on celluloid (Umrao Jaan (Old & New)Pakeezah and Rani Mukherjee in Mangal Pandey as against accounts of their lives as recorded byhistorians like Veena Talwar Oldenberg and others. The paper details excerpts from some real lifemehfil singers and gentry of Lucknow (descendants of the Nawabs of Oudh) and explores theculture and discipline of the Kothas against their glorified presentation in films. Against thepopular belief, the courtesans of Lucknow we connoisseurs of art, culture and sophistication andnot common prostitutes and sex workers.Keywords: Women and gender, Kothas, Mujras, Lucknow of the Nawabs, Oudh heritage and culture The role of Bangalore Film Festival in reflecting on the queer ( LGBT) group in Bangalore Shivangi Rastogi Christ University, BengaluruThe paper will mainly focus on the depiction of the LGBT group and the role cinema plays inhighlighting the issue. The main focus will be on the Bangalore Queer Film Festival and how it hashelped the LGBT group to progress. The study will examine the reason behind coming up with afilm festival, the kind of films shown, the participation, the overall response from the people andhow it has helped the LGBT group in Bangalore in the betterment for the same. The paper willconsist of interviews of people belonging to the group. They will be interviewed on the role of 23

cinema ( BQFF) plays in reflecting on LGBT rights. GAY (Good As You) is a support group establishedin the year 1994 for LGBT people in Bangalore and is one of the oldest support groups in India. Thefilm festival is usually organized by Swabhava Trust, Good As You (GAY), We Are Here and Queer(WHAQ) and Pirate Dykes. Pirate Dykes is a group set up to screen films that do not generally getmainstream releases in India. The main purpose of the paper is to explore the progression madeby screening the films, the scope of improvement and the advancement by the group in Bangalore.Keywords: Queer, LGBT, Gender, Sexuality Midway Of Commercially And Socially Responsible Cinema Shivangi Shrivastava and Akshika Agarwal Christ University, BengaluruCinema is both a form of art and entertainment. It is for, from and by the society, and therefore itis essential for the cinema to be socially responsible. From the point of entertainment industry,commercialization of cinema is required. It needs to be socially relevant and realistic in itsapproach, as it is the most common and accessible form of communication. Cinema is no less thana religion in India. Its journey covers the movies in all nature – from completely commercialisedcinema to the notable art-house cinema. However, this division between both the form of cinemahas affected it as a whole. This paper, titled, ‘Midway of Commercially and Socially ResponsibleCinema’ deals with the merging of both these aspects in cinema, focussing on the element ofentertainment, money factor and at the same time it even sensitizes the society. It gives an insightinto the movies which turned out to be both commercially successful and socially relevant. Itbriefly discusses the role of directors like Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who were efficacious in showinga cinema which had both these aspects. This paper further focuses on the era of parallel cinemawhich emerged in the late-seventies and the causes for its decline. It also examines the recentmovies that are been currently produced and how well they are able to justify the title, throughwide qualitative research work.Keywords: Socially Responsible Cinemas, Commercialization, Parallel Cinema Projection of Theatre in Cinema - A content analysis Shrinidhi S University of Madras, Tamil NaduTheatre and drama have been used in Indian movies to send out messages historical, socio-culturaland educative. A good example is Bimal Roy's Sujata (1959), which dealt with the theme ofuntouchability and was enacted in the play Chandalika to spread the message of equality. Recentexamples like Anbe Sivam (2003) was borrowed from a street theatre of the same name by JanaNatya Manch, whose activist Safdar Hashmi was killed while performing it and the interspersionof the past and present in Rang De Basanti, with powerful visuals of a bunch of youngsters enactingthe freedom struggle in a play was an excellent example of powerful use of theatre in films. Manyfilms, mainstream and alternative, have borrowed from theatre and drama. While in someinstances, the use of theatre and drama has been limited to depicting romance (puppetry in ChoriChori for instance). The paper aims to bring out the portrayal and use of theatre, both folk andmodern, in Cinema and how it has helped in reaching out to the audience. The paper will make useof content analysis of glimpses of different forms of theatre portrayed in Tamil Cinema, withrespect to the aesthetics, socio-cultural and contextual usages. The analysis is purely based onobservations and interpretations of the author.Keywords: Puppetry, Indian Movies, Mainstream Films, Alternative Films, Tamil Cinema 24

The Depth In The Usage Of Indian Dances In Indian Cinemas - Then And Now: A Detailed Review S Marie Stella Satya Nilayam Research Institute, Andhra PradeshIndian film industry is a lucrative one. The history of this industry can be categorized into threebroad eras. The first half of the 19th century was flush with movies based on Hindu mythology andthe celebrated historical stories of India. Circa 1950, fueled by the independence movement ofIndia, led to the silver screen brimming with social reformist themes. More than a decade into theindependence, inspired by the western way of life but catering to the more conservative Indianculture, the Indian film industry was loaded with what we call as “masala” films in various genresserving a variety of audiences in diverse social and educational strata in India. The objective of mypresentation is to discuss the pivotal role of dance in Indian movies across the above-mentionedthree eras of the Indian film industry. More specifically, I would discuss how dance was employedin those movies and its aesthetic beauty. While there are movies in each regional language, for thepurposes of this discussion we would focus only on Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi movies. The firstpart of my presentation will give a general introduction of Indian cinema and types of dancesprevalent and which among those are employed by the film industry in the relevant languages.Then I will discuss the status of dance since the beginning of the Indian film industry till date. Thelast part would focus on the future of culture in movies.Keywords: Indian film industry, Culture, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, song, dance “Two Moons” A study of the highly successful collaboration between director Singeetham Srinivasa Rao and actor Kamal Hassan Sriraksha V Raghavan BNM Institute of Technology, BengaluruSingeetham Srinivasa Rao and Kamal Hassan’s association began in 1978 with the Telugu hitSommokadiki Sokkokadidi, a symbiotic relationship that has produced countless blockbusters. Thethemes explored by these movies provide insight into their success; often subverting themes ofduality, identity, appearances, society and class, laced with humour and drama set to foot tappingmusic, scored by Illayaraja. While exploring the theme of lost-and-found was his favourite (IruNilavugal, Apoorva Sagodarargal, Michael Madana Kamarajan), he showcased disabled heroes(Apoorva Sagodarargal, Rajaparvai, Mumbai Xpress, Kadhala Kadhala) in an empathetic manner,portraying them any other protagonist without milking their disability for maudlin dramatics.While working mostly in Tamil, Rao showed that good cinema need not be limited by language withthe silent film Pushpak. He channeled Kamal's skill at physical theatre in comedy and dialoguedelivery allowing their work to be steeped in local flavour (Michael Madana Kamarajan had Kamalspeaking four dialects of Tamil).Keywords: Tamil films, Language, Dramatics Representation of Women in Malayalam Films Stenza Augustine English and Foreign Language UniversityStudying cinema is unlike the study of any other subjects. Cinema’s reach is so great that it is neverexhausted, its scope so varied that one rarely finds oneself thinking along a single plane of thought(Villarejo, 9). Kerala has a unique position in Indian socio-cultural and political map, being in the 25

Southern end of the country, partially girdled with the ocean and sharing borders with Tamil Naduand Karnataka- two other South Indian states with comparatively richer cultural history andliterature. The developed social status of Malayali life created the popular myth of a Malayaliwoman, highly esteemed in the society and family. The growing soft-porn industry of Keralaexposes the social hypocrisy of a Malayalam film lover who claims to watch only Adoor andChandran movies. Hence, this paper focuses on the only lingering question - Is the Malayali womanin their films different from the real Malayali woman? This question is attempted in the light of anevaluation of the different portrayals of women in selected Malayalam films (selection based onthe chronological order of changing social scenarios).Keywords: Women, Film studies, Kerala, Representation Fame of Infamy-Profiling Popular Villains and Analyzing The Grounds For Their Popularity Suchismita Dattagupta Christ University, BengaluruHuman civilization being obsessed with \"good\" and \"bad\", demarcates all human action into thesetwo primary categories. Considering that these ethics are shared by people, it is natural for themto be wary of evil proclivities in different individuals. According to the dictums of culture, effort isalways being made for people to get drawn to the superior moral virtues. However, film andliterature has continuously tried to depict impious characters who have had a deep impact on theminds of individuals. These characters are the villains who are the foils to the popular heroes. Theheroes with their flaws are closer to the real image of the individual. It is the externalmanifestation of the villain that leaves a lasting impression on the minds of the viewers andreaders. The costumes and dialogues of the villains are what connects them to the audience.Popular villains become iconic when they match the heroes in their intelligence. The popularvillains are a shade of grey, since they appeal to the audience and the readers in a different light;where there impious behaviour is often relegated into the background. The paper will throw lighton the humanization of the villains and renders a humane complexity to these characters. It willanalyze how the villains are a real glimpse of the distinctly human rationalization of the valuesheld highly by the society. The paper will go ahead to ascertain how and why they hold morepopularity than their counterparts, the heroes.Keywords: Fame, Villain, Popular, Films Suspense and Tension in cinema- An analysis of need, technique and effectiveness Sundaravel E and Elangovan Christ University, BengaluruThe important elements of good cinema have always been tension and suspense. The cinemashould take the audience through the path of expectations and slowly build tension through thesuspense. Good cinema gives the plot a twist that the audience did not expect, catches them off-guard and shocks them. Tension makes the audience anticipate the outcome of a situation.Suspense makes the audience engage in the story and care for the characters. If the suspense inthe story is weak, it reduces the engagement of the audience in the story and the impact of thecinema will be low. The hurdles faced by the character in the cinema make the audienceemotionally attached to the character and makes cinema grounded in reality and gives a sense ofrelatedness with one’s own experience. The article makes an analysis of different techniques ofbuilding tension, such as the camera angles, panning, lightings, music, and editing. The article alsolooks on the different directors’ approach on building suspense and tension, like silence by Alfred 26

Hitchcock, extremely long shots of Stanley Kubrick, editing and sound mixing of David Fincher,dialogues by Quentin Tarantino, shadows by Orson Welles and camera angle by Steven Spielberg.An evaluation of the effectiveness of these techniques is also presented.Keywords: Hitchcock, Techniques, Effectiveness A Collision of Two Worlds- A Postmodern Analysis of Enchanted Surbhi Shand, Dharani Dhavamani and Sherin D’ souza Christ University, BengaluruDisney pioneered the portrayal of a world of happily ever after, rather than the mundane realitiesof life. It took pride in its creative cartoons and mostly advocated animated films. However, withthe evolution and change in the nature of audience, thoughts and philosophies, this trend took anew turn- which is evident through their films. An example of this changeover is the filmEnchanted, the focus of this paper. It features the back and forth shift from a ‘fantasy’ world to‘reality.’ The movie initially progresses in an animated setting until the protagonist is literallypushed into a well that will take her “to a place where there are no happily ever afters” - implyingthe transition from an imagined idyllic world based on fantasy as opposed to the busy streets ofNew York, grounded in reality. This paper seeks to analyse the film Enchanted through apostmodern lens under the aegis of Baudrillard’s contributions regarding realities, signs andsimulacra. The paper will feature the differentiation between the elements of ‘fantasy’ and ‘reality’within the film- the juxtaposition of the two worlds. And yet, it also hopes to highlight the blurringof lines among the two- focusing on the process of fusion of the emotions and select themesunderlying these worlds.Keywords: Blurring, Films, World, Transition Censorship and Freedom of Expression in Indian Movies: A study based on the two movies ‘Pithavinum Puthranum’ and ‘Unfreedom’ which were banned in India Sojimon C C, Asha Oommen and Christy P Benny Don Bosco Arts and Science College, AngadikadavuThere is nothing that we can universally state as right or wrong, good or bad, moral or immoral.The so-called right-wrong, good-bad, moral-immoral is subjected to change with time,people,culture, society and even religion. Cinemas take us to the extremities of imagination. Is it just toconfine such a powerful media with unscrupulous laws framed by a set of individuals who go bythe whims and fancies of the government and religious institution? This paper focuses on twocontroversial Indian movies, ‘Pithavinum Puthranum’ and ‘Unfreedom’, which had undergone longterm censorship under Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and it was finally banned in India.This paper aims to find out the inappropriateness of the guidelines put forward by Central Boardof Film Certification for film certification. The study explores the possibility of Central Board ofFilm Certification becoming a political and religious tool in the name of freedom of expression andreasonable restrictions of Indian constitution. The findings will be pointers to many unexploredareas related to censor board guidelines and legal aspects related to it.By analyzing these films wecame to the conclusion that the existing censorship patterns of Central Board of Film Certification(CBFC) in India unduly curb the freedom of expression of the citizen as stated in the Indianconstitution and certification is not responsive to social changes happening around us.Keywords: Censorship, CBFC, ‘Pithavinum Puthranum’, ‘Unfreedom’, Freedom of Speech and Expression 27

Looking Back: Rebooted Franchises and Nostalgia in Contemporary Film Sweekruthi K and Varsha Gowda Christ University, BengaluruIf you have been to the theatres recently, chances are that you have seen newer versions of yourfavorite characters and stories on screen. With several movie franchises seeing new editions afterover 20 years, it is evident that remakes and sequels are in vogue. As exemplified by the twohighest-grossing films of 2015, reboots are most often grand box-office hits. Cinema as a mediuminvolves evolution, innovation and novelty in filmmaking. However, many contemporary films alsopartly involve or largely thrive on recreating memories associated with older movies. Modern-dayfilmmaking is thus often a contradictory combination of both, originality and re-visitation of thepast. The paper intends to throw light on this phenomenon, and seeks to understand themarketability of the past. Examining movies released in the past decade, this research will explorethe notion of familiarity being a driving force to box-office success. It will also look into the ideaof nostalgia as a marketing strategy, and its role in contemporary film. The movies beingconsidered include Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World, Mad Max: Fury Road and FindingDory. Franchising and branding are often responsible for marketing triumphs. In the case ofremakes, however, nostalgia plays a key factor in constructing both, the franchise and brandperception. The success rate of this strategy has not gone unnoticed. Numerous reboots arescheduled to be written, filmed or released in the years to come. The trend, in its popularity andpersistence in modern filmmaking, thus becomes important to study and understand.Keywords: Contemporary Films, Jurassic World, Trend, Filmmaking Content analysis of Aaaranya Kaandam: A Gangster film S Yamunai Selvan Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tamil NaduWe all want to believe we are rebels underneath our law abiding skins. And so when we sit in a darktheater rooting for the gangster, we get the vicarious thrill of striking out at authority withoutactually breaking the rules ourselves (George Anastasia & Glen Macnow, 2011). The conventions ofgangster movies have become well known: the gum-chewing moll, the kiss of death, corrupt andwell-dressed gangsters toting machine guns. The genre was first popularized in the silent era andhas continued with releases like Billy Bathgate and Bugsy. Director Thiyagarajan Kumararaja’sTamil feature film, Aaranya Kaandam deals with the life of gangsters. The main objective is toexplore the major components and elements of a Noir film as well as to analyze the symbols whichhave been used for the same. A shot-to-shot analysis has been conducted by the researcher. In thisprocess, every scene is analyzed in two steps. In step one, the outward meaning or what is observedfrom the movie is stated which is known as latent content. In step two, the inner meaning of thescene which is known as the manifest content is discussed. Structuralist theory has been adaptedto analyze the film and understand the meanings of symbols and signs.Keywords: Gangster film, Film Noir, Postmodernism, Content analysis, Film analysis Representation of Catholic Nuns in World Movies- an explorative study on significant films Tessy Jacob Holy Spirit ConventCatholic nuns, also known as religious sisters are represented in films which deal with close churchactivities or charitable deeds. Sisters often seen as pious women who do not have anything to do 28

with the secular world and are confined to the convents. Akin to any other way of life, the real lifeof religious sister is different from that of reel life. Sometimes, the imagination can go wild or toonarrow. An explorative study titled- Representation of Catholic nuns in world movies- anexplorative study on significant films intend to highlight the real meaning and motivation ofnunhood and the life of a religious from what is depicted on the silver screens.Keywords: Nun, convent, Religious life, Religious orders Life and/or Death- Maternal Ambivalence in Horror Movies Tissy Mariam Thomas Christ University, BengaluruPregnancy, birth, motherhood and supernatural power of newborn babies and new/old mothershave been a major theme and story thread for characterization in many movies across the world.Hollywood movies such as Infernal, Monstrous births, Conjouring, Devil’s due, Rosemary’s Babies,Alien Invasions, Big babies, Inside, Engendered birth and Hybrid Gen (r)es have brought out thepain and fear related to pregnancy and motherhood unlike the pleasure of ‘being a perfect mother’in commercial movies. Regional movies such as Last bus and Rangitiranga in Kannada, Maya inTamil, Help in Hindi and Akashaganga and Vellinakshathram in Malayalam portrayed ambivalentnarrations of pregnancy and child birth for ‘terrorizing’ the viewers. The present paper attemptsto address ‘myth of motherhood’ as a socially constructed discourse and analyze the depictions inhorror movies in challenging this cultural notion. Psychoanalytic perspective and feministcritique are largely adopted in understanding the life and/or death struggles and stereotypes ofwomen to become a ‘perfect’ mother while being a ‘real’ woman. Flow of emotions such as fear,anxiety, guilt, powerlessness and exclusion which are generally not spoken or exposed to thegeneral public in the context of pregnancy is rendered to evoke fright and haunting in thesemovies. Meanwhile, the ‘invisible’ life and/or death experience of motherhood is unveiled incharacterizing the theme in culturally deep-routed, symbolic forms. Maternal ambivalence as a‘double-edged sword’ which was shut ‘behind the closed-door’ is spoken up against the belief ofmotherhood only as a pleasant, positive experience. The horror movie makers travelled throughthe ‘not-so-comfortable’ thresholds of their unconscious mind in unravelling women’s experienceof being a mother which is otherwise considered as unnatural.Keywords:Maternal ambivalence, life and/or death experience, Psychoanalysis, Feminist critiques Silent films to Talkies: Effects on the isolated hearing impaired audience T R Ramakrishnan Jain University, BengaluruBetween the late 19th century and mid-20th century there were several silent films thatentertained and informed public audiences of both the hearing and speech & hearing impaired.Motion capturing cameras used by Thomas Edison, Lumiere brothers and Robert W Paul changedthe way of visualization over the camera by directors and cinematographers. Post the introductionof the ‘talkie’ from Warner, Paramount and Universal studios; the hearing impaired people wereisolated from the general audience on the perception and experiencing films for bothentertainment and information. The world had then sought for delayed release of captioned filmsfor the hearing impaired to enjoy the movies which was a new experience of visualizing films.There emerged films for the deaf showing deaf culture and sign language more of documentaryand short feature films. At the same time there were the mainstream feature films by popularactors portraying the deaf amongst the normal public which had an effect of empathy. This paperfollows a formal and cultural approach of viewing the three types of films and discusses how deafpeople are represented in society. Few selected films were reviewed to argue if the hearing 29

impaired people could be in sync with the normal people in visualizing movies or would theycontinue to be isolated audience for movies.Keywords: Captioned films, Effects, Films for deaf and feature films of deaf Indian Expressionism: Traits of German expressionism in Indian cinema Vijith M S E S College, SreekandapuramThis paper attempts to find out the influence of German expressionism on early Indian cinema.Expressionism, one of the greatest and impelling art forms began as a movement in art and evolvedin Germany during First World War. By using the elements of expressionism, German filmmakersincorporated symbolism to expose deeper meanings and emotions. The concept of abstractionseems to be the common key of expressionist movies. For this artistic accomplishment they usedseveral unique cinematic techniques like, distorted shapes and lines in set design and mise-en-scene, heavy shadowing along with the theatrical acting etc. Robert Wiene's The Cabinet of DrCaligari , Raskolnikov, Fritz Lang's Metropolis etc are some good examples. German expressionistfilms had a far greater effect worldwide; it influenced many directors and films thereafter. It isinteresting to find that some of the early Indian movies have also adapted several expressionistfilm making approaches. It is obvious in movies like Amrith Manthan (1934), Pinjra(1970) by VSantharam, Mahal (1949) by Kamal Amrohi, Pyaasa (1957) by Guru Dutt etc. This paper explains theinfluence of German expressionism on Indian cinema in three major frameworks, (a) howeffectively early Indian cinema incorporated the German expressionist characteristics, (b) toelucidate why and on what context Indian cinema used expressionist methods, (c) to analyze howthe philosophical sense advanced by the doctrinaire expressionism fit in Indian cinematic context.Keywords: Expressionism, German cinema, Symbolism Content Analysis of Dalit portrayal in the Marathi Feature Film 'Fandry' V Loganayagi Abinaya Manormaniam Sundaranar University, Tamil NaduThis research is about the portrayal of Dalits in a well-known feature film in Marathi by a debutantdirector Nagaraj Popatrao Manjule. Caste system in India is hierarchical which abolishes equality.Media being the fourth estate, brings light to the social issues in its role. This film in particular isa brave attempt on questioning the caste system that purely discriminates a particular group ofpeople and gives a clear vision without any compromise in its motive, in addition to how thesepeople are suppressed by the people in the higher order of social stratification. It eventually gainsimportance as many films tackle these problems but not in a full-fledged way. Analysing thecontent in a descriptive way helps to know the portrayal of Dalits in the film with the innermeanings conveyed to know the roots of discrimination prevailing in the society. Thus, castesystem and untouchability have to be looked out in the study with its linkage of cinema being apart of revealing it.Keywords: Dalit, Portrayal, Marathi cinema, Feature film, Untouchability 30

Vision Excellence and Service Mission Christ University is a nurturing ground for an individual’s holistic development to make effective contribution to the society in a dynamic environment Core Values Faith in God Moral Uprightness Love of Fellow Beings Social Responsibility Pursuit of Excellence Department of Media Studies Christ UniversityBengaluru – 560029, Karnataka, India. www.christuniversity.in | [email protected] Tel: +91 80 40129100 Fax: +91 80 40129000 email: [email protected]