Indian Fiction and Films:: Rethinking History, Society and Culture

The book attempts a re-evaluation of selected Indian fictional works and films in terms of their engagement with history, society, and culture. It seeks to establish how the writers’ and filmmakers’ concerns present facts, reframe the discourse, and disabuse the readers of long held notions and sentiments so that a proper understanding of Indian history, society, and culture comes about. Thus, inevitably marking a departure from and improving upon the usual critical practice of analysing literature and films within the artistic parameters, this book explores broad concerns, such as colonial history, Gandhian ideology, relevance of Bhakti Literature, globalization, gender, dowry system, inter-caste marriages, caste based discrimination, honour killings, subordination of the Dalits, socioeconomic disparities, transition of Indian society, multiculturalism, Bollywood, social responsibility, and hybrid identities of diasporic Indians as depicted in the works of Indian writers and film makers ranging from R.K. Narayan to Jeet Thayil and from Priyadarshan to Prakash Jha.
The book will be indubitably useful not just to the students and teachers of English literature, but even to scholars in other disciplines, such as history, sociology, cultural studies, gender studies, Dalit studies, and film studies.