Cinema in the sculpting of the South Asian self: a textual reading

Abstract

In this article, I attempt to decipher the intangible and pre-theoretical dimension of South Asian modernity through the portal of cinema. By reading the South Asian experience through the inherently political realm of visual culture, this article examines the role of the cinematic image in the dissemination of elite ideology and the formation of political subjects. Drawing on the role of Tamil cinema and its actors in forming the populace of political devotees, the article unravels the complexities of aesthetic experience and its relation to ideas of the self. Tamil cinema is then contrasted with examples from Hindi and Burmese cinema, in which visual culture appears as a site of contestation and formation of multiple meanings. Cinema, in its vast abundance, therefore, can become invaluable material and site for the exploration of everyday struggle in South Asia.