Between Violetta and Vasantasena Is Toulouse-Lautrec: Cinematic Avatars and Bollywood in Moulin Rouge!

Abstract

The effects of contemporary mainstream Hindi film on international cinema provide a significant case study of contemporary relations between national cinemas and global esthetics. Clearly, the Indian film industry is not small; it produces more films per year for theatrical release than any other studio industry. Despite its size, however, it has yet to become the dominant force in the mainstream global market share. Bollywood films (and other works of Indian cinema) only account for a relatively small percentage of the global box office, and that viewership is primarily non-resident Indians. However, Bollywood has always had a following in Asian, African, and Eastern European markets, including viewership outside of the Indian diaspora (Kumar, 2008, p. 93). This increasing expansion of non-Indian markets may speak to specific shifts in global viewing practices; while Hollywood is still dominant, it relies more and more on foreign markets in terms of initial funding and box-office receipts (Kumar, 2008, p. 94). As the Asian and African markets expand, so does the enthusiasm for Bollywood pictures. Bollywood’s global viewership parallels another phenomenon: an increase in films produced outside of the Indian film industry that import Bollywood’s modes of esthetics, musical stylings, and iconographies. Indian film has claimed a significant place in mainstream media. Hollywood and other cinemas have emphasized these burgeoning connections; for example, they are seen in the self-reflexive, final dance sequence of Slumdog Millonaire (2008), in the opening credits of Ghost World (2000), in the icons of colonialism in Vanity Fair (2004) and in many diasporic films such as Bend it Like Beckham (2002) and Bride and Prejudice (2004).