Abstract
Vilnius University Cardboard skulls decorating the book of the dead’s pink cover―the Necronomicon; intoxicated young ladies having a ‘kitty party’ then gang raping their male servant; secret agents 077 and 707 serving the nation; a shape-shifting monster’s head rotates 180 degrees while tracing a doomed bride in red and the list of similar images is far from exhaustive. The above mentioned aesthetical and narrative cinematic devises just happen to come from a variety of Indian films―usually ascribed to the ‘lower’ cinematic cultures and labeled as exploitative, B-grade or even ‘trash’ cinema. Often despised and ridiculed by academicians, critics, and the big budget film industries while at the same time enjoying vast popularity in smaller urban centers and towns, these Indian low budget films co-exist with Bollywood and other major industries―yet work by their own sets of rules and agendas. These films remain a part of the national as well as global film consumption, even if slightly overshadowed by the blockbuster or Arthouse cinemas. Despite the changing trends in India’s film productions and aesthetics, the low budget cinema retains its cult status throughout the country―and this is most evident while taking a stroll down the Grant Road in Mumbai, lined up with numerous video stalls and offering enormous amounts of cheaply produced ‘3 films in 1’ type of DVDs: the genre selection ranging from action (fight) to horror; from mythological to soft-core sex films.
Highlights
From Highbrow to Lowbrow: Studies of Indian B-grade cinema and beyondDeimantas Valančiūnas Vilnius UniversityCardboard skulls decorating the book of the dead’s pink cover―the Necronomicon; intoxicated young ladies having a ‘kitty party’ gang raping their male servant; secret agents 077 and 707 serving the nation; a shape-shifting monster’s head rotates 180 degrees while tracing a doomed bride in red and the list of similar images is far from exhaustive
While there remains a lack of substantive research on regional cinemas and, for that matter, on the smaller sections of Hindi cinema, there has been more and more attempts by established Indian film scholars to look beyond the umbrella term of ‘Bollywood’ and to search for alternative approaches to the study of the variety of forms in the Hindi cinema― one of which is the recent collection of articles Beyond the Boundaries of Bollywood
Ventures even further beyond the established B-grade horror traditions of the Ramsay brothers to the bottom of India’s horror production, investigating the uncategorized low budget films by such directors as Kanti Shah, Harinam Singh etc. In her witty and pioneering research Aditi Sen explains, how certain narrative and visual strategies employed by these low budget horror films subvert conventional Bollywood norms and aesthetics as well as interrogates the very idea of normativity
Summary
From Highbrow to Lowbrow: Studies of Indian B-grade cinema and beyondDeimantas Valančiūnas Vilnius UniversityCardboard skulls decorating the book of the dead’s pink cover―the Necronomicon; intoxicated young ladies having a ‘kitty party’ gang raping their male servant; secret agents 077 and 707 serving the nation; a shape-shifting monster’s head rotates 180 degrees while tracing a doomed bride in red and the list of similar images is far from exhaustive. The majority of articles in this Acta Orientalia Vilnensia issue were collected after the conference ‘The Body in the Cinemas of South Asia’, held at the Vilnius University Centre of Oriental Studies and co-organized by Dr Valentina Vitali (University of East London) and Dr Deimantas Valančiūnas (Vilnius University).1 The conference, which gathered Indian film scholars and film enthusiasts from 11 countries, was a significant event for two main reasons.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
