What does “Global” in “Global Indian” mean?: cultural production and new urban subjectivities in world-class Mumbai

Abstract

ABSTRACT Through an examination of the stand-up comedy scene in Mumbai, India, this paper analyzes what “global” means in the context of new articulations of Indian-ness. I argue that emergent urban art forms, such as stand-up comedy in Mumbai, allow the articulation of a world-class urban subjectivity, which comes to define meanings of “global Indian-ness”. Thus, this article contributes to our understanding of how the growing role of global cities in capturing transnational flows of capital shapes contemporary articulations of national identity. Specifically, media productions facilitated by the production of cities like Mumbai as world-class produces a new subjectivity that informs national identity. Stand-up comedy in Mumbai is one such emergent media production, because it is made possible by Mumbai’s media infrastructure, which in turn is facilitated by the reorganization of Mumbai as a world-class city.