Postcolonial studies and bollywood

 Thinking activity on Postcolonial studies and bollywood.

Hello viewers,

Today I'm going to write this blog on thinking activity about Postcolonial studies and bollywood which I have gotten by prof. Dilip Barad, I've to give my responses on this task and ideas on it , so let's begin, friends…

Rang De Basanti 

Rang De Basanti is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language drama film written, produced and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and co-written by Rensil D'Silva. The film follows a British film student traveling to India to document the story of five freedom fighters of the Indian revolutionary movement. She befriends and casts five young men in the film, which inspires them. to fight against the corruption of their own government. It features an ensemble cast consisting of Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Atul Kulkarni, Soha Ali Khan, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor and British actress Alice Patten. 

 

Postcolonial study of the movie "Rang De Basanti":

When we look at this film in a postcolonial way we find some interesting things.In the movie when British female protagonist She came on Indian airport at that time how Indian people gathered to meet her with excitement, so it shows the impact of white person on our mind. 

When an outsider sees the act of bribery it’s illegal for them but in India, it becomes normal for us. This scene is very well shown in the movie and how Sue reacts to it. The camera also focuses well.

Sue : इन लोगो ने जान दी थी आज़ादी के लिए तुम्हारे देश कि.  

This dialogue shows that these Indian characters do not know anything or they don’t focus on their own country. She came and she tried to awaken them for freedom and patriotism.

When Daljit and Pande fight at that time Sue tries to patch up them so if we look at  Postcolonial theory it says that why white people required to patch up?why are we Indian aren't able to do that? 

Sue : अपनी ट्रेडिशन का सम्मान करना ही चाहिए.

The other thing is when Sue speaks Hindi, DJ is shocked, because he thinks that white people can not speak and understand Hindi. This is a single story in our mind also. We think the white people can not speak our language. 

 

Lagaan 

Lagaan is a 2001 Indian epic sports drama film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker.When we look at from post colonial perspective at that time we find that why people gave much important only Cricket game not any other specially in India, and why we need white man for patch up still today. In this movie various identities are represented. How white man ruled over Indian people.

 

The story about the resilience shown by the Indians when they were under the British Rule. They are already taxed to the bone by the British and their cronies, but when Jack Russell announces that he will double the Lagaan from all villagers, they decide to oppose it. Leading the villagers is a handsome young man named Bhuvan, who challenges them to a game of cricket, a game that is to be played by veteran British cricket players, versus villagers, including Bhuvan himself, who have never played this game before, and do not even know a bat from a piece of wood. As the challenge is accepted, the interest grows and attracts Indians from all over the region, as well as the British from all over the country - as everyone gathers to see the 'fair play' that the British will display against their counterparts, who are aided by none other than the sister, Elizabeth, of Captain Rusell. 

Postcolonial study of the film "Lagaan"

The only thing represents post-colonialism in this movie is game of cricket. We accepts to play cricket because we want freedom from tax but now in free India why this game is more famous than any other game. It clearly shows that how still British people ruling our mind. This is the reason why cricket is more played and watched than our national game. 

Religion is also in the center of the movie. The temple of Lord Krishna is situated at height, which signifies their faith and place of religion. Before starting any work they pray to god for their victory. The king also staunchly believes in religion and because of that he denies eating meat to Captain Russell. Villagers have been suffering from drought for the last two years and they believe that if they pray to god, god will send rain. When Bhuvan accepts the challenge of cricket match no villager is ready to play but when first time Bhuvan hits the ball and ball hits the bell of temple then they find this as omen. In between the movie whenever they find themselves in a difficult situation they all gather and pray to god. By doing all these things the maker wants to show the power of religion and prayer.

Here in this film also Gauri who is living in a village who loves Bhuvan. Both are living in the same village. Bhuvan also loves Gauri. One other person  who also lives in the same village, Lakha , loves Gauri. Elizabeth, sister of Russell, also falls in love with Bhuvan. So we can find heartbroken Elizabeth and jealous Lakha.

In this movie various identities are represented. How white man ruled over Indian people. Through these movies we can conclude that now we are free, but still our minds are colonized. White men did not rule physically but they still ruled on us mentally. These are all movies made by Indian directors but they put black identity or colonial people in the margins. And they concentrate on this scene twice or thirst. Their cultures present well not any Asian or African country they used. 

 

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ThAct: Shashi Tharoor and Dark era of inglorious Empire

 Thinking activity on Shashi Tharoor and dark era of inglorious Empire

Hello readers,

Here I'm gonna write this blog about some interesting points about Shashi Tharoor's speeches and ideas on An Era Of Darkness and I've to ponder upon the ideas and focus on the main aspects of the points given by him. And I got this task as my thinking activity by prof. Dilip Barad gave the responses to these speeches and ideas on An Era Of Darkness by Shashi Tharoor , so let's begin …

Introduction:

Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor is an Indian politician, writer and former international diplomat who has been serving as Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, since 2009.  more

The very first point which I've to ponder upon is that

1.  Write on key arguments in Shashi Tharoor's book - " An Era of Darkness". 

 

This is the video of an interview for the book "An Era Of Darkness" by Shashi Tharoor . In this video Tharoor talks about his book "An Era Of Darkness" and He says how Britishers attacked the Indian economy by increasing tax. People, who were unable to pay the tax, were whipped, tortured and harassed, treated very cruelly by the Britishers. India was rich in many industries also, such as steel, textile, hand loom etc. These colonizers made Indians weak enough that Indians lost the courage to strike back, and raise the voice. Britain transformed India from the richest country in the world to a poor country. Taxation, economy and many things were made weak. And by taking the advantage of this weakness, Britishers kept on looting and sucking the prosperity of India for 200 years.

Another video is about Shashi Tharoor's Stirring Speech at Oxford Union 

 

In this video Tharoor challenges the prime narrative and sets a postmodern outlook in his arguments. He says that ‘India was governed for the benefit of Britain’. In this video Shashi Tharoor ironically speaks against the master narrative and provides a detailed note with figures and sums regarding how the Indian Economy was severely affected by the colonialism imposed by Britain.  

Then one more video on it  , is about "Looking Back at the British Raj in India: The University of Edinburgh" 

 

In this video Tharoor talks about his PhD and most importantly about the academic rigor which is required for writing any thesis or paper. This was very related to the students of literature, especially those who are doing their graduation and post - graduation.  And he also talks about how Britishers and other colonizers looted India. All the colonizers came to this country and robbed all the useful things. India was capable enough to produce textile and steel, and in agriculture also India was producing many organic and nutritious crops. But the drawback for India was new machinery and technology was not easily accepted.  

Then the second point is that…

2. Write critique on both the films with reference to Postcolonial insights. 

The Black Prince :

The Black Prince' is the tale of subjugation of the last Sikh king of Punjab, Maharaja Duleep Singh, the son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh directed by Kavi Raaz. The dilemma in the entire film is over identity. The identity crises, the belongingness, the religious conflicts play a very vital role in shaping the future course of the black prince who has been given the throne at the age of five upon the death of the father and has been abducted by the British government at the age of fifteen.  

"What you seek is all gone now, my black Prince" 

This is a chronicle surrounded over the identity and the fate of the last king of Punjab who loosened the throne and was never allowed to return. It is surrounded around the kingdom exploring relations with Queen Victoria. It is about the story lost in history and the colonial rule has never narrated it. The postcolonial way of looking at the subjects is the narration of the film. It unveils the whole new chapter of Indian History - from the prince's lost kingdom to his journey of being converted to Christianity. Hence, the narrative highlights the things and oppressions which the British have done to the subjects.  

Victoria and Abdul :

Victoria & Abdul is a 2017 British biographical comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Lee Hall. The film is based on the book of the same name by Shrabani Basu, about the real-life relationship between Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her Indian Muslim servant Abdul Karim. It stars Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Michael Gambon, Eddie Izzard, Tim Pigott-Smith (in his final film role), and Adeel Akhtar. The film had its world premiere at the 74th Venice Film Festival, and was theatrically released on 15 September 2017 in the United Kingdom. It has grossed over $65 million worldwide.

Abdul Karim, a young prison clerk from British India, is instructed to travel to Britain for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887 to present her with a mohur, a gold coin that has been minted as a token of appreciation from British-ruled India. Abdul is from a Muslim, Urdu-speaking family in India. 

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SR: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 SR: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Hello friends,

Here I'm going to write this blog about the video discussion of Chimamanda Ngozi's Ted talk in our classroom and and I've to give my responses of understanding postcolonialism from this video. So let's begin…

Introduction:

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie:

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie note  born 15 September is a Nigerian writer whose works range from novels to short stories to nonfiction.

Adichie uses her work to inspire women around the world in breaking gender constructions, stereotypes, and sexualities that have been made to subjugate women in society. Adichie has described feminism as part of the consensus knowledge on human rights.

The three talks video by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 

The first video is about "The Danger Of Single Story" 

 

The second video is "We should all be Faminist"

 

And the third video is about "Importance of truth in post-truth era"

 

Then I've to give responses of my understanding of these videos 

1.  Did the first talk help you in understanding  of post colonialism ?

In this video Adichie argues that when there's only a single story about a group of people, it robs them of their dignity. The single story reduces people, rendering them incomplete, flat, one-dimensional. As a result, it becomes difficult to recognize equal humanity in the characters of a single story.

Adichie explains that if we only hear about a people, place or situation from one point of view, we risk accepting one experience as the whole truth. “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete,” Adichie says in the video. 

And this way the video helps for understanding postcolonialism.

2. Are the arguments in the second talk convincing?

In this video Adichie's "We Should All Be Feminists," succinctly unearths the need to transform social beliefs and gender constructs that promote the disparity between men and women. 

Here are several more examples why we need feminism: Blatant sexism permeates economic, social and economic life. Women want to be called strong, not bitchy. ... Women do not need to be told how to live their life.  

Then she talks about Why is Feminism Important? 

Feminism allows equal opportunities for both sexes. Gender roles can be harmful to both men and women. ... It is also unfair to place pressure on boys to fulfil certain roles that are based on their gender. 

And this way it's arguments are convincing.

3. What did you like about third talk?

This video is very interesting. In this the girl who called the name "chimichanga" instead of "Chimamanda" it's very humorous and interesting . And in this matter she pays attention to the uttering of the names with the mistake or whiteout mistake. So it's an interesting thing I've found in this video.

4. Are these talks bringing any significant change in your way of looking at literature and life?

Yes, these videos are very helpful in my way of looking at the literature and the various aspects of my life . Very interesting things which Chimamanda discusses here and it's all very helpful and interesting to be follow-up in our lives…

Thank you…

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