Invited Talk: Dr Swapnil Rai
Date & Time:
8th November, 14:00
Location:
Microsoft Teams, see link to book tickets at bottom of page.
BCMCR and the South Asian Media cluster invites you to an online talk by Dr Swapnil Rai ahead of the launch of her upcoming monograph titled Networked Bollywood (Cambridge University Press, 2024) on November 8, 2024.
Dr. Swapnil Rai is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Film, Television, and Media at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. As an interdisciplinary scholar, she works at the intersection of media studies, critical cultural communication, women’s and gender studies, and industry studies. Focusing on the global south, she investigates how transnational networked cultures intersect with the media industries and with questions of policy, geopolitics, and audiences.
About her book: Networked Bollywood offers an interdisciplinary examination of the role of stars in transforming Hindi cinema into a global entertainment industry. Although the first Indian film was made in 1913, filmmaking was not officially recognized as an industry until nearly a century later. Despite this, Indian films have circulated internationally since their early days. This book uncovers the often-overlooked history of Bollywood’s globalization through multilingual, transnational research and cultural discourse analysis. The author demonstrates how, over the decades, a select group of predominantly male megastars—leaders of the industry’s major productions and corporations—combined immense charismatic appeal with significant business acumen. Through what is described as “star switching power,” a concept deeply rooted in gender dynamics and reflective of broader social inequalities, these stars initiated new cinematic flows, industrial collaborations, and distinctive business models. They also shaped state policy and diplomatic relations, playing a pivotal role in defining the trajectory of Bollywood’s globalization.
Location: Microsoft Teams
Registration for the event is mandatory. Please register here
Date and time: November 8, 2024, 2:00-3:30 PM