The course centers on how Indian history has been represented in popular Hindi films since 1947 and the social and cultural dynamics that both shape and are, in turn, produced by these representations. It introduces students to major political, economic and social transformations in 20th century India, and analyses how these developments are reflected in popular cinema. In viewing Bollywood as a site of cultural production, the course traces the crucial role of Hindi cinema in framing popular understandings of the past and present and examines how these cinematic narratives are informed by India's postcolonial histories.
