This article comes at an interesting time. Few days back I was thinking about exploring Iranian cinema, I watched Panah Panahi’s ‘Hit the road’, then found out that he is son of a renowned filmmaker Jafar Panahi, I then watched ‘Taxi’. I was in the middle of ‘No Bears’ when the news broke that he got Palm d’Or for his latest film. Then AMV shared a meme about an Indian actress receiving a splendid welcome back from Cannes, AMV said “Jafar Panahi can only dream of this”. I was glad I got the reference! And btw I thought this comment would be much more interesting when I started writing it 🙏🏼
What a beautiful piece of writing Anurag! The way you have structured the sentences feels so conversational, easy to understand, and yet have a thoughtful reflection on the same.
Is there also an economic angle to this? The Indian film industry too is in its aspirational middle class stage, and will not tolerate money being left on the table!
Hollywood has moved beyond all this with it's surplus cash for dissent. The countries whose basics are under threat do not see enough RoI in movies to opt for self censorship.
Very well articulated Anurag, also in a country like India there is an identity dilemma, between the regional and national identity, common individuals specially from marginalized communities are often absent, and when represented they are reduced to just symbols (like you also mentioned about the folk music).
“For generations, they inherited a culture steeped in poetry, mysticism, and visual restraint” this is central to the broader argument presented. I haven’t watched much Iranian cinema but now I am curious about the pre-revolution cinema and how it compares to the post-revolution one, not just in censorship but also the nature of storytelling. Thanks for the article 😊
much needed insight into Indian cinema through the lens of artistic atmosphere and history. The phrase 'absence of thought is fatal' aptly captures the current scenario of Indian cinema. Thank you so much for giving us rich thoughts.
This article comes at an interesting time. Few days back I was thinking about exploring Iranian cinema, I watched Panah Panahi’s ‘Hit the road’, then found out that he is son of a renowned filmmaker Jafar Panahi, I then watched ‘Taxi’. I was in the middle of ‘No Bears’ when the news broke that he got Palm d’Or for his latest film. Then AMV shared a meme about an Indian actress receiving a splendid welcome back from Cannes, AMV said “Jafar Panahi can only dream of this”. I was glad I got the reference! And btw I thought this comment would be much more interesting when I started writing it 🙏🏼
What a beautiful piece of writing Anurag! The way you have structured the sentences feels so conversational, easy to understand, and yet have a thoughtful reflection on the same.
Thank you so much 🩵🩵
Beautiful writing again!
Is there also an economic angle to this? The Indian film industry too is in its aspirational middle class stage, and will not tolerate money being left on the table!
Hollywood has moved beyond all this with it's surplus cash for dissent. The countries whose basics are under threat do not see enough RoI in movies to opt for self censorship.
So good 🥂
Very well articulated Anurag, also in a country like India there is an identity dilemma, between the regional and national identity, common individuals specially from marginalized communities are often absent, and when represented they are reduced to just symbols (like you also mentioned about the folk music).
“For generations, they inherited a culture steeped in poetry, mysticism, and visual restraint” this is central to the broader argument presented. I haven’t watched much Iranian cinema but now I am curious about the pre-revolution cinema and how it compares to the post-revolution one, not just in censorship but also the nature of storytelling. Thanks for the article 😊
much needed insight into Indian cinema through the lens of artistic atmosphere and history. The phrase 'absence of thought is fatal' aptly captures the current scenario of Indian cinema. Thank you so much for giving us rich thoughts.
Very interesting analysis!
Ustad maza aya padh kar
Btw the essence of what artists or art forms from India would you like to see in an Indian film