The projection of nationalism in contemporary bollywood cinema

Cinema as one of the most influential domains of the culture is intimately connected to the nationalism, nation’s sense of identity, feeling of the belonging to a certain community, formation of the historical memory and etc. With the help of cinema nationalism can promote such a powerful meanings as territoriality, national continuity, create national myths, define individuality and otherness of the nation, legitimize the statehood. As a medium that reaches a huge audience, Bollywood cinema is very significant in India by fostering national identity, reshaping it according to the changing realities. Hindi movies has played an important role in these processes since 1990s, when India faced a major challenges: economic liberalization, huge tensions between Hindus and Muslims and changing attitude towards to diaspora. Master thesis examines links between nationalism and popular Bollywood cinema of the period. The object of this paper is three hindi commercial films, reflecting socio-cultural changes in India: „Straight From the Heart“ (1999), „Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sadness“ (2001) and „Revolt: A Love Story“ (2001). The goal of this Master thesis is to analyze how the ideas of Indian identity, national belonging, modern Indianness are being constructed in popular films through their narratives, movie characters, their values, various experiences of the nation. Theoretical framework of master thesis is based on the analysis of the major theories of Western and postcolonial nationalism. The articulation of nationalism in Bollywood cinema was examined through historical prism and analysis of three particular films. According to the results, contemporary Bollywood cinema is actively involved in Indian identity-building process, promotes nationalism and provides a vision of modern Indianness. The analysis of the movies has shown that Indianness promoted in the films is based on the several key concepts: family as a central core of the society, ancient Hindu values and traditions, the maintenance of national identity even when living abroad. Indian culture is seen as more spiritually advanced than the Western. Dominant representation of Muslims tents to be negative