Abstract
Using Mani Ratnam’s 2004 Hindi and Tamil adaptations of the 2000 Mexican film, Amores perros, this essay explores the adaptation of a transnationally successful film as a key strategy for filmmakers seeking global audiences, a process which dialectically constitutes transnational film style in any given period. It considers the unique constraints Indian filmmakers pursuing this strategy face, given the distance between Indian film conventions demanded by the local audiences and transnational conventions that might be more appealing to non-Indian audiences. Comparing the Hindi (Bollywood) and Tamil versions reveals textual traces of a hegemon-subaltern relationship among Indian film industries that reflects broader patterns, with Hollywood as a global hegemon. This comparison also reveals how the approximation of transnational style entails a corresponding diminishment of political content.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 109-127 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Transnational Cinemas |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 2013 |
Keywords
- transnational adaptation
- transnational film style
- Mani Ratnam
- Tamil cinema
- Amores perros
- Bollywood as hegemonic Indian cinema