Skip to content
ISSN NO. : 0970-4175 (Print)

 

Search

The Book Review, Monthly Review of Important BooksThe Book Review, Monthly Review of Important Books
The Book Review, Monthly Review of Important Books
  • HOME
  • THE BOOK REVIEW
    • ABOUT
    • FOUNDER TRUSTEES
    • THE JOURNAL
  • SUBSCRIPTIONS
    • PRINT & DIGITAL EDITION
  • PUBLICATIONS
  • ARCHIVES
    • Table of Contents
    • Reviews
  • MEDIA & EVENTS
    • EVENTS
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISEMENT
  • HOME
  • THE BOOK REVIEW
    • ABOUT
    • FOUNDER TRUSTEES
    • THE JOURNAL
  • SUBSCRIPTIONS
    • PRINT & DIGITAL EDITION
  • PUBLICATIONS
  • ARCHIVES
    • Table of Contents
    • Reviews
  • MEDIA & EVENTS
    • EVENTS
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISEMENT

The Shadowlands

Review Details

Book Name: DARK FEAR, EERIE CITIES: NEW HINDI CINEMA IN NEOLIBERAL INDIA
Author name: Šarūnas Paunksnis
Book Year: 2019
Book Price: 750.00
Reviewer name: Anupama Srinivasan
Volume No: 44
Publisher Name: Oxford University Press, Delhi
Book Pages: 194

The book Dark Fear, Eerie Cities analyses a particular strand of Hindi films from the past two decades and through them leads us through a fascinating enquiry into the sources and manifestation of desire, anxiety, fear and neurosis in the new Indian middle class that began to emerge in the early 1990s when Indian economy opened up. The strand Šarunas Paunksnis chooses is composed of films that expose the dark underbelly of urban life, revealing an India that is an antithesis of the image of the ultra modern, global city that Neoliberalism constantly advertises.

Paunksnis clearly states in his introduction that ‘[t]his book should not be understood as a “film studies” book but as a much broader investigation in the philosophy and sociology of transforming neoliberal India’ (p. xiv). The author does well to stay steadfastly on course, not slipping into delineating the cinematic qualities of the films but keeping his focus on their psycho-socio-spatial aspects. Analysing films such as NH10 (2015), Ugly (2013), Highway (2014), Ek Hasina Thi (2004), Phobia (2016), he unpacks and exposes a society in flux, a society in which individuals of the middle class are trying to forge new identities for themselves, trying to find and play the role of the global citizen. Gated high-rise apartment complexes, shopping malls, multiplexes and flyovers define their space where they live their dream of having a world-class standard of living.

Please Login or Register to Read Entire Article !

Username:
Password:
Register
Lost your password?

Post navigation

PreviousPrevious post:How Power Shapes the Idea of RaceNextNext post:Urdu Poetry and the Idea of India

Related posts

Portuguese State, Society and Polity
July 13, 2020
A Nuanced and Complex Portrayal
July 13, 2020
A Polarized Debate
July 13, 2020
In Honour of a ‘Constitutional Activist’
July 13, 2020
How Institutions Are Shaped
July 13, 2020
Instant Assessments
July 13, 2020

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

clear formPost comment

Current Issue
  • Gandhi’s Tryst with Modernity April 5, 2021
  • How a Farman Gave an Inch and Lost a Mile April 5, 2021
Search in website

ABOUT US | DISCLAIMER | ADVERTISEMENT

All Right Reserved with The Book Review Literacy Trust | Powered by Digital Empowerment Foundation

FacebookTwitter