Books by Ashish Rajadhyaksha

This is the first of a series of volumes that turn back to Indiäs recent history to produce a retrospective account of how our present was shaped. Key essays on politics, economics, cultural studies, and aesthetics appear alongside works of art, documentary film, photography, maps, letters, and legal documents.

The fifty-one essays compiled in this book were written over a forty-year period by India's leading independent filmmaker. They provide new insights into a turbulent era in modern India's cultural history. Kumar Shahani has taught, spoken and written on a variety of subjects over this period.

Argues that any exploration of the social uses to which cinema is put in a place like India can only make sense if it transforms our understanding of cinema itself. Taking as his timeframe the era of celluloid, the author examines three moments of crisis for the Indian State in which cinema played a central role.