Study day Bollywood (R)evolution
Home > Accompanying program > Study day Bollywood (R)evolutionStudy Day on Bollywood (R)evolution at the French Institute
Friday, October 19th
Address: Prague French Institute, Štěpánská 35, Praha 1
The Study Day will be held in collaboration with the Paris Sorbonne University to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Indian cinema. The event will be attended by two prominent guests: Nasreen Munni Kabir, director, producer and expert on Indian cinema, and Charles Tesson, the current president of the International Critics’ Week at Cannes.
The event will be followed by the screening of the film The Inner World Of Shah Rukh Khan, shot by Nasreen Munni Kabir in 2004, and which contrasts the private and public life of one of the biggest Bollywood stars.
100 years of Indian cinematography in Prague
Loved and hated, studied and copied, Indian cinema celebrates 100 years this year. Also this year, the Prague Indian Film Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary of providing the opportunity to explore exotic destinations through new and old movies and to meet people from various countries. To celebrate this double anniversary, apart from the usual program, the Festival offers the opportunity to attend a Study Day on Bollywood (r)evolution, organized in cooperation with the French Institute in Prague and the presitigious French university, Sorbonne in Paris, which will provide experts to guide the session.
Study Day aims to illuminate the face of contemporary Bollywood in relation to its past. The 1950s, known as the golden age of Indian cinematography, was a period when popular Indian film was crystallizing, leading to the question of what progress has been made since then and where has Indian cinema been going over the last decade.
Indian film often focuses on romantic or family themes, but nowadays there are new themes, such as superheroes, and opportunities to use special effects. This leads to the question, What does the Bollywood label mean? Is it a genre and, if so, is it possible to omit romantic or musical motifs from the films and still call it Bollywood? Though music and dance sequences evoke contradictory reactions from the audience, in a country where music and dance are bound to the culture, these may be important elements that allow better understanding of the film. The sessions will focus on the transformation of Indian cinema, which we label with a double term: (r)evolution.
We are honored that our invitation has been accepted by two distinguished guests, producer Nasreen Munni Kabir, author and long-time friend of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, who will talk about her work in Indian cinema which she works to preserve and spread awareness of. Thanks to her, the Indian film industry managed to reach us. Our next guest is Charles Tesson, who will speak about Indian films in the Festival. He is former editor of Les Cahiers du Cinéma, a famous French film critic magazine, and current President of Critics’ Week at Cannes Film Festival.
Come and celebrate with us this cinematic anniversary!