The legacy of divide: Presence of partition memories in contemporary Indian cinema 2012-2017

Abstract

This thesis analyses the continued relevance and representation of India’s Partition in contemporary Indian cinema. It highlights the period from 2012 to 2017 as a crucial phase in Partition filmography. This phase attests to the consistent, yet diverse representational treatment of the memories and consequences of Partition in Indian cinema. The chosen fictional body of work engages with, reconstructs and reinterprets this pivotal moment in the history of the Indian subcontinent.
The socio-political context of the fiction films and the motivation behind this regular exploration of Partition memories is critically examined since such a movement draws attention to Indian cinema’s role in memorialising Partition. The four case study films fictionalise and represent the memories of Partition in different ways. Therefore, the content of the memories and their subsequent cinematic reimaginations are central to this thesis. The reach and popularity garnered by the case study films is examined in tandem with their dramatic aesthetic. There is a deliberate demarcation of the Indian dramatic structure from other cinemas, to emphasise its manifestation from a theatrical tradition unique to the ancient Indian culture. I hope that this approach encourages a re-evaluation and expansion of the existing parameters of Indian film analysis. This reading highlights the singularity of the Partition experience and the distinct composition of commercial or mainstream Indian cinema utilized for its memorialisation.
The aim of this thesis is to address an identifiable gap in the recent scholarship of Partition inspired narratives and reconstructions. It acknowledges the case study films as tangible contributions of mainstream Indian cinema toward Partition historiography, in the face of their continued vulnerability to communal and gender sensitivities since the occurance of the division in 1947. As India and Pakistan continue to struggle to find neutral ground in an environment beset with religious, political and military ramifications, this in-depth analysis, adds significantly to the multifaceted Partition memorialisation efforts as well as gauges its future implications.

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ORCID for Tim Bergfelder: orcid.org/0000-0001-6585-6123

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