Hinduism

This chapter covers the diversity of ways in which Hinduism has been depicted onscreen, foremost in the context of its land of origin, India. It accounts for how Hinduism has been drawn and deployed on film not only historically, but also culturally and politically (in light of the recent ascendancy of Hindu nationalism), as well as technologically (in light of the global ascendancy of digital media). While it addresses alternative forms of visual storytelling, such as art cinema, indie cinema, and even digital web series, it focuses primarily on Hinduism as reflected in commercial hits from Bollywood (the Hollywood of Bombay [now Mumbai]), as well as from regional cinemas in South India, given that, in recent years, films from the latter have catapulted into pan-national victory at the box office.