Purab aur Paschim: Colonials, Neighbours and Others

Description

One of the first villains of Hindi cinema were the British. Their haughty disregard for the subjugated Indians living in a colonised country was material for interesting mean characters, sometimes played by natives in blond wigs with fake British accents. Post-Partition it has often been foreigners from neighbouring nations who have been the raw material for depiction of evil in films—as enemy combatants, spies, terrorists, saboteurs, or religious fanatics. These and other stereotypes form a significant chunk of the Bollywood rogues gallery, their departures from the ‘norm’ making them a source of fear and anxiety. Purab aur Paschim: Colonials, Neighbours and Others lays bare the fun we have with othering while enjoying the forbidden fruit all along.