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A start-up bringing art to taxis in India

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A start-up bringing art to taxis in India

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When Coldplay's Chris Martin appeared in a Mumbai taxi in his late 2015 video "Hymn for the Weekend," the cab he was seated in caught the eye of people around the world. It's interior fabric was colorful, full of unusual design elements and altogether very un-taxi like.

Turns out that was the brainchild of Sanket Avlani, one of Forbes Asia's 30 Under 30 Class of 2017, and founder and curator of Taxi Fabric, a collaborative that creates design-friendly taxi fabric. He's also creative director of design agency, A Good Feeling.

Avlani, an electronics and telecoms engineer by degree, is a self-taught designer who developed a love for the creative field and went on to complete a course in Creative Communications before working on projects for big brands such as Honda and Nike in his native Mumbai.

But he says he kept feeling as if there was something missing in the relevance of the work he was doing, sparking an unusual journey over a very short span of time.

A job with Wieden + Kennedy in London brought Avlani's Taxi Fabric vision to life. Seeing fellow designers and creatives in the UK investing in side projects, he felt inspired to apply for the company's unusually named Spore Fund.

"Although I was in London, I was quite satisfied with the application of my skill, but I wanted to be relevant for India," says Avlani, "Would people think of my work for Honda or Nike, or for something like this [Taxi Fabric]?"

Winning the Spore Fund in 2015 meant he ended up with GBP2,000 (roughly $3800 at that time) to start executing his own project.

Avlani's project, Taxi Fabric, which landed him back in Mumbai, launched in June 2015. It was intended to be an outlet for his own creative vision - quickly evolving into a collective of South Asian designers, creating a new backdrop for their designs, in the form of taxi fabric.

"Every art director and designer wants to be able to freely express themselves without the limitations of a skillset," says Avlani.

The company scaled quickly. It suddenly became a bonus for taxi drivers who had unusual and unique graphics adorning their car interiors, making them a canvas for those who otherwise wouldn't have the chance to appreciate design in this way, to do so.

While Kickstarter helped push the concept along, getting Taxi Fabric 80% of its funding from U.S.-based donors, the model has absorbed new life through brand support. This allows taxi drivers to be paid for their downtime while their cars are being fitted out with the fabric, as well as paying designers for their creations.

The program collaborates with 60-70 designers, while almost 200 of the taxis kitted out in Taxi Fabric designs are in Mumbai.

Rickshaws have also come into the picture. With toothpaste brand Colgate sponsoring rickshaw fabrics in Pune, Taxi Fabric has expanded their model out to kit out rickshaws for festival use, and wholeheartedly pulling in design as a means for social campaigns.

"When I moved back from London it was all about Taxi Fabric, but I figured we were in the wrong market - brand managers weren't fully evolved," says Avlani, who says this inspired him to also set up design practice, A Good Feeling. This enables him to work with a smaller set of clients, focusing on social impact and culture-based projects, he says.

"It gives us the chance to be very focused and eliminate anything that did not align with our practice," says Avlani, mentioning Google Allo as a client, for whom his agency is working on a typeface, drawing in expertise from several of the designers from the Taxi Fabric curations.

Beyond this, the inordinately busy Avlani runs Design Fabric, which he calls "an attempt to formalize everything we're doing: events, conferences and workshops, not restrictive of a medium or idea."

With Asian Paints as one of the big partners on the Design Fabric adventure, Avlani says he's been able to open up his studio space to get the community involved through various events, something he says is "only possible because of clients who are fully trusting of us."

Among other things, Design Fabric tackles social issues - recently tying Taxi Fabric up with benefit corporation Purpose to tackle social awareness behind vision correction through a fabric design and workshop.

Meanwhile tying everything together is a new home décor line - sparked as a result of public demand for the design fabrics used as part of Taxi Fabric's mission.

"There's a huge gap in good design, everyone [in India] is very heritage oriented and not innovating," he says - encouraging him to create a textiles based line of products entirely designed and manufactured in-house.

"We have no doubt that art and culture can cause an impact," says Avlani, hoping that India's large cities will continue to inspire change and that commercial and government support will step up to do more in the art-based space.

"I'm not blessed with an extraordinary talent," says Avlani, who professes a love of watching movies in all languages and from all regions in his spare time. "I like to move around and figure out how work can take me to places."

And that taxi fabric that appeared in the Coldplay video? The design was by Samya Arif for Taxi Fabric, their first paid collaboration.

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What Does Coldplay Have To Do With A Startup Bringing Art To Taxis?

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When Coldplay's Chris Martin appeared in a Mumbai taxi in his late 2015 video "Hymn for the Weekend," the cab he was seated in really captured the imagination.

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The creative collaboration between art and music allows artists to showcase their talent internationally.

An interesting addition to the list of Pakistani artists who have been recognized internationally for their artwork is local designer Samya Arif, whose taxi art is featured in multiple snippets across Coldplay's latest music video 'Hymn For The Weekend' from their seventh album. The music video features Chris Martin seated at the back of the taxi that features gorgeous artwork by Samya Arif.

Initially, Arif designed the taxi as part of Taxi Fabric's Independence Day project in August last year. Taxi Fabric is an initiative by Sanket Avlani aimed at transforming the interiors of Mumbai's black and yellow taxis in collaboration with young creative artists. Arif was approached by them to design their ninth taxi in the series. Featuring two women facing each other, Arif's taxi design highlights commonalities between Pakistan and India and represents that connection beautifully.

"It feels amazing. I didn't really expect that my taxi art would be featured in Coldplay's video," Arif expressed her gratitude in a quick conversation with Instep. "Sanket contacted me 3-4 months back and told me about Coldplay's interest in shooting the video in Mumbai and using their taxi designs. Out of the two designs that he shared with them - the other one from an Indian designer - they ended up using mine."

Arif told Instep that she used to be a huge fan of the band and fell in love with their second studio album when she was in her A' levels. "I still like Coldplay but have not been actively listening to them for quite some time now," she added.

As for upcoming projects, Arif said that currently she is working on a variety of projects including one for the US Embassy for which she will be designing "a book bus which is going to be selling and lending out books" in Kathmandu, Nepal.

"I am also making illustrations for a female poet in Lahore for her upcoming book," revealed Arif.

Speaking on the growing collaboration between art and music, the 29-year-old designer said, "It is very exciting for us. We feel like we are the ones doing it. International organizations are showing their interest in our work and this provides us with ways to take part in international projects."

Coldplay's new video also features Beyonce and Bollywood fashion icon Sonam Kapoor.

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Coldplay's latest video features taxi art by Pakistani artist Samya Arif

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Samiya Arif's designed taxi was selected out of two cabs shortlisted for Coldplay's music video. The creative collaboration between art and music allows artists to showcase their talent internationally. An interesting addition to...

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Interiors have been created by Mumbai-based art collective Taxi Fabric, which connects designers with taxi drivers

There are 26 designs so far, inspired by different aspects of the world, including the city's beaches and delivery men

T he project has raised over £11,000 through Kickstarter and is now hoping to also expand to other cities in India

London might be known for its iconic black cabs and New York for its distinctive yellow taxis but in Mumbai, it's all about vibrant colours inside the vehicle.

The lively interiors have been created by Mumbai-based art collective Taxi Fabric, which aims to connect young designers with taxi drivers.

So far, they've created 26 different designs and have even been featured in the music video for Coldplay's Hymn for the Weekend.

Inspirations behind some of the works include Mumbai's Juhu Chowpatty beach and the city's ubiquitous delivery men, known as dabbawalas.

One taxi art, entitled 'The good, the bad and the beautiful', was inspired by Filmy Chakkar, a 1990s comedy that was aired on India's Zee TV.

Another, 'Happily ever after', celebrates the landmarks of Mumbai, with images of buildings.

Art director Sanket Avlani, who started the project last year with three fellow co-founders Nathalie Gordon, Mahak Malik, and Girish Narayandass, explained that Taxi Fabric brightens up Mumbai's normally drab taxis while also promoting the city's undervalued creative talent.

He said: 'Although taxi drivers pay a lot of attention to do up their vehicles and make them stand out from others, very little thought is given to the fabric used on the seats.

'The designs that cover the taxi seats are often dull and forgettable, but with the design talent Mumbai has to offer, this shouldn't be the case.

'The designers are local, the styles are inspired from all around the world, but the topic is still Mumbai.'

Last summer, the project was able to raise over £11,000 through Kickstarter and is now hoping to expand to other cities in India.

Taxi Fabric also plans to redesign buses, trains and underground subways and is currently inviting designers from all over India to participate in the project.

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India's young designers use TAXIS as the canvas for their work

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The taxis have been created by Mumbai based art collective Taxi Fabric. So far, they've created 26 different designs and have even been featured in the music video for Coldplay's Hymn for the Weekend.

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Hymn for the Weekend is being criticised for misusing Indian culture

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The new video was released yesterday, but some people think it's using Indian culture for the wrong reasons.

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Is India's outrage over Coldplay justified?

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Is India's outrage over Coldplay justified?

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In 1492 Christopher Columbus was looking for India. In 2016 Christopher Martin aka Chris Martin discovered it.

It is the great Western discovery of Incredible India all over again. Age cannot wither her nor Coldplay stale her infinite variety.

Every cliché has found its way into the video except perhaps the Taj Mahal. There are peacocks and Bharatanatyam dancers, yellow and black taxis, saffron-clad holy men, their robes in slow-mo full flow.

In director Ben Mor's vision it is as if a locust swarm of candy-coloured M&Ms is splattered all over India.

No wonder the taxi has psychedelic interiors. The temple seems to be made out of marshmallow. The boats are candy-striped as they head out into a firework sunset.

Cultural appropriation?

But it's still not colour saturation enough for the good people of India who play Holi all day long, dousing each other in great joyous rainbow showers.

Chris Martin starts out as a normal wide-eyed white tourist, the sort that sticks his head out of a taxi-cab to inhale the wonders of India.

By the end he's soaked in the colour a little too literally, as if a children's sit-and-draw competition trampled all over him.

Pump up the colour saturation. This is eat, pray, love in the age of Instagram.

Many Indians have not been amused. Et tu, Coldplay?

And Beyonce, how could you go down the path of cultural appropriation?

In the video she turns into a Bollywood queen, doing her thing against an eye-popping wall of flowers.

Actually, given that Bollywood likes its heroines fair and lovely (and the fairer the better), Beyoncé as a Bollywood queen is unintentionally a cheeky bit of subversive casting across the colourline.

But the wall of multi-coloured flowers makes the whole spectacle look more like a colour-blindness test than colour-blind casting.

Sensory onslaught

Anyway, is Beyoncé as Bollywood diva as much cultural appropriation as Madonna doing the same? These notions are contextual, hardly cast in stone.

Coldplay's video is all very Indo-chic and ethno-cool but the Twitterati doth protest too much about cultural appropriation.

If Coldplay can be accused of anything, it's being a little too swept away by India's sensory onslaught.

Their India is trapped in a tourist-friendly time-warp of hand puppets and simple happy natives. There's not a mobile phone in sight. But give them some credit, there's not a snake charmer in sight either. This is more a wide-eyed valentine to India than an exercise in stereotyping.

Cultural appropriation is when Madonna wears a bindi (a bright dot of red colour applied in the centre of the forehead) because it's cool but an Indian aunty with a bindi is still a "dothead" - slang for a South Asian person - somewhere.

Cultural appropriation is when some company puts Hindu Gods on slippers and toilet seats because they are bright and colourful, more Disney than divine.

And as this article points out, "cultural appropriation is when Bollywood's own Helen dances before a man in blackface in Intaquam and Priyanka Chopra plays Manipuri boxer Mary Kom. Or Bollywood composers are not even conscious that they are "appropriating" the songs of others.

Of course, Bollywood's insensitivity toward depicting other cultures and races should not be a free pass for Coldplay to do the same.

But, at least Martin is not playing the Western saviour who comes to India to lift the poor natives out of their leprous darkness like Patrick Swayze in The City of Joy.

Nor does he chant Sanskrit verses the way Iggy Azalea channels Southern black hip-hop, despite being white and Australian.

'Western gaze'

The larger problem the entire furore reveals is not just how thin-skinned we can be, prone to screaming cultural appropriation at the drop of a Selena Gomez bindi but how susceptible we still remain to the power of the Western gaze.

Indians still care too much about how we are reflected in the West's golden eye.

When an editorial in the New York Times or The Economist critiques the prime minister Indians go apoplectic as they huff "Who cares?" The same Indians are over the moon when those same publications say anything laudatory about the same prime minister.

Our anxiety about how the world sees us makes us ultra sensitive to a video like this.

Some, like Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor, who has a blink-and-you-missed it cameo scattering flowers, tweets: "A story to tell my grandkids! I was in a Coldplay video! Woo hoo! #biggestfan."

At the other extreme people rail angrily about cultural appropriation and Orientalism.

But really, someone please tell all those tourists getting ready to come to India from drab bed-sit apartments in grey European towns after watching the video, that we don't play Holi all year round. We are too busy listening to Coldplay.

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Viewpoint: Is India's outrage over Coldplay justified?

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Coldplay's video is all very Indo-chic and ethno-cool but is the social media outrage in India about cultural appropriation justified, asks Sandip Roy.

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Press article about the taxi in Coldplay movie clip

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Press article about the taxi in Coldplay movie clip

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It's no news that Hymn for the Weekend, the second single from Coldplay's new album A Head Full Of Dreams is receiving severe backlash. Released on 29 January, the video was shot in Mumbai and has become the subject of debates about cultural appropriation versus appreciation, and questions about the blink-and-miss appearance of Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor in favour of singer Beyonce in a desi avatar.

But there is one Mumbai-based art collective that is very excited about the video. About the kali peeli taxi used in the video, in particular. Taxi Fabric, headed by Sanket Avlani has, for close to a year, been working to make the seats of Mumbai taxis a canvas for their art. The goal is to bring art to the streets, and into a Mumbaikar's daily commute, one taxi (and now even rickshaw) at a time.

The taxi that you see Chris Martin hop in and out of in the video is one that's passed through Taxi Fabric's hands. Last August, just a few months after they had started off with a crowdfunded Kickstarter campaign to enable their project, the collective was contacted by the line-producers with an air of secrecy typical to such conversations: they were asked to provide a taxi "for an international band's upcoming music video."

The taxi featured in the video was launched in August to mark Independence Day. Created by Karachi based designer Samya Arif, the design is titled Monad (meaning an indivisible entity), and explores commonalities in different hand gestures that are culturally common to India and Pakistan.

"Our judgment (about the video) is a bit clouded, obviously," says Avlani. "The video has taken us leaps and bounds ahead. More importantly, to get introduced and incorporated in different fields and different media is meaningful for art projects like ours."

Following Martin's impromptu performance at a Delhi café in July last year, speculations of the band headlining a music festival, or making a video here have been rife. Taxi Fabric is now getting acknowledged by many across professions from both India and abroad-especially from the US. "It's taken a foreign band to incorporate us like this," Avlani says. "But what's most significant to us is that we are starting to impact the culture of a city."

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It may be in the news for all the wrong reasons, but there's an art collective in Mumbai who are excited about their contribution to the video

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LP DEPREZ- VISIT January 12- Student's leaflet

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LP DEPREZ- VISIT January 12- Student's leaflet

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Aishwarya Rai Adorer Arijit Bhattacharya

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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan | Sir David Frost interview | Mumbai | October 12, 2012.

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Key Difference: In addition to being a representative of the American film industry, Hollywood is also a physical place in Los Angeles, California, USA. Hollywood has become popular world-wide, with many of its films being released in almost all countries. Bollywood is an informal term that is used to represent the Hindi-language film industry in India. Bollywood is just a fraction of Indian cinema and is not a physical place, but rather a representative term for popular Hindi films.

Hollywood and Bollywood are both popular cinemas and their names resonate their success around the world. Hollywood is known world-wide and Bollywood is popular in the eastern countries and has been gaining popularity in many western countries including the US. Hollywood is a term that has become synonymous with the American cinema, while Bollywood is highly affiliated to the Indian Cinema. Hollywood and Bollywood are two completely different cinemas that cater to different audiences and hence cannot properly be compared. However, they do have many differences between them.

The film industry is not small and includes many different departments such as film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew personnel. To make a single film, there are many people responsible for many different roles on the set. From lighting, to make up to even clean-up, a lot of people are involved to create a single film. However, the film industry also has the largest turn-over, earning in millions of dollars each year.

In addition to being a representative of the American film industry, Hollywood is also a physical place in Los Angeles, California, USA. It is a highly-populated area, with an average of 22,193 people per square mile. It is considered as the seventh-most densest neighborhood in all of Los Angeles County. Although, it began as a small community, its association with the film industry has boosted its popularity and it currently has many different studios, tourist spots and is located near celebrity homes. It also has the highly acclaimed Walk of Fame that has names of many celebrities etched onto the sidewalk.

The American cinema has been around since the development of motion capture. The world's first motion picture was exhibited in New York City in 1894. However, Hollywood became the cinema's capital in the early 1900s, when director D. W. Griffith was sent by the Biograph Company to the west coast to film the movie on a vacant lot. However, the company while scouting nearby areas filmed the movie in a nearby village. Hollywood has become popular world-wide, with many of its films being released in almost all countries. It is also the highest grossing movie industry around the world in terms of revenue. Hollywood is known for its amazing graphics, storyline and animations. Hollywood is also known for incorporating many different styles and languages in its films. However, the majority of the language is usually English. Hollywood also releases musicals, which incorporates songs and dance into the films.

Bollywood is an informal term that is used to represent the Hindi-language film industry in India. Bollywood is just a fraction of Indian cinema, which also incorporates Assamese cinema, Telugu cinema, Marathi cinema, Gujarati cinema, etc. Bollywood is not a physical place, but rather a representative term for popular Hindi films. Although, the Indian cinema has been around since the early 1900s, 1913 to be exact; the term 'Bollywood' was coined somewhere in the 1970s from combining Bombay (although, now Mumbai) and Hollywood. The 'B' was taken from Bombay, while the rest was taken from the popular American counter part. Although, it seems that Bollywood has been inspired from the Hollywood, it is actually inspired from Tollywood, a term that refers to the cinema of West Bengal. The name 'Tollywood' has been inspired the Bengali film industry based in Tollygunge, Calcutta (now, Kolkata) and the American Hollywood.

Bollywood is the largest film producer around the world and is responsible for churning over 1,000 movies each year. It is followed by Nigeria and the US. Bollywood has become popularly known for its music, dance and love stories. Bollywood has still followed this trend that has made it popular and continues to incorporate music and dance in its movies. Although, it receives criticism from many movie goers that sometimes songs and dance take away from the original plot of the movie, other claim it gives a refreshing break allowing the movie goers to recap the plot line and the story, along with enjoying the music and the vivid, bright sceneries that are part of the dance sequence.

Initially, Bollywood movies were also long and would sometimes cross 3 hours; however, this has currently been reduced to 2 to 2 ½ hours. Many producers have also started limiting the number of songs from the usually 7 or 8 to 5-6 proper songs, with the rest used as playback numbers. Bollywood was known for its romantic plot lines, but newer generation of movie producers, directors and writers are coming out with more complicated plot lines and have shifted focus from love to other aspects of the film. However, majority of Bollywood films still continue to incorporate romance or a romantic aspect in the films so as to appeal all types of movie goers. Bollywood is also no longer limited to making movies in just Hindi, and has incorporated the English language as well as prominent English phrases in the movies.

It is quite difficult to properly compare both the cinema industries as they are both different, in terms of how it received its start as well as the audience for which the movies are being made. Both the industries also differ in terms of revenue and film production. Hollywood has gained recognition world wide as a prominent film industry and hence Hollywood films are released in majority of the countries. Bollywood is recently becoming recognized in many other countries and has been gaining recognition as a prominent player. As to whether which one is better, it completely depends on the viewer's preference.

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Difference between Hollywood and Bollywood

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In addition to being a representative of the American film industry, Hollywood is also a physical place in Los Angeles, California, USA. Hollywood has become popular world-wide, with many of its films being released in almost all countries. Bollywood is an informal term that is used to represent the Hindi-language film industry in India.

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Todd: So Abidemi, we've been talking about art and culture in your country of Nigeria. What about film, do you have a movie industry?

Abidemi: Oh, wow! It's a great question. Yes, we do. Nigeria has a movie industry that's called Nollywood.

Todd: Nollywood?

Abidemi:Yeah, Nollywood. Can you guess? Nigeria, Hollywood - Nollywood.

Todd: Nollywood.

Abidemi: So I think, I've read that Nollywood is actually the number three producing movie industry in the world. After Hollywood, maybe Bollywood is number one, Hollywood is number two and Nollywood is number three.

Todd: Wow!

Abidemi: Yes, so we produce a lot of movies every year. And actually, a lot of these movies I know I watch a lot of them in YouTube or the internet. And some of our stars, some of the actresses and actors are actually going to other countries like Ghana, they are doing movies with them, collaborating with Ghana and maybe the Benin Republic, neighboring countries to Nigeria. And some actually have moved over to the United States. A little bit, they are starting to, and collaborating with some people there as well. So it is booming and people that are involved in that industry are making more and more and more money each year. To the point that before maybe 20 years ago, if a child said to his or her parent that, "I want to be an actor or actress", that was the worst job you could ever do and they would be like, "Why?" But now, it's actually something that parents are, "Alright, okay, you want to be an actor like this person or that person?" It's not so bad anymore because they can make money, if they make it, so yeah.

Todd: Okay, that's great. So it's gaining respect.

Abidemi: Exactly, it's gaining respect.

Todd: So Bollywood has a very distinct kind of image of you know, the music and the dancing and Hollywood kind of has also like you know the action and bang, bang type movies.

Abidemi: Yes.

Todd:So, can you describe what a Nollywood movie is like?

Abidemi: That's a great question. I think Nollywood is closer to Hollywood in the fact that we don't have as much the kind of dancing and music and the musical value that Bollywood has. Nigerian movies are more dramas, I would say. There they try to make action movies but it's not quite to the level of Hollywood just as yet. So it's more drama, it's about life stories, things that are happening in Nigeria and one thing that I've heard and that I've noticed in Nigerian movies is the fact that they try to present people that live rich lives. Nigeria is still a developing country, so many people don't have access to some things so movies tend to present people that are well-off, that live in big houses, drive big cars and can travel abroad, have education. So you have that theme going through a lot of these movies where maybe somebody, a poor girl, she meets a rich man or vice versa.

Todd: Oh right, yeah.

Abidemi: So, it's more for fantasy to get people to think of a different life that anything is possible. That if you, maybe if you try or maybe some day you might meet your prince charming, or what not. So there is that aspect to it, yes.

Todd: Oh, that's cool.

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Listen to English speakers from around the world talk about real world topics in real conversations.

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Bollywood superstars: Paris exhibition delves into a century of Indian cinema • FRANCE 24 English

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How To Create An Indian Festive Look _ Festive Makeup Tutorial _ #shorts _ SUGAR Cosmetics (online-video-cutter.com)

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The representation of women in Bollywood

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The representation of women in Bollywood

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In the 70 years of existence of Hindi Cinema, women have played a wide spectrum of roles ranging from the perfect submissive woman trope to the damsel in distress, to mere objects in the film to lately gaining power and portraying the strong, fierce and independent woman we so admire! But what also extensively impacted these characters were the different eras that these films were made in, for cinema is simply a reflection of the society it was created in. Be it in the film or on set, representation of women grew with time, to reach the rather acceptable stage it has today. With some rebellious directors that pushed boundaries to some determined actresses who refused to accept less than they deserve, they changed the definition of being a Bollywood 'heroine.' Even though there's a long road ahead, the roller coaster set of events and films that took place to make women essential and not simply additional to Bollywood is an exciting chapter in itself, so let's decode this journey!

In the 1950s-60s, considered the 'Golden Era of Bollywood', the country had just acquired independence and the state of the people was more hopeful and positive. Thus, women's roles also reflected this mindset. Their bodies weren't sexualised and their roles weren't compromised either. They portrayed women as strong characters compared to the horrors the next decade has in store for us, for instance Nargis's role in Mother India - a movie that celebrated the idea of women being celebrated as the nation's pillar of strength or Waheeda Rahman's character in Guide, that had the courage to leave toxic relationships. However, women continued to be portrayed by the lens of a man.

Now enters a more realistic time, where women had two jobs - they were either a dutiful wife or a mother. Both these character types just continued to suffer in silence, all the trauma inflicted on them, and their silence was rewarded with equivalent male validation in the end which apparently was equivalent to years of trauma. Talk about equity! It was almost like the characteristics of an idealistic woman were identified through her level of submission, endurance of torture and silence. It is hard to imagine Bollywood of the 50s having any kind of a relationship with a woman who pursued something beyond a marital relationship. Other than a few rare examples of working women, the only purpose of most women's lives was marriage.

Next came in another trope- the action movies. Now to show that your hero is larger than life and the saviour of this planet, the most overused element was him saving a woman or taking revenge on her behalf, more often than not, the rape (or attempted rape) of his sister, girlfriend or any other woman in his life. This is where Cinema peaked at being quite ridiculous to be honest. Women were simply added to the storyline to make their violation the mid-point or wake-up call for the hero to take action and be her knight in shining armour.

Eventually, these roles were further classified as women being of only two types - either a vamp that distracts the hero from his goal and is an obstacle in his journey often portrayed by degrading roles or a damsel in distress that is basically spineless and co-dependent on the guy for all her decisions. This is not to say that there weren't films that defied the norm, for instance, in Sadma (1983) and Chandni (1989). The entire narration of Chandni's trailer as well is from Sridevi's point of view.

The ripples of the second wave of feminism now started hitting India too in the late 80s. Women had roles where they had actual careers that didn't involve getting prepped for marriage all their lives! This began with Raveena Tandon's role of a journalist in Mohra. However, despite being educated and accomplished she's still seen only as a Damsel in Distress, in constant need of guidance and help. Also, Mohra you wonder? It's the same film in which she was seen dancing in a yellow saree in the rain; ironically the only part of her role from the film that most of us can recall. Now came in the early 2000's that also witnessed some changes in narratives that can be felt till date from Priyanka's bad guy'-driven, career-focussed, sexually liberated, with bodily agency role of Sonia in Aitraaz to Tabu's - strong, powerful, dominating and unfazed portrayal of Beghum Harzat in Fitoor. The two-dimensional roles finally had layers, and we were here for it!

The last two decades brought in a fresh perspective on the representation of women in the industry, both on screen and behind the camera. The ratio of women in crews and higher positions began increasing and so did their roles - both in size and eminence. With this wave came in astounding female directors like Farah Khan whose choreographies and movies were larger than life for instance, Om Shanti Om or Happy New Year and Zoya Akhtar whose films felt like a breadth of fresh air be it Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara or Gully Boy. Later geniuses like Mira Nair, Meghna Gulzar and Gauri Shinde entered the scenario, who focused solely on strong women lead roles that changed the narrative about women being 'secondary' to the film.

Even though a handful, this began the cult of watching women from the lens of a woman and not the general male perspective we had mostly gotten accustomed to. Female characters now had qualities they were usually stripped off of, like Alia's loyalty to serve her country in Raazi, Sridevi's determination to gain her family's respect in English Vinglish, Deepika's fierce inner strength in Chhapaak or Ayesha's individuality that gives her the courage to leave a toxic household in Dil Dhadakne Do. These women wrote women more intricately -women now had layers, beyond just overtly good or blatantly bad. They shaped complex characters that were important to the story arch, had their own struggles and victories. Not to forget allies like Anubhav Sinha and Shoojit Sircar who stepped their game during this and gave us gems like Thappad and Kahaani.

On the downside, some stereotypes grew deeper. The ideal 'zero figure', unrealistic standards of beauty, the classic and beyond dangerous trope of 'item girl' increased by leaps and bounds. In his 1972 essay on art criticism, Ways of Seeing, English art critic and novelist John Berger said, "Men act, women appear. Men watch, women watch themselves being watched." He used this to describe women in media in general but I strongly believe he thought of this when he watched a modern day item song, my best guess being 'Munni Badnaam', 'Fevicol Se', 'Chikni Chameli' and the almost 57695844th absurd and objectifying names that this list has the capacity to have.

If you haven't still concluded, No, the male gaze, or the overtly sexualised portrayal of women with men gawking all over her in the liberated society of the twenty-first century is as dark as it gets and subtly - intolerable. The manic pixie dream girl trope where the chirpy girl only exists to make brooding men happier and reach their goal is another phenomenon difficult to comprehend. Like Asin's character in Ghajini or Kareena's in Jab We Met. I won't deny that these characters bring so much light and entertainment to the table, I mean Who does not like indulge in a, clichéd fun movie that doesn't ask you to spend your brain calories? But what we fail to realise is that gradually, we lose the sense that these stereotypes that set pretty damaging standards, and subconsciously we are already internalizing them, reducing women to sheer secondary characters in someone else's narratives.

Saying that, some actresses demanded more than just being a helper in the hero's journey, and demanded better - better roles, better pay, better recognition - just better. The industry is still controlled by men but a new generation of women - in front of the camera and behind it - are adamant on calling out sexism. Their wishes although began coming true when they proved that they were a powerful driving force that could single-handedly run a show and give blockbusters. The trend that began with Vidya Balan playing the bold beauty Silk Smitha in The Dirty Picture and making it beyond a super hit film, was followed by so many female-led movies with women in strong character roles being the solo leads and killing it at the charts be it Queen, Piku, Mardaani, Kahaani, NH10, Highway, Mary Kom and fortunately many more such names that redefined what being an actress in Hindi Cinema is.

Actresses began speaking up on the gender-disparity in the industry, the bias of favoring men, being paid less and given less important roles. Priyanka Chopra and Anushka Sharma went to the extent of taking up production- there was no stopping. It went even more crazier when in an ensemble cast that had Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, Deepika Padukone was paid more than either of them, hereby breaking all norms!

Growing up I always wondered why Bollywood made many girls like me feel that our only job was to dress well and stay silent, like a side character in my own film of life. What if the character of the dutiful wife silently dealing with tortures gained the strength to speak up for herself? What if women in the movies gave their career more importance than getting married? What if we saw less competition between female characters where they tore each other down and more women standing up for women? What if men were called the 'Male Madhuri Dixit' when they gave blockbuster hits one after another? The list of what ifs that arise are endless on how a change in stance would change the entire scenario. Yet, we can't solely hold cinema responsible for society itself triumphed in imposing these impressions back then however the lens with which we choose to display female characters also shaped the perception of several viewers and has had wide-reaching effects on our society, so we cannot neglect our responsibility to change the age-old tradition.

That's why when I watch a Piku, where a working woman takes all responsibility of her parent or a Thappad where a housewife holds her ground against any disrespect inflicted on her by a man, the industry's growth truly makes me want to applaud every woman and ally in the industry that could change this narrative. Yes, the society is changing indeed but bringing the change in cinema when it would rather be easier to go ahead with the same old tales is a bold move. It's heartwarming to finally see a much-required shift where women are portraying strong female leads, taking up space, voicing their opinions with movements like and that every girl watching can look up-to and find something to take from. I can't wait for heroes to be the next 'male Deepika Padukone' when they give six blockbusters in a row or the new 'male Alia Bhatt' when they play a completely new and distinctive role in each of their films!

In the 70 years of existence of Hindi Cinema, women have played a wide spectrum of roles ranging from the perfect submissive woman trope to the damsel in distress, to mere objects in the film to lately gaining power and portraying the strong, fierce and independent woman we so admire! But what also extensively impacted these characters were the different eras that these films were made in, for cinema is simply a reflection of the society it was created in. Be it in the film or on set, representation of women grew with time, to reach the rather acceptable stage it has today. With some rebellious directors that pushed boundaries to some determined actresses who refused to accept less than they deserve, they changed the definition of being a Bollywood 'heroine.' Even though there's a long road ahead, the roller coaster set of events and films that took place to make women essential and not simply additional to Bollywood is an exciting chapter in itself, so let's decode this journey!

In the 1950s-60s, considered the 'Golden Era of Bollywood', the country had just acquired independence and the state of the people was more hopeful and positive. Thus, women's roles also reflected this mindset. Their bodies weren't sexualised and their roles weren't compromised either. They portrayed women as strong characters compared to the horrors the next decade has in store for us, for instance Nargis's role in Mother India - a movie that celebrated the idea of women being celebrated as the nation's pillar of strength or Waheeda Rahman's character in Guide, that had the courage to leave toxic relationships. However, women continued to be portrayed by the lens of a man.

Now enters a more realistic time, where women had two jobs - they were either a dutiful wife or a mother. Both these character types just continued to suffer in silence, all the trauma inflicted on them, and their silence was rewarded with equivalent male validation in the end which apparently was equivalent to years of trauma. Talk about equity! It was almost like the characteristics of an idealistic woman were identified through her level of submission, endurance of torture and silence. It is hard to imagine Bollywood of the 50s having any kind of a relationship with a woman who pursued something beyond a marital relationship. Other than a few rare examples of working women, the only purpose of most women's lives was marriage.

Next came in another trope- the action movies. Now to show that your hero is larger than life and the saviour of this planet, the most overused element was him saving a woman or taking revenge on her behalf, more often than not, the rape (or attempted rape) of his sister, girlfriend or any other woman in his life. This is where Cinema peaked at being quite ridiculous to be honest. Women were simply added to the storyline to make their violation the mid-point or wake-up call for the hero to take action and be her knight in shining armour.

Eventually, these roles were further classified as women being of only two types - either a vamp that distracts the hero from his goal and is an obstacle in his journey often portrayed by degrading roles or a damsel in distress that is basically spineless and co-dependent on the guy for all her decisions. This is not to say that there weren't films that defied the norm, for instance, in Sadma (1983) and Chandni (1989). The entire narration of Chandni's trailer as well is from Sridevi's point of view.

The ripples of the second wave of feminism now started hitting India too in the late 80s. Women had roles where they had actual careers that didn't involve getting prepped for marriage all their lives! This began with Raveena Tandon's role of a journalist in Mohra. However, despite being educated and accomplished she's still seen only as a Damsel in Distress, in constant need of guidance and help. Also, Mohra you wonder? It's the same film in which she was seen dancing in a yellow saree in the rain; ironically the only part of her role from the film that most of us can recall. Now came in the early 2000's that also witnessed some changes in narratives that can be felt till date from Priyanka's bad guy'-driven, career-focussed, sexually liberated, with bodily agency role of Sonia in Aitraaz to Tabu's - strong, powerful, dominating and unfazed portrayal of Beghum Harzat in Fitoor. The two-dimensional roles finally had layers, and we were here for it!

The last two decades brought in a fresh perspective on the representation of women in the industry, both on screen and behind the camera. The ratio of women in crews and higher positions began increasing and so did their roles - both in size and eminence. With this wave came in astounding female directors like Farah Khan whose choreographies and movies were larger than life for instance, Om Shanti Om or Happy New Year and Zoya Akhtar whose films felt like a breadth of fresh air be it Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara or Gully Boy. Later geniuses like Mira Nair, Meghna Gulzar and Gauri Shinde entered the scenario, who focused solely on strong women lead roles that changed the narrative about women being 'secondary' to the film.

Even though a handful, this began the cult of watching women from the lens of a woman and not the general male perspective we had mostly gotten accustomed to. Female characters now had qualities they were usually stripped off of, like Alia's loyalty to serve her country in Raazi, Sridevi's determination to gain her family's respect in English Vinglish, Deepika's fierce inner strength in Chhapaak or Ayesha's individuality that gives her the courage to leave a toxic household in Dil Dhadakne Do. These women wrote women more intricately -women now had layers, beyond just overtly good or blatantly bad. They shaped complex characters that were important to the story arch, had their own struggles and victories. Not to forget allies like Anubhav Sinha and Shoojit Sircar who stepped their game during this and gave us gems like Thappad and Kahaani.

On the downside, some stereotypes grew deeper. The ideal 'zero figure', unrealistic standards of beauty, the classic and beyond dangerous trope of 'item girl' increased by leaps and bounds. In his 1972 essay on art criticism, Ways of Seeing, English art critic and novelist John Berger said, "Men act, women appear. Men watch, women watch themselves being watched." He used this to describe women in media in general but I strongly believe he thought of this when he watched a modern day item song, my best guess being 'Munni Badnaam', 'Fevicol Se', 'Chikni Chameli' and the almost 57695844th absurd and objectifying names that this list has the capacity to have.

If you haven't still concluded, No, the male gaze, or the overtly sexualised portrayal of women with men gawking all over her in the liberated society of the twenty-first century is as dark as it gets and subtly - intolerable. The manic pixie dream girl trope where the chirpy girl only exists to make brooding men happier and reach their goal is another phenomenon difficult to comprehend. Like Asin's character in Ghajini or Kareena's in Jab We Met. I won't deny that these characters bring so much light and entertainment to the table, I mean Who does not like indulge in a, clichéd fun movie that doesn't ask you to spend your brain calories? But what we fail to realise is that gradually, we lose the sense that these stereotypes that set pretty damaging standards, and subconsciously we are already internalizing them, reducing women to sheer secondary characters in someone else's narratives.

Saying that, some actresses demanded more than just being a helper in the hero's journey, and demanded better - better roles, better pay, better recognition - just better. The industry is still controlled by men but a new generation of women - in front of the camera and behind it - are adamant on calling out sexism. Their wishes although began coming true when they proved that they were a powerful driving force that could single-handedly run a show and give blockbusters. The trend that began with Vidya Balan playing the bold beauty Silk Smitha in The Dirty Picture and making it beyond a super hit film, was followed by so many female-led movies with women in strong character roles being the solo leads and killing it at the charts be it Queen, Piku, Mardaani, Kahaani, NH10, Highway, Mary Kom and fortunately many more such names that redefined what being an actress in Hindi Cinema is.

Actresses began speaking up on the gender-disparity in the industry, the bias of favoring men, being paid less and given less important roles. Priyanka Chopra and Anushka Sharma went to the extent of taking up production- there was no stopping. It went even more crazier when in an ensemble cast that had Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, Deepika Padukone was paid more than either of them, hereby breaking all norms!

Growing up I always wondered why Bollywood made many girls like me feel that our only job was to dress well and stay silent, like a side character in my own film of life. What if the character of the dutiful wife silently dealing with tortures gained the strength to speak up for herself? What if women in the movies gave their career more importance than getting married? What if we saw less competition between female characters where they tore each other down and more women standing up for women? What if men were called the 'Male Madhuri Dixit' when they gave blockbuster hits one after another? The list of what ifs that arise are endless on how a change in stance would change the entire scenario. Yet, we can't solely hold cinema responsible for society itself triumphed in imposing these impressions back then however the lens with which we choose to display female characters also shaped the perception of several viewers and has had wide-reaching effects on our society, so we cannot neglect our responsibility to change the age-old tradition.

That's why when I watch a Piku, where a working woman takes all responsibility of her parent or a Thappad where a housewife holds her ground against any disrespect inflicted on her by a man, the industry's growth truly makes me want to applaud every woman and ally in the industry that could change this narrative. Yes, the society is changing indeed but bringing the change in cinema when it would rather be easier to go ahead with the same old tales is a bold move. It's heartwarming to finally see a much-required shift where women are portraying strong female leads, taking up space, voicing their opinions with movements like and that every girl watching can look up-to and find something to take from. I can't wait for heroes to be the next 'male Deepika Padukone' when they give six blockbusters in a row or the new 'male Alia Bhatt' when they play a completely new and distinctive role in each of their films!

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From Bleak to Bold - Representation of Women in Bollywood

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In the 70 years of existence of Hindi Cinema, women have played a wide spectrum of roles ranging from the perfect submissive woman trope to the damsel in distress, to mere objects in the film to lately gaining power and portraying the strong, fierce and independent woman we so admire!

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Coldplay - Hymn for the Weekend (Legendado) (Feat. Beyoncé)

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We hold remarkable examples of Indian cinema art, from posters to photo cards, booklets and hand-painted hoardings. Explore the historical, political and cultural changes in India, as seen through the lens of the Bollywood film industry.

This content was originally created for the exhibition, Cinema India: The Art of Bollywood, at the V&A, South Kensington 26 June - 6 October 2002.

During the 1940s and 50s many films depicted historical or princely India. These were big budget spectaculars with grand sets, magnificent costumes and memorable music. The stories were a combination of fact and myth. They provided visually stunning, escapist entertainment deflecting attention away from the hardships of war and the fight for independence.

Some films, particularly those set in the Mughal period (1526 - 1857), such as Anarkali (1953) and Humayun (1945), portrayed historical figures and created a nostalgic representation of imperial grandeur rather than depicting complex facts. At a time of political conflict between Hindus and Muslims over the government of India, Muslim filmmakers were reluctant to explore contemporary political issues for fear of censorship, and disguised them by setting them in the past. These films reinforced nationalistic aspirations and inspired an emerging nation by creating an image of India based on the glory of its past.

India's call for independence intensified when the country was brought into the Second World War by the British. The resulting effects, which included millions of deaths in the 1943 Bengal Famine, led to growing discontent and the rise of the Quit India movement, which called for an end to British rule. From the 1940s, a series of films was made to stir patriotic fervour and included stories of war heroes such as Dr Kotnis and Subash Chandra Bose.

In 1947 India gained independence from British rule. The country was caught between the need to modernise and the need to maintain traditional moral values and avoid cultural decline. Cities were at the centre of many social and economic changes. Seen as the source of employment and wealth they attracted thousands of migrant workers from the villages.

Films from this period looked at the question of national identity, exploring issues of modernity versus tradition, of urban life versus the rural ideal. Cities were often projected as corrupt and evil while villages were seen to preserve social and moral values. The most important film of its time, and now a national epic, Mother India (1957) portrayed rural life as the true 'essence' of India. The heroine, Radha, embodied the moral values and social customs that underpinned traditional Indian society. She stood as a symbol of Indian womanhood and a new independent nation.

From the 1960s and 70s films began to look beyond national boundaries. The world outside India offered exciting possibilities for new filming locations. Paris, Rome, Switzerland and London, along with Tokyo, became exotic backdrops for romances.

A more international outlook also focused attention on youth culture. In the west, this was a period of economic growth which was accompanied by the spread of a new liberal culture. Britain saw the rise of consumerism, new music, new fashions and hairstyle trends and increased sexual freedom. While Indian lifestyles remained conservative, Indian cinema projected a sense of it through films such as Bobby (1973) and later Love Story (1981) which, for the first time, focused on teenage romance. Visually this was represented primarily through women's fashion, particularly bouffant hair styles and heavy black eye liner make-up.

Romance plays a major role in nearly all Bollywood films. Despite this preoccupation with romantic love, the family is still the predominant moral force and any illicit romance is discouraged.

Unlike western cinema where the kiss is frequently a symbol of love, it is rarely seen in Indian films. Although the censor's ban on kissing was lifted in the 1980s, the industry has maintained a self-imposed ban, with only a few recent exceptions. The more sensual and erotic aspects of love are depicted instead in the song and dance sequences. These occur in a fantasy world where anything is possible, taking them away from the moral world of the main narrative.

The posters in our collection bring together some of Indian cinema's great old romantic couples such as Raj Kapoor and Nargis as well as Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman. Their star status and the passionate intensity of their relationships is conveyed in simple, bold, images.

Women have historically been depicted as either 'traditional' or 'modern' in character. The traditional woman would be dressed in a sari or rural costume and depicted with pale skin. As a dutiful wife and mother she is likened to Sita and Savitri, goddesses from Indian mythology. The high moral standards of the Indian woman were often held up as a measure of the nation's character. By contrast women dressed in western clothes were regarded as 'modern' with all the immoral values associated with a western lifestyle.

Film posters frequently depicted overtly sensuous and voluptuous figures. These displays of sexuality were often legitimised by linking them to Indian traditions; a prime example is the poster for Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978), where the revealing rural costume is regarded as a customary rural practise.

In the 1990s, the visual representation of women changed dramatically, with films showing women in sexy western designer clothes. Rather than any implied judgement on their morality, these clothes indicated the affluent lifestyles of the new middle class.

The 1970s witnessed great political, economic and social upheaval. War with Pakistan led to the creation of Bangladesh; the Government imposed a state of emergency curtailing personal freedom; and there were rising levels of inflation, urban poverty and crime.

Indian cinema responded by creating a new genre which reflected the anger and aggression of the period. Films were characterised by themes of revenge, violence, and a new type of hero - the anti-hero. He exhibited great physical strength but also had a tragic, introspective side. Amitabh Bachchan, the most famous Indian actor of all time, rose to fame in this role of the 'angry young man'. A new graphic style also emerged. Bold exaggerated brush stokes created dynamic and expressive images which suited the high emotional intensity of these films.

The formula (or masala) film, refers to the key ingredients that go into the making of a Bollywood film. Music, archetypal characters and star actors were all essential components from the 1940s, and by the 1980s they had become much more exaggerated. Posters reflected this film format by constructing a montage of images depicting these various components.

Influenced by the new global culture of MTV, Hollywood and the internet, the Indian film industry went through major changes in the 1990s. A younger generation of film directors, actors, costume and set designers began to create films with more professional production values, depicting the modern, affluent consumerist lifestyles of the growing middle class in India.

The star portrait, more than ever before, became the single major component of any film advertising campaign and slick computer graphics reflected Indian cinema's arrival on the international scene. Despite these changes, the films retained their Indian identity through the use of music and their projection of traditional cultural, family-oriented themes and values.

Large-scale hand-painted cinema hoardings would traditionally announce the arrival of a new film, however over the last 30 years they have been replaced by digitally printed versions. Only a few artists still produce hand-painted hoardings and in 2002, the museum commissioned and acquired a set from Balkrishn Arts as examples of an important popular Indian art form.

You can explore all the posters in Search the Collections, or see highlights in the slideshow below:

Find out more with our book, The Poster: A Visual History.

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Explore the historical, political and cultural changes In India, as seen through the lens of the Bollywood film industry.

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Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

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Mother India (1957) | V&A Explore The Collections

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Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

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Not currently on display at the V&A

This film was a classic of the Indian Cinema. This hoarding, produced in the 1980s, was crudely drawn and relied on people's knowledge of the film. It focused on the actress Nargis and also reproduced in a very crude manner one of the key scenes from the film in which the villagers begin to leave their village.

Categories

Object type

Materials and techniques

Brief description

Indian film hoarding for the film 'Mother India' (1957), printed on paper in Bombay, 1980s.

Physical description

This is a crudely drawn design which uses the title as its focus. In between the 'Mother' and the 'India' of the title is a portrait of the lead actress, Nargis and below her is a very roughly sketched image of a stream of people/villagers trailing across the landscape. Below this is a stripe of green on which is listed the director's name, the studio and most prominantly, the name of the star actress, Nargis.

Dimensions

Height: 150cm

Width: 307cm

Production type

Mass produced

Credit line

Given by Mehboob Productions (Private) Ltd., Mumbai, India

Summary

This film was a classic of the Indian Cinema. This hoarding, produced in the 1980s, was crudely drawn and relied on people's knowledge of the film. It focused on the actress Nargis and also reproduced in a very crude manner one of the key scenes from the film in which the villagers begin to leave their village.

Collection

Accession number

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

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Mother India (1957) | V&A Explore The Collections

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Indian film hoarding for the film 'Mother India' (1957), printed on paper in Bombay, 1980s.

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11 Films that will help you understand India

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11 Films that will help you understand India

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We have compiled this list of 11 Bollywood films that will help you understand different facets of India. From a road trip horror film to rioting comedies, these movies are diverse and arguably the most entertaining ways for you to learn more about India.

Mughal E Azam (1960)

To understand the Indian obsession with unfulfilled or forbidden love, watch this epic period drama about the Mughal love story of Prince Salim and court dancer, Anarkali. Among the most celebrated Bollywood films worldwide, it follows their love story against the wishes of Emperor Akbar, and its eventual doom. It also happens to be the first black-and-white Hindi film to be digitally colored.

Amar Akbar Anthony (1977)

Unity in diversity is one of the most fundamental mottos India runs on, and this hilarious comedy from the '70s is an ode to the country's religious diversity told via the tale of three brothers separated at birth and raised separately as Hindu, Christian, and Muslim. The film follows their reunion several years later and combined effort to avenge those who separated them in the first place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GhGq7db9v0

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Yet another heart wrenching story of forbidden love, Bobby follows the relationship between two Mumbai teenagers from different social classes-wealthy Raja and poor Bobby. A romantic musical which became a trendsetter for decades of films to follow, Bobby touches on how class, religion, and other differences still plague India-urban and rural.

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983)

A good portion of being Indian has to do with making jokes on the inefficiency of government bureaucracy, and few films do this better than this '80s cult classic. A satire on corruption in Indian politics, bureaucracy, and media, this Naseeruddin Shah-starrer is a must-watch.

Swades (2004)

Mohan, a non-resident Indian working at N.A.S.A., takes a trip back home to India to visit his nanny and soon finds himself engulfed in the matters of the village where she now resides. His interactions with a host of characters-young and old villagers living in abject poverty, a young teacher dedicated to providing education to all, and religious defenders of the ancient caste systems-gets him doubting the point of his return to N.A.S.A. and the U.S.

Rang De Basanti (2006)

When a bunch of indifferent young college graduates filming a documentary about the Indian independence movement are affected by personal tragedy that has to do with political corruption, their sense of patriotism is awoken. A hugely influential film about both India's hurt that has to do with its colonial past and its frustrations with contemporary corruption, Rang De Basanti is one not to be missed.

Taare Zameen Par (2007)

This rich and playful movie takes on India's highly competitive and pressurizing education system and its inability to accommodate special needs or learning disabilities. Guaranteed to make you laugh and cry, it is the perfect movie to watch with kids.

Road, Movie (2009)

India may be a country of great extremes and disparities, but among several things that unite all across the spectrum is a common quest for happiness-even if it is momentary. Following an indifferent young man tasked with transporting an old touring cinema truck across the arid Thar desert, this film looks at a range of issues, from drought and poverty to India's incomparable love for cinema.

Dhobi Ghat (2010)

Capturing the intersecting lives of a range of characters in contemporary Mumbai, Dhobi Ghat is among the most relevant portrayals of 21st century urban India. From Munna, a dhobi residing in a slum and aspiring to be an actor, to Arun, a loner painter finding inspiration in the video diaries of his apartment's former resident, the characters in the movie are rich and worth lending your time to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaVrBDIvbaE

Peepli Live (2010)

A satirical take on one of the gravest issues faced by contemporary India-that of farmer suicides-Peepli Live mocks politics, media, and societal indifference, among other things. It follows the story of an unsuspecting farmer who decides to commit suicide so that his impoverished family can collect a government subsidy, and the hullabaloo it sets off among the press and political parties who just happen to take notice.

Anushka Sharma's road trip horror film is entertaining, terrifying, and depressingly relevant in its portrayal of the fear with which contemporary Indian women interact with their society. Using a classic road trip gone wrong plot, the film lets viewers take a look at some of the darkest aspects of rural Indian life.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful - and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.

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11 Films That Will Help You Understand India

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We have compiled this list of 11 Bollywood films that will help you understand different facets of India. From a road trip horror film to rioting comedies...

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Hinduism - Origins, Facts & Beliefs | HISTORY

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Hinduism is a compilation of many traditions and philosophies and is considered by many scholars to be the world's oldest religion, dating back more than 4,000 years. Today it is the third-largest religion behind Christianity and Islam.

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Bajirao Mastani Official Trailer | Watch Full Movie On Eros Now

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Bajirao Mastani Trailer with English Subtitle | FilmOne Distribution, Nigeria

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Divided by distance, united in expression

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Divided by distance, united in expression

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By Vikas Datta
In a country like India which has an array of customs, a spectrum of cultures, and a gamut of languages, there is one realm where all this diversity freely interacts and influences each other, and may offer a model of assimilation that the wider polity and society can aspire too.

This is Bollywood, whose contribution to the idea of India, based on unity in diversity, has not received due emphasis, possibly since it is primarily seen a medium of entertainment. This 'idea' is, by no means, perfect - sometimes descending to stereotypes in some of its depictions, but still has seen more widespread - and voluntary - integration and creation of a composite sense of nationhood than any other endeavour.

Be it actors and the others that make up a success of a film - the music composer, the playback singers, the choreographers and the fight directors, as well as themes, Bollywood has rarely seen a regional divide - north-south, or east-west, for that matter. It has, however, long been oblivious of the northeast - but that is a failing of a large swathe of Indian popular culture too.

As language differences again swirl up or are instigated, it is worth taking a relook at how Bollywood dealt with regional divisions/differences over its long years.

In one respect, it has been successful - ethnic Pathans can play debauched/dissolute Bengali landed gentry, Punjabis can convincingly represent Goans or even Chinese with panache, a Tamil Muslim can step into the anklets of a north India nautanki dancer with aplomb, a Gujarati can essay the role of a mid-19th century Lakhnavi Nawab with elan, a Bengali evoke mannerisms of a Tamil coconut vendor, an actor from Sikkim can playing a Pathan, or even an Arab - there are no shortage of such examples.

In case you can't identify these, they are, in the same order, Dilip Kumar and Rehman in "Devdas" and "Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam", respectively, Premnath in "Bobby" and Madan Puri in "Aanken", respectively, Waheeda Rehman in "Teesri Kasam", Sanjeev Kumar in "Shatranj Ke Khiladi", Mithun Chakraborty in "Agneepath" (the 1990 version), and Danny Denzongpa in "Sanam Bewafa" and "Abdullah".

While at one level, the above examples of Bollywood stalwarts' "chameleon" abilities may be just as a measure of the actors' histrionic abilities, for actors, all over the world, have played diverse roles - an Arab Christian has played a Russian poet, a Nazi German officer and even 'Che' Guevara, or a Scottish one a Soviet submarine captain (Omar Sharif and Sean Connery, respectively), it assumes significance in India, where differences can assume entirely new dimensions of polarity.

Being a film industry operating largely in Hindustani and geared majorly towards its speakers but located in a western Indian but cosmopolitan port city, which draws in a large influx of migrants from all over the country, Bollywood obviously can draw in talent from a wider expanse that what its normative catchment area.

And Southern India has been quick on the mark here - especially as far as Bollywood leading ladies are concerned.

While Hema Malini and Rekha are the oft-quoted examples, before Sreedevi, Meenakshi Seshadri and Jaya Prada and Vidya Balan, in recent times, it was Padmini Ramachandran, or Padmini, as she was known, who filled the void left by the exit from Nargis from Raj Kapoor's life and banner, in "Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai" (1961) and then in "Mera Naam Joker" (1970). In "Sangam" (1964), which came between these, Vyjanthimala did the honours.

And then there was Waheeda Rehman, who hailed from a Tamil Muslim family, not from Hyderabad as commonly thought, and then Tabassum Hashmi or 'Tabu', who is from Hyderabad.

However, south Indian male actors - Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Nagarjuna, Chiranjeevi, mainly, did appear in many Bollywood hits, but never matched their female counterparts. M.B. Shetty, or Shetty, had a more long career as a stunt director off screen and well-recognised bad man on screen.

Music composers/playback singers are too well known - K.J. Yesudas, A.R. Rehman, Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan, Chithra, S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, but one who's background is that not that known was Shankar, of the Shankar-Jaikishan duo. Though of north Indian descent, he grew up in Hyderabad and was fluent in Telugu.

There is an anecdote when the duo was composing the music for one song of one of Raj Kapoor's most famous films, Shankar kept repeating a Telugu phrase while fine-tuning the melody and lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri hit on it to frame the 'mukhda' - we know the song as "Ramaiyya Vastavaiya" from "Shree 420" (1955).

And then, the inspirations. The phenomenon of hit Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam films being remade in Hindi is not that recent as the current generation thinks.

Ever wonder where such landmarks of Bollywood where the inspiration for Jeteendra's spy caper "Farz" (1967) or mythological thriller "Pataal Bhairavi", Rajesh Khanna's political satire "Aaj Kaa M.L.A Ram Avtar" (1984), Sanjeev Kumar's "Khilona" (1970) or Dilip Kumar's "Ram aur Shyam" came from - all were successful Telugu films earlier.

Meanwhile, Bollywood aficionados have Malayalam cinema to thank for "Aap Ki Kasam" (1974), "Julie" (1975), and "Masoom" (1983), Kannada for Dilip Kumar's "Gopi" (1970), Amitabh Bachchan's sole triple role outing "Mahaan" (1983), and the risque "Anubhav" (1986), and Tamil for Ashok Kumar-Kishore Kumar starrer "Bhai-Bhai"(1956), "Miss Mary" (1957) - one of Meena Kumari's rare comic outings, Dilip Kumar's "Aadmi" (1968), and even "Shakti" (1982), among many others.

Real life inspires reel life, but this is one case where India would be better served with reel life inspiring real life. (IANS)

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'Divided by distance, united in expression': What Indian cinema can teach the country - INDIA New England News

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By Vikas Datta In a country like India which has an array of customs, a spectrum of cultures, and a gamut of languages, there is one realm where all this [...]

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Ressource: Ram Rajya 2.0 Nostalgia cinema & Indian Nationalism 

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Ressource: Ram Rajya 2.0 Nostalgia cinema & Indian Nationalism 

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Ressource: Indian popular culture and representation of girlhood in 1970's Indian cinema

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Ressource: Indian popular culture and representation of girlhood in 1970's Indian cinema

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Hinduism is the world's oldest major religion. Some traditions of Hinduism date back more than 3,000 years. Over the centuries, however, its followers-called Hindus-have...

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Sukhee - Official Trailer | Shilpa Shetty | Kusha Kapila | In Theatres 22nd Sep

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How India's ancient myths are being rewritten

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How India's ancient myths are being rewritten

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Modern writers are retelling India's legendary Hindu tales - often through a feminist lens. Why is this important? Akanksha Singh takes a look.

Storytelling is an innately human quality; one that crosses cultures and languages. Just as my sister and I huddled together as children while our mother read to us each night, so too did our forebears. "We do not lend the hearth quite the importance that our ancestors did, Greek or otherwise," Stephen Fry writes in Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold. It was the hearth where ancient humans gathered to keep warm, and as they did they talked, sang and laughed. In other words, they told stories. Myths are the most fulfilling form of storytelling: they serve to document events; explain the unexplainable; to operate as manuals for morality.

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While myths are being made new, they grow to represent both the worlds they were set in and today. Take for example the figures of Eve, Madonna, Helen, and Penelope - all embodiments of women invented by men. "Words, our primary agent of expression," Christine C Keating points out in her essay, Unearthing the Goddess Within: "signify a discourse that has been established by a patriarchic myth." We were given these characters, with their beauty and flaws, by men. And while feminist revisionist literature has tackled the issue, it's never been more important - in a post-#MeToo world - to imagine new characters and rethink existing ones. Language has evolved to consider everything from the uniqueness of the feminine experience to what it means to be female anatomically. And in literature there has been a resurgence of feminist retellings of myths, especially in Classical mythology. In the original version of Virgil's The Aeneid, Lavinia never speaks; in Ursula K Le Guin's 2008 version, she is the titular character, this time with a voice. And Madeline Miller's Circe and Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls both made the shortlist for the Women's Prize for Fiction this year.

Indian children dressed as Hindu deities Rama and Sita celebrate Diwali (Credit: Getty)

A similar change is happening in India. The only difference here is that stories from Hindu mythology born thousands of years ago - including religious epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata - remain largely unchanged compared to the ones told in India today. Hinduism is one of the world's oldest surviving religions: its teachings, legends and myths are integrated into the culture, the education system, and the society at large. And since Hinduism has existed (and continues to exist) within the borders of what is modern-day India, it is inevitable that lines are blurred. You'll find festivals like Diwali and Holi being celebrated by everyone - not just Hindus. Where Hindu women wore mangalsutra s (wedding necklaces) instead of wedding bands, Christian women (notably in Mangalore) adopted this tradition. And much like children study the Greeks, Hindu mythology is taught in schools.

A decade ago, the Ramayana - the story of the prince, Rama - was fairly standard. At the request of his stepmother, Rama is exiled for 14 years by his father Dasaratha, the king of Ayodhya. Rama and his wife Sita live in the forest, with his stepbrother Laksmana. When Sita is abducted by the King of Lanka, a demon with 10 heads named Ravana, Rama goes through extreme efforts to save his wife, kill Ravana, and return to his kingdom on a new-moon night. To welcome him, the villagers of the kingdom light lamps and candles. A family is reunited and good has triumphed over evil. On the same new moon each year, Hindus celebrate Diwali. While some versions change certain mechanisms within the plot - in one version, Sita is Ravana's daughter, for example - the nuts and bolts of the plot remain the same. Recent years, however, have seen drastic shifts in Hindu, myth-centric literature. These shifts all stem from retelling age-old tales through a feminist lens.

This scene from the Ramayana depicts Sita undergoing the ordeal by fire to test her chastity (Credit: British Museum)

Take, for instance, the Panchakanya or 'Five Virgins' - five iconic heroines from mythology who are enshrined in a Sanskrit verse that reads: " Ahalya, Draupadi, Kunti, Tara, Mandodari tatha / Panchakanya smaren nityam, mahapatak naashaka." Roughly translated, it reads: "Ahalya, Draupadi, Kunti, Tara and Mandodari / Invoking daily the virgins five / Destroys the greatest sins."

Of the five virgins, Kunti and Draupadi are characters from the Mahabharata, and Ahalya, Tara, and Mandodari are from the Ramayana. None of these five women are actually virgins: their 'scandalous' stories, of polyandry and public disrobing (Draupadi); manipulation of men and kingdoms (Kunti); origins as celestial nymphs and demons (Tara and Mandodari) and adultery and punishment (Ahalya) were largely seen - until recently - as cautionary tales.

It is no surprise that modern retellings of stories from the Ramayana are told from Sita&rsquo;s point of view

The ultimate bar for the 'good housewife' in the Indian Hindu context remains Sita - the subservient wife of Rama who follows him into exile in the jungle. But, as Linda Hess points out in Rejecting Sita: Indian Responses to the Ideal Man's Cruel Treatment of His Ideal Wife, there are great differences in the bars set for these characters: "[At] the end of the great war between [Rama] and the demons, [Sita] must undergo a test of chastity that requires her to throw herself into a blazing fire." Most popular versions of the Ramayana, Hess points out, omit these stories altogether, ending instead with Rama and Sita in the golden age of Rama's rule in Ayodhya. Similarly, renowned Indian feminists, Kamla Bhasin and Ritu Menon, note that after the famed 1980s adaptation of the epic, with Sita as the ideal: "[the] overarching ideology [of] female dispensability," violence against women in India - whether physical, sexual or emotional - remains normalised.

It is no surprise that modern retellings of stories from the Ramayana are told from Sita's point of view. Among these are Sita: Daughter of the Earth - A Graphic Novel by Saraswati Nagpal, The Girl Who Chose: A New Way of Narrating the Ramayana, Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana by Devdutt Pattanaik, and Sita: The Warrior of Mithila by Amish Tripathi. The last two authors listed are men. The field of Hindu mythology, and indeed Indian publishing itself, is male-dominated. Amish Tripathi is known for his modern retellings of Hindu myths, many of which are bestsellers, but his reimagining of Sita comes with a degree of what could be described as 'mansplaining'. In an interview with the Hindustan Times, Tripathi said he intended for readers: "to see Sita as a feminist icon" and "see her as a warrior, not just her physical strength but also her mental ability." Devdutt Pattanaik, on the other hand, is a mythologist first and foremost. His rendering tells the Ramayana through Sita's point of view, but his narrative is limited to the constraints of an original version of the Ramayana by Valmiki.

A key scene in the Mahabharata is the disrobing of Drapaudi, who is gambled on and lost in a game of dice (Credit: Alamy)

While ancient myths are products of their time, they evolve, too. Between reprints and verbal iterations (which is how these myths were initially passed down), changes in the narrative are inevitable. To restrict retellings in the 'purest' form of mythology as Patnaik does is to ignore the manner in which society itself functions and is changing. To rewrite a prominent myth today, and ignore the social shifts India has undergone - particularly as far as women are concerned - does both the retelling and the reader an injustice. Especially when it concerns a female character who has been lauded as an "ideal wife" and a "model for womanhood", as Sita was by Mohammad Hidayatullah, the 11th Chief Justice of India during an international conference on the Ramayana.

In Divakaruni&rsquo;s version, this very meek, wronged character, who has been humiliated and harassed in a distinctly gendered manner, has a strong voice for change

It is the character of Draupadi from The Mahabharata however - the most enigmatic of the five 'virgins' - who has had tens of books rewrite the story from her point of view. The most popular of these, at least in English, is Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's The Palace of Illusions. The Mahabharata is, as far as epics go, hyper-masculine. Two related families - the Kauravas and the Pandavas - fight in the Kurukshetra War for the Hastinapura throne. Cue the thunder of chariots, bows spewing arrows in all directions, and utter mayhem for 1.8 million words. There is a key scene in the Mahabharata in which Draupadi, who is the wife of all five Pandava brothers, is gambled away and lost in a game of dice. She is summoned from her bath by Duryodhana, a winning Kaurava. When she arrives partially dressed, his brother Dushasana mocks her chastity on account of her many husbands, and starts unrolling her ekavastra (a saree without a petticoat or blouse). She prays to Krishna to preserve her dignity, and he does so by ensuring her ekavastra never stops unrolling.

Religious devotees protested against India's decision to revoke a ban on women aged between 10 and 50 entering a Hindu temple in Kerala (Credit: Getty)

In Divakaruni's version, this very meek, wronged character, who has been humiliated and harassed in a distinctly gendered manner, isn't clueless that she's been objectified; she has a strong voice for change: "I'm a queen. Daughter of Drupad, sister of Dhristadyumna. Mistress of the greatest palace on earth. I can't be gambled away like a bag of coins, or summoned to court like a dancing girl."

This is an obvious statement for Draupadi's character to make - but it's an important one to make in print. As a society, India has rooted its morality in myths and theology for hundreds of years - and still has a long way to go towards the fair treatment of women today. Representation in India's key mythologies also has a long way to go, but in retelling myths through a more balanced lens, writers can find a new story to tell.

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Modern writers are retelling India's legendary Hindu tales - often through a feminist lens. Why is this important? Akanksha Singh takes a look.

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Bollywood’s boisterous masala fare elicits enthusiastic wolf whistles in cinemas in the East and West. Today Bollywood is the only global challenger to the popularity and clout of mighty Hollywood. DESIblitz traces the impact of the Hindi movie industry on Indian culture, society and economy.

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The Many Gods of the Hindu Faith | The Story of God

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Ravi Varma, le peintre des dieux et déesses de l'Inde

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Ravi Varma, le peintre des dieux et déesses de l'Inde

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Ravi Varma- Britannica Online Encyclopedia 

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Ravi Varma- Britannica Online Encyclopedia 

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The Ravi Varma Press- The 125 Year Commemorative

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The Ravi Varma Press- The 125 Year Commemorative

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The Ravi Varma Fine Art Lithographic Press, established in Bombay, commenced its operations in 1894. The Ganesh Shivaswamy Foundation, established in the year 2019, celebrates 125 years of the print legacy of the inimitable Ravi Varma Printing Press which printed chromolithographs from paintings by Raja Ravi Varma and other artists.

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The Ravi Varma Press - The 125 Year Commemorative - Google Arts & Culture

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Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online.

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10 Great Heroes of Hindu Mythology | Indian Mythology

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In this article, you are going to have a look at the 10 great heroes of Hindu Mythology | 10 great heroes of Indian Mythology.

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Ressource: Chennai Express Official Trailer

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Ressource: Chennai Express Official Trailer

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"Chennai Express Trailer" (Official) | ShahRukh Khan, Deepika Padukone

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Who doesn't like super heroes? In fact we grew up with them didn't we? We often talk about Spiderman, Superman, Iron Man, Flash and many uncountable names; but even here, we have awesome superheroes. From having powers and abilities like super strength to being able to traverse any distance in a matter of seconds, our Indian superheroes are up for the game every time.
Here is a list of our own Indian superheroes throughout the ages-
1. Shaktimaan

Shaktimaan attained his heroic powers through deep meditation and was capable of activating certain chakras which gave him powers. Shaktiman's alter ego, a photographer for the newspaper Aaj Ki Aawaz, named Pandit Gangadhar Vidyadhar Mayadhar Omkarnath Shastri falls in love with Geeta Vishwas, a reporter for the same newspaper. Shaktimaan arch rival is 'Tamraj Kilvish' and who could forget his famous line "Aandhera Kaayam Raahe!" (Let the darkness prevail!).

2. Doga

One of the most popular heroes by Raj comics, Doga is a witness of a large number of crimes which makes him a sociopath. Doga's powers and prowess are impressive. He has been trained by different teachers in several aspects like muscle development, hand to hand combat, martial arts, marksmanship and other things. Doga also has the ability to communicate with dogs and order them to do something for him; he could dodge bullets using the Black pepper art. Based in Mumbai he was raised by his four Uncles (or Chachas as he called them). Doga's main enemy is anybody from terrorists to drug dealers to petty thieves.

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3. Nagraj

Originally meant for destruction of humanity, Nagraj was the creation of professor Nagmani who decided to sell him to the highest bidder. On his first mission to steal an ancient golden statue he encounters a sadhu known as Baba Gorakhnath who helped Nagraj get rid of the mind control pill implanted by the evil professor and serve humanity. His powers range from shape shifting to releasing various types of snakes. Nagraj's blood is more poisonous than any kind of snake and is composed of small snakes itself. From explosive snakes to the ones which help him fight spirits, he has it all.

4. Inspector Steel

After being in a deadly accident, inspector Amar loses his major body parts. To save him, his brain is transferred to a steel body thus making him a cyborg. This life saving operation was performed by his friend Professor Anees. Oddly familiar to Inspector Gadget and Robocop, Inspector Steel's nemesis is Mechanic who despises machines and wants to kill them. His powers and abilities include x-ray vision, lie detector, scanners, a Mega gun which fires bullets and rockets automatically and a host of other gadgets.

5. Devi

Devi is based on the warrior goddess Durga; she was created by the gods to fight the evil God Bala in the man's 2 nd century. Devi was reborn into the body of a young woman named Tara Mehta. She accidentally unawakens Bala's devil incarnate; her boyfriend is a notorious gangster and is also the re-incarnation of Bala's favorite general from the earlier life. Devi was protected time to time by the Durapasya who claimed to be human warriors of light.

6. Krrish

Krrish is an Indian superhero created by Rakesh Roshan and played by his son Hrithik Roshan. The story revolves around the extra-terrestrial 'Jadoo' who gives Krrish's father abilities which got transferred to him. His powers include jumping to and from great heights, super human strength and super fast reflex actions. His nemesis is the megalomaniac scientist Dr. Siddhant Arya who wants to take over the world.

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7. Ra-One

A superhero movie played by Shah Rukh Khan in a world where motion based sensor games makes its way into motion. Sekhar Subramanium created the game where the antagonist is more powerful than the protagonist (G-One) and when the villain Ra-One escapes into the real world, all hell breaks loose. Prateek challenges Ra-One (Raavan) and this makes him follow Subramanium's son to kill him. G-One has super strength, can shoot blasts of energy from his hands and can shoot special bullets once the HART (Hertz Amplifying Resonance Transmitter) is put into its place.

8. Bheriya

Another hero by the Raj Comics, Behriya is part wolf and part human and is more mature than the foolish Kobi who has good intentions in his heart but is more aggressive. Though Bheriya has defeated Kobi many times, they are essentially linked and have one soul. Bheriya's powers include hand to hand combat knowledge, communicating with wolves etc. His nemesis other than Kobi is Elephanto, Kaigula, King Luna and many others.

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9. Shakti

Shakti is another woman superhero who wears a tiger skin and fights crime, especially the ones related to women in Delhi. Severely wronged by her husband (he killed their daughter), she was about to be her husband's prey when goddess Kali infused her with powers. She can generate fire from her bare hands and has the ability to convert any metal into a weapon. Her third eye (covered with a head band) opens in extreme situations.

10. Parmanu

With the power of atom manipulation in his special suit, Parmanu fights crime and also seeks revenge on the people who killed his parents and school friends. The suit was designed by his maternal uncle and helps Parmanu fight villains by projecting blasts and also helping him fly and shrink size at will. During day he is Inspector Vinay who is busy catching criminals.

We take pride in our roots and want to see our identity represented in such fantastic characters. While the comic world is packed with superheroes, they are predominantly white. With these Indian heroes, there is a hope to offer an intriguing and exciting story for the fans, along with a hero that looks like us being embodied well in the media. The characters here offer excellent morals that each of us can pick up and take as an example. Furthermore, they have some of the coolest powers of all time. One that will leave you surprised and pleased.

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We all love Superheroes, but did you know our country has its fair share of these super beings? Here is list of 10 Indian Superheroes with amazing powers.

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Ankit2World | The World of Ankit Malik (aKi)

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I am a big time comics lover, I started reading comics since age 10. Back in the day, my favorite superhero was 'Nagraj' (Snake-King). I still remember spending most of my time reading his stories and adventures. While growing up, I started watching English movies and that was the first time I saw Superman starring Christopher Reeves. I went nuts, as Superman was the first Superhero I saw on my T.V screen that too flying... talking about early 90s.

Soon after Superman, I realized that there were many super heroes around the world. I started exploring, and let me tell you that there was no such thing as Internet and a computer at my place at that time. That's how I became addicted to the world of comics and its characters. Since then I've read many comics till date. I love exploring new characters and reading about them.

Recently, on a fine day, I came to know that our beloved 'Marvel Universe' is filled with India origin characters. I was amazed seeing these characters' strengths and superpowers in the comics. I ordered some digital copies online and started reading them.

So let me tell you about the 5 my most favorite Indian Superheroes in the Marvel Universe.

Dinesh Deol
He was an engineer but he had 'Inhuman'heritage. He developed the ability of Psionically controlling the electromagnetic spectrum after being affected by Terrigen Mist Cloud from Terrigen Bomb.

==
Raz Malhotra
He was in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Born in Denver, Colorado, Indian parents. Egghead the villain wanted to use Raz's knowledge to create artificial duplicates of the Avengers. Scott Lang (Ant-Man) gifted Raz with a Giant-Man suit and that's how Raz Malhotra helped Ant-Man defeat a couple of villains by becoming Giant-Man.

==
Pavitr Prabhakar
An Indian spider-man falls under the same storyline as Peter Parker. The only change is that everything is very my Indian-ized.

==
Paras Gavaskar
He was a Mutant born in India. He enrolled at the Xavier Institute and was personally mentored by Northstar becoming the top student in the class of Alpha Squadron.

==
Shakti Haddad
Founding member of X-Men 2099 and founder of X-Nation. Shakti was a brilliant young woman and became an expert in genetics. She realized she is a mutant with extra-ordinary abilities.

Isn't all of this is exciting... Let me know if you encounter the other Indian Superheroes in Marvel universe in the comments below.

Comics Fan
Ankit Malik (aki)
www.ankit2world.com

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5 Indian Superheroes in Marvel Universe. | Ankit2World

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Recently, on a fine day, I came to know that our beloved 'Marvel Universe' is filled with India origin characters.

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Ressource: Five Indian Superheroes from DC & Marvel that could have their own alliance 

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Ressource: Five Indian Superheroes from DC & Marvel that could have their own alliance 

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Five Indian Superheroes from DC and Marvel that could have their own alliance

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Ressource: The evolution of the Indian Super Hero

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Ressource: The evolution of the Indian Super Hero

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Priya named “Gender Equality Champion” — UN WOMEN

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I stand with Priya | Ram Devineni | TEDxCoventGardenWomen

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Ressource: Priya wind comic Teachers' guide

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Ressource: Priya wind comic Teachers' guide

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Ressource: Priya wind comic student guide

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Ressource: Priya wind comic student guide

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Looking for more good Hindu God names?

Feel free to use any of the names that this Hindu God name generator provides. Be sure to tell us the success story at service@reedsy.com! And if you're still some distance away from the right name, the rest of the Internet's got you covered. Here are some of our other favorite Hindu God name generators on the web:

Or if you think that generators are fun and all - but that you'd rather create your own Hindu God name? Great 👍 Head to this post, which is all about naming a character.

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Hindu Mythology Name Generator * The ULTIMATE Bank of 50,000+ Names

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50,000+ Hindu Mythology names right at your fingertips. Discover the right one with this ultimate name generator. New names are added every week!

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Ressource: All Bollywood actors who are under threat

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Ressource: All Bollywood actors who are under threat

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... Visage/Stockbyte/Getty Images

Ancient Indians of both genders applied a number of different makeup products. While makeup is generally seen as merely superficial, to Indians, cosmetics were a means of practicing their religion and culture. In some cases, products were reserved for special occasions; in others, they were used regularly to enhance the wearer's luck, beauty, spirituality and status.

To this day, Indian women use kajal to enhance their eyes, applying it to the waterline, eyelashes and outer rims of their eyes. Unlike the kohl of Africa and the Middle East, Indian kajal contains no lead components. Instead, they would prepare the kajal by dipping a clean muslin rag in a paste made of sandalwood, used for its perceived medicinal properties. When the rag was dry, the women would burn it in a lamp of castor oil. Next, they would combine the carbon remains with castor oil or ghee (clarified butter) for easier application. Indians applied the resulting kajal regardless of their gender or age. Women would even apply eyeliner to their babies', believing it would strengthen and protect the eyes.

The caste, or class, system in India is based on birth and wealth. However, because the members of higher castes often, but don't always, have paler skin, many Indians still consider fair skin a hallmark of beauty due to its association with status. In ancient times, Indians would create a skin-bleaching cosmetic by mixing together costus root, sesame seeds, lebbeck leaves, pongamia pea plant leaves, cedar wood and barberry wood together. They would then roast the mixture and crush it to a fine powder. Another brightening agent consisted of powdered lentils mixed with honey. Some would apply one or both mixtures regularly to create and maintain a paler complexion.

Indians would crush the leaves of the henna to yield a thick paste that results in semi-permanent, reddish-brown stains. While this paste may be also be used to dye hair and fingernails, due to its association with luck, it plays a particular role in rites of passage. Before weddings, skilled artists applied henna paste to brides' hands and feet, creating intricate patterns known as mehndi. Women may also wear mehndi on other special occasions and religious holidays.

While many believe the bindi, or red dot between the eyebrows, is worn only by married women, this is not the case. Because the color red is associated with love and honor, married women apply a red ochre paste to their scalps, where their hair is parted. The area between the eyebrows is known as the "third eye," a chakra that Indians believe to be the center of a person's spiritual power. While in modern times, a bindi may be a simple fashion statement, during previous eras Indians of both genders would mark themselves with bindi to augment their beauty and spiritual vitality.

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Ancient Indians of both genders applied a number of different makeup products. While makeup is generally seen as merely superficial, to Indians, cosmetics were a means of practicing their religion and culture. In some cases, products were reserved for special occasions; in others, they were used regularly to enhance ...

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Movies tell us stories. They capture our imagination and transport us to different times and places in history. Sometimes these places are real and the settings take the storyline to a whole new level. The architecture forms the envelope for the story. A lot of Indian buildings and monuments have had noteworthy appearances on celluloid.

Indian culture being so diverse, architecture isn't an exception to the rule. North India is home to several forts and religious monuments, which showcase ancient Indian, Mughal and European architectural heritage. As we progress east, heritage houses exude a strong British influence. As one travels further into the south, the Dravidian temples become larger and the palaces lavish in ornamentation. No wonder Indian movies have only been too willing to set their stories in beautiful locations that are a feast to the eyes. Let's take a look at some Bollywood films that projected some of the finest examples of Indian architecture in all their glory.

Jodhaa Akbar

The backdrop of romantic scenes in the movie, the Agra Fort is steeped in historical and architectural layers. Apart from the traditional structures like the Diwan-i-Aam (hall of public audience), the Diwan-i- Khas (hall of private audience), and the various mahals, the Fort boasts of unusual features as well. The Fort has structures adorned with inlay work in white marble and has also incorporated influences from Hindu architecture, such as the depiction of living beings in decorative art. Decorative mirror work seen in the Sheesh Mahal, a characteristic shared with the Amber Fort, is also seen in the film.

Paheli

Rani Mukherjee gazes into the distance while a bird hovers above along the steps of a baori (stepwell). Rani ki Baori in Rajasthan was featured in the movie. Named after a queen who bravely sacrificed herself to uphold her husband's honour, the stepwell is unique in the fact that it is asymmetrical and in that its characteristic design of the steps imitated waves of water. Widely prevalent in Western India where temperatures can go up to 45 degrees, stepwells solved the problem of seasonal fluctuations in water availability. Apart from storing potable water, the stepwells also provided respite from the hot and arid weather conditions for travellers. Built with blocks of stone without using mortar, the stepwell is divided in to two parts - one allowing water to be drawn out vertically and the other allowing access to the water through the stairways. The stepwells were designed such that the water could be accessed through a series of steps, providing the flexibility of accessing the water at whichever level it was. During the rainy seasons, the stepwell would fill to its capacity and function like a cistern.

Fanaa

The upbeat "Desh Rangeela" plays and Kajol is twirling around in front of a structure that is more than well known- the Rashtrapathi Bhavan. Everybody recognizes this iconic building in New Delhi. The Rashtrapathi Bhavan was designed by Edwin Lutyens for the existing Viceroy at the time. Although Lutyens preferred European designs over Indian architectural designs, a few traditional elements have been used . Features like the chattris on the roof, the design of the column capitals, and several water features have been borrowed from Hindu architecture. The central dome, inspired by the dome of the Pantheon in Rome, was one of the many European influences in the building's design. In addition to the Mughal gardens, other Indian elements included Indo-Saracenic motifs and red sandstone jaalis.
The Amar Jawan Jyothi at the India Gate and the Qutb complex were also showcased in this movie.

Haider

During the scenic shots of Dal Lake and Haider's village, the regional architecture of Kashmir may be noticed in the background. Primarily made of timber, houses in Kashmir also have distinct, pointed roofs to shed the snow. Wooden columns, courtyards and jaalis constructed over openings were features quite common in the local architecture. Many villagers use unburnt bricks set in wooden frames or earthen walls set on stone plinths to form the structure of a house.
The song "Bismil" was shot at the Martand Sun temple in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir. The complex consists of the primary shrine located in the middle of a colonnaded courtyard. There are 84 smaller shrines surrounding the main shrine. The temple is now in ruins but the primary shrine is thought to have had a pyramidal top which is characteristic of Kashmiri temples.

3 Idiots

Indian architecture has evolved with globalization. Traditional elements have been used in modern buildings resulting in contemporary designs. One such example is IIM, Bangalore. This institution is largely featured in the film "3 Idiots". Designed by B.V. Doshi, the campus comprises of a network of corridors, courts, and external spaces inspired by the courtyards of Fatehpur Sikhri and the gardens of Bangalore. Through pergolas, skylights, and the blurring between the exterior and interior, the campus provides an interesting spatial experience.

Another architectural highlight in the movie is the Druk White Lotus school in Ladakh. Built upon a Buddhist mandala plan, the school is an example of sustainable architecture. Open spaces and courtyards have also popularized outdoor learning.

Continue reading - Architectural Set Design in Indian Cinema

Factfile -
http://asi.nic.in
http://dooleyonline.typepad.com/bollywood/2013/09/stepwell-hadi-rani-ki-baori-in-toda-rai-singh-rajasthan-paheli.html
http://www.todaraisingh.com/hadi-rani-ki-baori
http://www.dailykashmirimages.com/news-the-architectural-delicacy-of-rural-kashmir-42163.aspx
http://www.chitrolekha.com/V2/n1/13_Temples_Purulia_Deulghata_Pakbira_Banda.pdf
http://www.indiamike.com/india/bus-and-train-photologues-f167/historical-gems-of-hooghly-t210826/

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The Reel Storeys - Architecture in Indian Movies

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No wonder Indian movies have only been too willing to set their stories in beautiful locations that are a feast to the eyes.

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Art and Architecture of Rajput Dynasty - Mediaeval India History Notes

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Art and Architecture of Rajput Dynasty - Mediaeval India History Notes

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Indian Administrative Service - IAS Exam

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The Rajput rulers had a keen sense of beauty in art and architecture, as evidenced by the artistic excellence of their temples, forts, and palaces. During the Rajput period, the Indo-Aryan architectural style developed in North India and the Upper Deccan, and the Dravidian

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Fatehpur Sikri, the great Mughal emperor Akbar's capital city 

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Fatehpur Sikri, the great Mughal emperor Akbar's capital city 

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This article was most recently revised and updated by

Fatehpur Sikri, town, western Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It lies just east of the Rajasthan state border, about 23 miles (37 km) west-southwest of Agra.

The town was founded in 1569 by the great Mughal emperor Akbar. In that year Akbar had visited the Muslim hermit Chishti, who was residing in the village of Sikri. Chishti correctly foretold that Akbar's wish for an heir would be gratified with the birth of a son; the child, Salīm, was born in Sikri that same year, and he would later rule as the emperor Jahāngīr. The grateful Akbar decided that the site of Sikri was auspicious and made it his capital. He personally directed the building of the Jāmiʿ Masjid (Great Mosque; 1571), which stretches some 540 feet (165 metres) in length and contains an ornate tomb for Chishti. The mosque's southern entrance, the colossal gateway Buland Darwaza (Victory Gate; 1575), is one of India's greatest architectural works. The monumental gateway is constructed out of red sandstone and is attractively carved.

Fatehpur Sikri contains other early Mughal structures, exhibiting both Muslim and Hindu architectural influences. They include the palace of Akbar's wife (Jodha Bai), a private audience hall, and houses. The Mughal capital was moved to Delhi in 1586 because of Fatehpur Sikri's inadequate water supply. Now maintained as a historic site, Fatehpur Sikri was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986. Pop. (2001) 28,804; (2011) 32,905.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Adam Zeidan.

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Fatehpur Sikri | Architecture, Foundation, & History

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Fatehpur Sikri, town, western Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It lies just east of the Rajasthan state border, about 23 miles (37 km) west-southwest of Agra. It was founded by the Mughal emperor Akbar and contains many early Mughal structures, including Buland Darwaza (Victory Gate) and the palace of Jodha Bai.

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Ressource: Films mentionnés dans l'exposition 

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Ressource: Films mentionnés dans l'exposition 

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History of make up in Bollywood - Parts 1 and 2

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History of make up in Bollywood - Parts 1 and 2

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History of makeup in Bollywood – Part 1: The silent era – Aparna Mudi

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India lives and breathes cinema. After all the Indian film industry churns out more than any other film industry of the world. The people here are influenced by what they portray. Film stars have been gods to many and there are even temples dedicated to some.

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12 famous buildings in India: From ancient wonders to modern marvels | CNN

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From the Sikhs' Golden Temple to the Victoria Memorial, these are the stories behind 12 famous buildings in architecturally rich India.

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Navarasa or the Nine moods in the Classical Dance of India | Facial expressions

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Navarasa or the Nine moods in the Classical Dance of India | Facial expressions

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Navarasa or the Nine moods in the Classical Dance of India | Facial expressions

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Ressource: The 9 Emotional States of Indian Rasa

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Ressource: The 9 Emotional States of Indian Rasa

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Living Stories: Storytelling Traditions of India (10.06 Mins.)

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Ressource: History of makeup in Bollywood

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Ressource: History of makeup in Bollywood

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Telling Tales: the art of Indian storytelling

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Telling Tales: the art of Indian storytelling

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Telling Tales: the art of Indian storytelling

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Beauty in Bollywood has had its own journey. From bouffant hair with shiny red lips to the exaggerated winged eyeliner, it used to be all about being big and bold. Cut to a few years later, it has now become all about monochrome and minimalist makeup looks.

However history repeats itself and from time to time we come across some amazing yesteryear looks that can be copied even today. Although these makeup looks may look dated and hard to recreate as is, they had a major fan following back in the day. Below, we have listed five of Bollywood's iconic makeup styles from the yesteryears, and how they have changed over the years.

Over-lined lips

If there is one thing that has evolved over the years and become more subtle and natural looking, then it has to be the way we apply lip liners. Today, we pay special attention to ensure that our lip liner stays as close to our natural lip line as possible. But a lot of yesteryear Bollywood actresses went a little overboard with lining their lips.

Exaggerated eyeliner

From Sharmila Tagore and Hema Malini to Babita and Asha Parekh, most leading actresses from the 60s to the late 80s wore super thick, exaggerated eyeliners that ended up covering most of their eye lids. Although this style of applying eyeliner may be a little too OTT to wear today, we need to give it to these women for showing us how a perfectly created cat eye is a sure shot way to look glamourous!

Extra-long lashes

Perfectly curled, thick and long lashes coated in oodles of mascara are the perfect finishing touch for any eye makeup look. Back in the day, our Bollywood actresses took this makeup trick a little too seriously and sported super long and exaggerated lashes that would give any Kardashian a run for her money.

Too much blush

Sure, a blush can instantly make you look fresh as a daisy, and your makeup is barely complete without that subtle hint of colour on the cheeks. But our yesteryear divas didn't hold back when it came to using this product. From Jaya Prada to Juhi Chawla, all the actresses loved a bit (and by that we mean a lot) of colour on their cheeks!

Super thin, dark eyebrows

How we do our eyebrows has probably undergone the most amount of transformation. Back then the actresses loved sporting ultra-thin, perfectly curved, dark eyebrows, while today, these are just the kind of eyebrows that everyone wants to vehemently avoid. It is all about natural, brushed out brows these days!
Image courtesy: Pinterest

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Iconic And Totally OTT Bollywood Makeup Looks That Were A Hit Back Then

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Although these makeup looks may look dated and hard to recreate as is, they had a major fan following back in the day. Below, we have listed five of Bollywood's iconic makeup styles from the yesteryears, and how they have changed over the years.

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TheMughal Empire once ruled over a large portion of modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The empire was founded in 1526 by Babur. He was a conqueror who descended from both Genghis Khan and the great . The term Mughal can be translated to Mongol, a name that comes from the dynasty's Turko-Mongol ethnicity. The Mughals ruled their empire with absolute power. They established a strong taxation system and an effective government. This lead to a golden age during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Mughals built dozens of incredible works of architecture, including the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. Both of which are among the most visited sites in all of modern-day India. Below is a list of the greatest works of Mughal Architecture and a look at the evolution of the mighty Mughal Empire.

Who were the Mughals?

History of the Mughal Empire

Approximate Borders of the Mughal Empire during the reign of Akbar (1556-1605)

There are three main emperors whose rules illustrate the rise and fall of the Mughal empire. The first is , the son of the founder of the Mughal Dynasty Babur. Akbar ruled for nearly 50 years from 1556-1605. He was a conqueror and significantly grew the size of the empire. Akbar was known as a tolerant ruler who accepted all faiths including , and . Akbar was a great patron of the arts and of academics. He commissioned the construction of several of the greatest works of Mughal Military Architecture.

was the famous Mughal Emperor who built the Taj Mahal. He ruled from 1628-1658 during a period that was a cultural peak for the Mughal Empire. The Taj Mahal's fine detailing and extravagant materials show how powerful the Mughals were at this time. While the Taj Mahal may be the most well-known example, there are countless other works of Mughal Architecture that can be found throughout India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

Approximate Borders of the Mughal Empire during the reign of Aurangzeb (1658-1707)

ruled from 1658-1707 and was a skilled military commander. He conquered new lands and brought the Mughal Empire to its greatest territorial extent. However, Aurangzeb is also known as an oppressive ruler, who often mistreated the Hindu population. He introduced a special tax for all non-muslims that was extremely unpopular. He also built several impressive mosques and other buildings while neglecting sacred temples. Aurangzeb's rule marks the initial decline of Mughal control over their empire, and eventually, a new threat known as the Maratha Empire would invade from Southern India.

The Marathas took over most of the Mughal territories before making a final move on Delhi in the late 1700s. However, they were only able to hold onto power for a short time. In 1818, after a series of expansionary wars, the British took control of most of the Indian Subcontinent. The British re-established the Mughal Dynasty, but the Mughal emperor was used as a puppet ruler, while the British East India Company had most of the power. The final Mughal Emperor was sent into exile in 1857 after being caught in a plot to push the British out of India.

Characteristics of Mughal Architecture

Islamic Influences

In nearly all works of Mughal Architecture you can see a heavy Islamic Influence. Islamic building elements such as pointed arches, , Minarets, and domes can be found throughout the buildings of the Mughal Empire. In the above image of the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore Pakistan, you can see several of these characteristics. The towering minarets were a high point where individuals would chant the Islamic Call to Prayer. The Mosque is also built with three Onion Domes, a characteristic found in older works of Persian and Timurid Architecture.

Although the Mughals practiced Islam, Mughal Architecture utilizes many elements from Hindu Temples. Hinduism was the dominant religion in the heart of India long before the arrival of the Mughals, and today roughly 80% of India identifies as Hindu. In the above image at the Lahore Fort in Pakistan, you can see ornately decorated column capitals that feature Indian elephants. The elephant was a symbol in many of India's ancient religions, and it blends in perfectly with the other Islamic Architectural elements that can be found within the Lahore Fort.

Another element that can be found throughout the Architecture of the Mughal Empire is the use of Red Sandstone. This particular was abundant in parts of the empire, and the distinct reddish hue of the stone can be found in several iconic buildings such as the aptly named Red Fort. The image above shows one of several monumental gateways into the Red Fort, each one decorated with carved pieces of sandstone. The building material is also found in the Agra Fort, the Jama Masjid, and in the outer buildings of the Taj Mahal complex.

Stone Inlays

Many of the finer works of Mughal Architecture contain intricate stone inlays. The use of Stone Inlays is a common ornamentation technique that has been around since ancient times. It saw a particular resurgence from the 16th to the 19th centuries. In Europe, it is often referred to as Pietra dura, which is an Italian term used for a craft that gained popularity in the Renaissance. In India, the art is known as Parchin Kari, and the Taj Majal contains the finest examples of it. Here you can see Arabic Script in a border surrounding another inlay of flowers and vines. The rich colors of the stones are part of what gives the Taj Mahal its distinct appearance.

Fortifications

Fortifications, along with mosques and tombs, are some of the most impressive forms of architecture built by the Mughals. Just like countless other empires that have ruled in the past, the Mughals had to build forts and castles as a way to help protect their conquered lands. Several massive Mughal forts were built in a vast defensive network. These include the Red Fort, the Lahore Fort, and the Agra Fort among others. In the image above of the Agra Fort, you can see how it's built with thick sandstone walls that were once outfitted with numerous cannons.

What are the best examples of Mughal Architecture?

The Mughal Empire dominated their territory from the early 1500s to the early 1700s, and in that time they built countless mosques, forts, mausoleums, and other buildings. Below is a list of some of the greatest examples of Mughal Architecture and a look at the origins and history of the Mughal Empire.

1. Taj Mahal - Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

The Taj Mahal is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. Its iconic white marble exterior is one of the finest examples of Mughal craftsmanship. Construction took place from 1632- 1653 during the reign of Mughal Emperor . Shah Jahan ruled at a high point in Mughal history, and he spent an enormous sum of money building the Taj Mahal. His successor was , who tried his best to expand the domain of the empire while also avoiding the costly opulent lifestyle of his predecessor.

Although the white central structure is the most photographed portion, the Taj Mahal is actually a complex of several different buildings. There is a low wall surrounding the entire area, which is complete with a few large gateways. The outer portions of the complex are mostly built from the distinct Red Sandstone found throughout much of the architecture in this region of India. The whole place sits along the banks of the Yamuna River in Agra.

The Taj Mahal was built to honor the wife of Shah Jahan. Her name was Mumtaz Mahal, and the building was meant to act as her mausoleum when she died. Within the center of the Taj Mahal, you will find here grave, along with that of Shah Jahan himself. Today the Taj Mahal is one of the most visited landmarks on earth and it's permanently enshrined as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Because of its iconic nature and its impressive history, the Taj Mahal is regarded by many as the best work of Architecture from the Mughal Empire.

2. Red Fort - Old Delhi, Delhi, India

The Red Fort is a huge defensive fortification located within the old portions of Delhi. The building was the residence of the Mughal Emperors during the points when Delhi served as the empire's capital. Shah Jahan commissioned the construction, and work began in the year 1638. The fort is surrounded by walls that are nearly 60 feet (18 m) high and there are towers over 100 feet (33 m) tall. Just like many other Mughal Forts, the Red Fort is built primarily with Red Sandstone, which is a common element within Mughal Architecture.

The Red Fort was a prominent military outpost, and it helped the Mughals secure control over Delhi and the surrounding area. However, despite the strength of the fort, it still fell to the forces of , the ruler of Persia. He lead his army out of modern-day Iran, and into the heart of the Mughal Empire. He sacked the city of Delhi in 1739 and took countless riches from the Red Fort and other important Mughal buildings. The Persian invasion marked a low point in Mughal history, and the empire fell into a rapid state of decline immediately following.

3. Badshahi Mosque - Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

The Badshahi Mosque is one of several notable works of Mughal Architecture within the Pakistani city of Lahore. Lahore served as the capital of the Mughal Empire during the late 16th century, and it was originally conquered by Babur in 1524. Today Lahore is the capital of the Punjab region, which is a historic territory that is now split between modern-day Pakistan and India. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, Lahore became the capital of the Sikh Empire, which was a new powerful state that at one point controlled most of the Punjab region.

The Badshahi Mosque was completed in 1673 during the reign of Emperor . It features all of the main elements of Mughal Architecture. The building is built from the typical Red Sandstone, and it contains minarets, domes, and pointed arches from Islamic Architecture. Mosques were important to the Mughals. because they gave the Islamic members of the empire a place to worship. and they were built as a way to inspire local populations and spread Islam.

4. Jama Masjid - Old Delhi, Delhi, India

Jama Masjid is a mosque in Delhi that holds a special religious ceremony every Friday. Jama Masjid is a term that translates to Congregational Mosque or Friday Mosque. The Jama Masjid in Delhi is one of the largest mosques in all of India and it was completed in the year 1656. It's located in the heart of what is known as Old Delhi, a district within the broader city of Delhi. Originally, the area around the mosque was a walled city known as Shahjahanabad, which was named for the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.

All mosques share several of the same characteristics and follow a similar format. Here at the Jama Masjid there is a central prayer hall complete with two Minarets. Just outside the prayer hall is the courtyard, which is completely surrounded by a set of walls with a large fountain in the middle. This layout matches the configuration of the world's first mosque, which was the home of the Profit Muhammad. Mosques are the principal building in Islamic Architecture, and the many Mosques of the Mughal Empire show how devout and dedicated they were to Islam.

5. Tomb of Jahangir - Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

The Tomb of Jahangir was designed as a testament to the fourth ruler of the Mughal Empire, . He ruled from 1605-1627, and was the son of . Jahangir's Tomb is one of several royal tombs dedicated to Mughal Emperors. Although not as lavish as his son Shah Jahan's tomb at the Taj Mahal, The Tomb of Jahangir is still one of the most impressive tombs in all of India. The exterior features ornate tilework with intricate geometric patterns reminiscent of other Islamic buildings in the Middle East.

The actual grave of Jahangir is located within the middle of the structure, and it contains some of the finest stone inlays orParchin Kari found anywhere in India. While Jahangir is often overshadowed by many other Mughal rulers, he still ruled the empire just as it was beginning to peak into one of the wealthiest and most powerful nations on earth. Many great works of Mughal Architecture are dedicated to Jahangir, including his tomb, and the Jahangir Mahal located in Orchha India.

6. Lahore Fort - Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

The Lahore Fort is one of the many fortifications built by the Mughals. Lahore served as the capital of the empire during the reign of , starting in 1586. Eventually, Akbar moved the capital to Agra, but Lahore remained an important city for centuries. The Lahore Fort once served as a royal residence, and the architecture of the fort was heavily modified throughout history. In the image above you can see the Alamigiri Gate which was added in the late 1600s under the reign of Aurangzeb. The new gate was built with white marble and it served as a monumental entrance to the fort that was meant to show off the wealth of the Mughal Empire.

7. Agra Fort - Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

Just like the Lahore Fort and the Red Fort in Delhi, Agra contains a massive castle-like building known as Agra Fort. Agra, like Lahore and Delhi, took a turn as the capital of the Mughal Empire during the rule of . The majority of the fort is made from red sandstone, an abundant building material in India. The thick walls of the fort were meant to protect against cannon fire, and at one time the Agra Fort was outfitted with a myriad of its own cannons. All of the great Mughal Forts were meant to help secure their domain from both outside attackers and internal rebellions. This fortification strategy is apparent in many different historical conquests such as the First Crusade, and the Conquest of England.

8. Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah - Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

The Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah is another Mughal Tomb, that is reminiscent of the Taj Mahal. It was built in a similar style, although at a much smaller scale. The central building is made from exquisite white marble, intricately decorated with stone inlays. This technique is found throughout Mughal Architecture, and the inlay work at the Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah was one of the earlier examples of this newly perfected artistry. The tomb also features a few marble screens that are intricately carved in traditional Islamic Geometric Patterns. The elegant marble work is what makes the tomb one of the greatest ever built by the Mughals.

9. Akbar's Tomb - Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

Akbar, who is also known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal Emperor. He had a lengthy tenure on the throne from 1556 to 1605. He is known as " the great" because he was such an effective ruler. He significantly expanded Mughal territory through military conquest, reformed the entire Mughal Government, and was a patron of art, science, and mathematics among other scholarly fields. Of course, like with so many other great rulers from history, Akbar was buried in a magnificent tomb, fit for a man with his esteemed accomplishments. The Tomb of Akbar is located in Agra and it was built by Akbar's son shortly after his death in 1605. Its possibly the greatest example of Early Mughal Architecture, which was built primarily with red sandstone with marble elements and detailing.

10. Humayun's Tomb - New Delhi, Delhi, India

Humayun was the son of Babur, the first Mughal Emperor, and he ruled the Mughal Empire for 10 years from 1530-1540. But Humayun lost the majority of Mughal territories to a usurper named Sher Shah Suri. He founded the short-lived and moved his capital to the city of Sasaram. Humayun was eventually able to rally support and took back all of the Mughal territories he had once lost. He reinstated Mughal dominance starting in the year 1555, and he passed the throne onto his son and heir Akbar. Humayun's tomb is one of three UNESCO World Heritage Sites located within the city of Delhi.

11. Wazir Khan Mosque - Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

The Wazir Khan Mosque is one of several mosques built by the Mughal Empire within the city of Lahore. Work began on the mosque in 1634, and construction took over 7 years. It was built during the reign of Shah Jahan, at a cultural high point for the Mughal Empire. Although it's not built of white marble like many other buildings dating to the reign of Shah Jahan, the Wazir Khan Mosque is still incredible thanks to its use of glazed ceramic tiles. These are common throughout Islamic Architecture, and the tiles are intricately decorated with bright colors. Most of the designs feature flowers and vegetation, in addition to shapes and geometric patterns.

12. Khusro Bagh - Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

Located in the city of Allahabad, the Khusro Bagh is a complex of buildings and gardens all built by the Mughal Empire. Most of the project was built by Jahangir, who was the fourth Mughal Emperor. Jahangir was a powerful ruler but his reign was marked by political strife, rebellion, and tragedy. The complex of Khusro Bagh contains the tombs of two of Jahangir's children - his eldest son and one of his daughters. Nearby within the compound is another tomb dedicated to one of Jahangir's several wives. Khusro Bagh and the nearby Akbar Fort are two great examples of Mughal Architecture within the city of Allahabad, also known as Prayagraj.

13. Diwan-i-Khas - Delhi & Lahore

Diwan-i-Khas is a term that translates in English to the Hall of Private Audiences. It was a space where the Mughal emperors would hold private events and meet with honored guests and diplomats. Several major Mughal fortresses had their own Halls of Private Audiences. In the left image above is the Diwan-i-Khas within the Lahore Fort and in the right image, you can see the one within the Red Fort in Delhi. Both structures are built in a similar manner and they both use the same pristine white marble. Particular emphasis was put into the Diwan-i-Khas when compared to the rest of the fort. The expensive materials paired with the detailed craftsmanship in the stonework were meant to impress guests of the emperor.

14. Bibi ka Maqbara - Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India

It's easy to see why the Bibi ka Maqbara has a reputation of being a sort of miniature Taj Mahal. Its overall form is strikingly similar to the Taj, and both buildings are made from the same white marble. The Bibi ka Maqbara was commissioned in 1660 by the Mughal emperor , whose mother is entombed within the Taj Mahal. The Mughal Architects clearly borrowed from the older Taj Mahal which was built starting in 1632. Although much smaller, the Bibi ka Maqbara is still an important work of Mughal Architecture, and it remains one of the most popular attractions within the city of Aurangabad to this day.

15. Jahangir Mahal - Orchha, Madhya Pradesh, India

The Jahangir Mahal was built by a local Mughal ruler to honor emperor Jahangir's visit to the city of Orchha. Orchha is one of the smaller cities in India, with a population of just over 8,000. Surprisingly, despite its small size it's home to many incredible works of architecture. The Jahangir Mahal is positioned inside the Orchha Fortress, which is a fortification that was enlarged by the Mughals. Within the fort, there are several other notable buildings such as the Raja Mahal and the Rai Praveen Mahal. Within Orchha there is also the Chaturbhuj Temple, a massive structure dedicated to the Hindu deity Vishnu.

16. Hiran Minar - Sheikhupura, Punjab, Pakistan

Photo bySohaibTahirST from Wikimedia Commons

The Hiran Minar is a complex of buildings located in the Pakistani city of Sheikhupura. The entire area was built per the orders of Jahangir, who wanted to create a site that was a place for enjoying nature and outdoor recreation. Within the center of a small pond inside the complex is a pavilion. The pavilion is then connected to the main shoreline via a bridge. At the end of the bridge is a multi-story minaret that stands alone as a monument dedicated to a deceased pet of the emperor Jahangir. The Hiran Minar is different than many of the other examples of Mughal Architecture on this list, and it shows a different side to the Mughals. The Mughals didn't just build intimidating fortresses and lavish tombs, but also buildings and gardens that were designed for pleasure and enjoyment.

17. Jama Masjid - Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

The Jama Masjid in Agra is one of several Friday Mosques built by the Mughal Empire. It sits just across from the Agra Fort and it's one of many works of Mughal Architecture located within the city. The mosque was built during the reign of Shah Jahan, 10 years after he began construction of the Taj Mahal. In contrast to the Taj Mahal, the Jama Masjid is built in an older version of Mughal Architecture. Here the majority of the building is built with red sandstone, and there are a few accents in white marble. In contrast, the Taj Mahal is in a later form of Mughal Architecture, which is much more extravagant and built almost entirely of marble.

18. Tomb of Mariam-uz-Zamani - Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

Another Mughal Tomb built shortly after Humayun's is the Tomb of Mariam-uz-Zamani. It shows the typical blend of Hindu and Islamic influences found throughout Mughal Architecture. The lower arcade surrounding the tomb contains pointed arches and it resembles many other Islamic mosques and tombs. Above this at the four corners of the roof, there are four Chhatri. These small domed balconies are a decorative element found throughout Indian and Hindu Architecture.

19. Shalimar Gardens - Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

Like dozens of other empires throughout the world, the Mughals also built great gardens among their palaces and residences. In fact, the royal gardens of the Mughal Empire rival some of the great Baroque Gardens of wealthy European kingdoms. The Shalimar Gardens are built among other monuments within the city of Lahore in modern-day Pakistan. Several pathways wind through the reflecting pools and pavilions. The whole place was designed to be an elegant experience for both the royal family members and their honored guests. Along with the Lahore Fort, the Shalimar Gardens have been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1981.

20. Jama Masjid - Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar Pradesh, India

The Jama Masjid in Fatehpur Sikri is another Congregational Mosque or Friday Mosque, built by the Mughal Empire. The mosque was built during the reign of Akbar. It's one of the earliest examples of Mughal Architecture. Fatehpur Sikri is a city that was founded by Akbar, and it served as the capital of the Mughal Empire for about 10 years. Most of the city was built from a unified form of Mughal Architecture and the Jama Masjid and the surrounding buildings are listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

21. Buland Darwaza - Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar Pradesh, India

The largest gateway within the walls surrounding the Jama Masjid in Fatehpur Sikri is the Buland Darwaza. Its positioned in line with the main entrance of the mosque, and it serves as a monumental entrance to the courtyard. It was built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great to commemorate one of his many military victories. The gateway soars over people entering the mosque. It stands over 131 feet (40 m) tall, and it's built almost entirely from red sandstone. It's similar to many other monumental gateways built around mosques, particularly in central and south Asia.

22. Shah Jahan Mosque - Thatta, Sindh, Pakistan

The Shah Jahan Mosque in Thatta Pakistan is a unique piece of Mughal Architecture. It is named for , and it was completed in 1659. What sets this mosque apart from many other buildings on this list, is the influence of Persian and Timurid Architecture. The different shades of blue tiles are a key component in these styles. Most of the interior of the Shah Jahan Mosque is decorated with these tiles and they are all orientated in geometric patterns of striking complexity. This integral use of geometry and mathematics is a key idea in many works of Islamic Architecture. The presence of these characteristics shows how connected the Mughal Empire was with the rest of the Islamic World.

23. Sher Mandal - New Delhi, Delhi, India

The Sher Mandal is a monument located within the Purana Qila in Delhi. It was built in the early stages of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century and it features an eclectic mix of influences. You can see typical Islamic arches around the exterior facades, which are built from red sandstone. You can also the Jewish Star of David along with other geometric tilework decorating the exterior. The symmetrical octagonal design is another element of Islamic Architecture found in buildings like the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, and several Ottoman Mosques in.

24. Idrakpur Fort - Munshiganj, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh

The Idrakpur Fort was part of the fortification network of the Mughal Empire. They built it along one of the many rivers that converge around the city of Dhaka, the modern-day capital of Bangladesh. It is positioned directly along the water's edge so it could help defend Dhaka and other nearby cities from ships passing upstream. Although most of the buildings on this list are within India and Pakistan, Bangladesh was a prominent region within the Mughal Empire, and Dhaka was one of its wealthiest cities.

25. Sat Gambuj Mosque - Mohammadpur, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh

The Sat Gambuj Mosque is a Mughal-era mosque located on the outskirts of Dhaka. Along with the Idrakpur Fort, it's one of two examples of Mughal Architecture in Bangladesh on this list. It was built in the 1600s when Mughal control over the region was strong. The multiple rivers that cross through the region around Dhaka made it one of the key trading centers within the empire. The mosque itself is rather modest when compared to the great monuments found elsewhere in the Mughal Empire. Although Dhaka was a wealthy commercial city, it didn't really see the expansive building projects that took place in the Mughal Capitals of Delhi, Agra, and Lahore.

What happened to the Mughal Empire?

The Mughal Empire saw its territorial peak during the rule of , but this peak also coincided with the start of the decline of Mughal control. Constant rebellions and successions would shrink the size of the empire, and a new threat emerged in the south known as the Maratha Empire. The Marathas essentially ended the Mughal Dynasty when they conquered several Mughal cities, including Delhi. Although they never took complete control, the Mughal Empire would never recover. The Marathas would be the dominant force in India until the arrival of the British East India Company. Over the course of three different conflicts in the early 1800s, the British took control of most of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

The British took advantage of the status of the once-powerful Mughal Dynasty, and they established a puppet king to sit on the throne. Although they didn't have any real power, the final Mughal Emperors remained a symbol of the former regime that had controlled the region for so long. The final Mughal Ruler was Bahadur Shah II who reigned from 1837- 1857. In his final days as emperor, he attempted to stage a coup and overthrow the British but was unsuccessful. The British ended the Mughal Dynasty for good in 1857, and they exiled Bahadur. He then died five years later in 1862.

A view of some barracks that were constructed by the British East India Company to hold soldiers and supplies. These structures were built within the Red Fort, and they still exist today as a testament to British Rule in India.
Photo by Guilhem Vellut from Wikimedia Commons

Architecture of the Mughal Empire Today

Many people think of the Taj Mahal when they think of Indian Architecture. It's one of the most iconic buildings in the world, and it was constructed by one of the greatest empires of the 17th and 18th centuries. The Mughals were a powerful dynasty that built not only the Taj Mahal, but dozens of other incredible buildings within India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The Mughals combined Islamic and Hindu Architecture and paired it with materials like red sandstone and white marble. The Mughals built mosques throughout every major city in their empire, constructed a network of fortifications to protect their borders, and left behind massive tombs and monuments to show off their wealth. Today the Architecture of the Mughal Empire is one of the most influential styles from the Indian Subcontinent, and some of the region's most visited attractions are the buildings left behind by Mughal rulers such as Akbar, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb.
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Another view of the Gates of the Red Fort in Delhi.
Photo by Lucky181993 from Wikimedia Commons

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Top 25 Examples of Mughal Architecture - Architecture of Cities

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A list of some of the greatest examples of Mughal Architecture and a look at the origins and history of the Mughal Empire.

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Bollywood Practical Makeup | makeupexploration

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Storytellers | World Encyclopedia of Puppetry Arts

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Storytelling, closely linked to oral culture, can be approached from a historical or folklore perspective. Conceptually, “oral” transmission is the central principle and depends on the existence of an earlier narrator: storytelling is both “oral” and “traditional” culture but evolves and is part too…

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L'Oréal Paris "Pure Reds" Commercial • feat Blake Lively, Eva Longoria, Aishwarya Rai 

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L'Oréal Paris "Pure Reds" Commercial • feat Blake Lively, Eva Longoria, Aishwarya Rai 

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L'Oréal Paris "Pure Reds" Commercial • feat Blake Lively, Eva Longoria, Aishwarya Rai (TVC)

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Following death threats to Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, his security level has been upgraded to Y+ category by the Maharashtra state government.

Shah Rukh Khan was last seen in his blockbuster film 'Jawan'.

The Maharashtra state government has passed the orders to upgrade Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's security level to Y+ category following a written complaint flagging death threats to the actor after the success of his recent movies 'Pathan' and 'Jawan'.

In response to the state government's directive, the IG VIP Security has upgraded Shahrukh Khan's security. The security service will be privately funded, and the actor will be responsible for covering the associated costs. He will pay the amount to the state government.

Y+ security is granted to people facing high threat perception. It entails the deployment of six personal security officers (PSOs) working in three shifts round the clock, along with five armed guards stationed at the person's residence. Bollywood actor Salman Khan also has Y+ security due to the threats faced from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

Shah Rukh Khan's high-octane thriller 'Jawan' grossed Rs 1103.27 crore at the worldwide box office, production house Red Chillies Entertainment announced recently. Released globally on September 7 in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu languages, the film, directed by Atlee, has created history by becoming the first Hindi film to cross the Rs 1100 crore mark globally.

In a press release, the makers revealed that 'Jawan' earned Rs 733.37 crore in the domestic market and Rs 369.90 crore in the overseas market, making it a monumental success. The film has particularly excelled in the Hindi belt, amassing a net collection of Rs 560.03 crore.

'Jawan' narrates the emotional journey of a man determined to rectify societal wrongs. Shah Rukh Khan portrays the dual roles of Vikram Rathore and his son Azad in the movie, along with Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi as his co-stars, and Deepika Padukone and Sanjay Dutt in special appearances.

Actors Sanya Malhotra, Priyamani, Girija Oak, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, Lehar Khan, Aaliyah Qureshi, Ridhi Dogra, Sunil Grover and Mukesh Chhabra also round out the cast.

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Shah Rukh Khan gets Y+ security cover after death threats over 'Jawan' success

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Following death threats to Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, his security level has been upgraded to Y+ category by the Maharashtra state government.

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Ressource: Shah Rukh Khan's security raised

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Ressource: Shah Rukh Khan's security raised

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The Rise of Content Driven Cinema in Bollywood

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The Rise of Content Driven Cinema in Bollywood

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In recent years, Bollywood, the Indian film industry, has witnessed a significant shift in the type of movies being made and appreciated by the audience. Content-driven cinema, characterized by its focus on meaningful storytelling, realistic narratives, and socially relevant themes, has gained tremendous popularity. This article delves into the rise of content-driven cinema in Bollywood, exploring its impact, the challenges it faces, and its future prospects.
Traditional Bollywood Cinema
For several decades, Bollywood films were predominantly known for their extravagant song and dance sequences, larger-than-life characters, and formulaic storylines. These movies often prioritized entertainment over substance and catered to a mass audience seeking escapist experiences. While such films enjoyed commercial success, they were criticized for their lack of depth and reliance on clichés.
The Emergence of Content-Driven Cinema
The turn of the millennium witnessed a gradual shift in Bollywood, with filmmakers and audiences demanding more meaningful and relatable content. Filmmakers began experimenting with unconventional storytelling techniques, addressing pressing social issues, and exploring diverse genres. Movies like "Lagaan," "Rang De Basanti," and "Taare Zameen Par" challenged the conventional norms and received critical acclaim, paving the way for content-driven cinema.
Impact on Bollywood Industry
Content-driven cinema has had a profound impact on the Bollywood industry, revolutionizing the way films are made and consumed.

Changing Audience Preferences: With the rise of content-driven cinema, audiences have become more discerning and seek movies that engage them intellectually and emotionally. They appreciate realistic portrayals, complex characters, and narratives that reflect the complexities of society.

Diversification of Film Genres: Content-driven cinema has opened doors for a wide range of film genres that were previously underrepresented in Bollywood. Movies exploring social issues, biopics, coming-of-age stories, and offbeat narratives have found a dedicated audience.

Recognition on the Global Stage: Content-driven films from Bollywood have gained international recognition and appreciation. Movies like "Slumdog Millionaire," "Gully Boy," and "The Lunchbox" have been lauded at prestigious film festivals and have successfully captured the attention of global audiences.
Challenges Faced by Content-Driven Cinema
While content-driven cinema has flourished, it also faces several challenges that impact its growth and sustainability.

Box Office Performance: Despite critical acclaim, content-driven films often struggle at the box office due to limited mainstream appeal. The audience's inclination towards star-driven movies and the need for a commercial success pose challenges for filmmakers focused on content.

Censorship and Societal Resistance: Movies dealing with sensitive topics or unconventional narratives often face censorship issues and resistance from conservative sections of society. Filmmakers have to navigate these challenges while preserving their artistic vision.

Competition and Market Dynamics: Content-driven cinema faces tough competition from commercial blockbusters, which dominate the box office. With the rise of streaming platforms and the influx of international content, filmmakers have to find innovative ways to grab the audience's attention and secure distribution deals.
Future Prospects and Trends
Despite the challenges, the future of content-driven cinema in Bollywood looks promising. Several trends and developments indicate a positive trajectory for this genre of filmmaking.

Increasing Investment in Content-Driven Films: Recognizing the changing audience preferences, production houses and studios are investing more in content-driven films. This financial support allows filmmakers to bring their vision to life and reach a wider audience.

Collaborations and Cross-Cultural Exchanges: Bollywood is increasingly collaborating with international filmmakers, resulting in unique storytelling experiences that blend cultures and perspectives. Such collaborations provide a platform for talent exchange and global exposure.

Technological Advancements and Digital Platforms: The advent of digital platforms has created new avenues for content-driven cinema. Filmmakers can reach a global audience through streaming services, allowing for greater distribution and diverse storytelling.
Conclusion
The rise of content-driven cinema in Bollywood marks a significant turning point in the industry's evolution. It has brought about a shift in audience preferences, diversified film genres, and garnered international recognition. While challenges persist, the increasing investment in content-driven films and the advent of digital platforms offer promising opportunities for growth. The future of Bollywood cinema lies in its ability to strike a balance between commercial success and meaningful storytelling.
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The Rise of Content-Driven Cinema in Bollywood: Impact, Challenges, and Future Prospects

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In recent years, Bollywood, the Indian film industry, has witnessed a significant shift in the type of movies being made and appreciated by ... | News Track

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Indian celebrities, whether actors, cricketers, or athletes, enjoy a special place and position in society. People adore them, follow them, and some even try to do things like them. This limelight and public attention benefit these celebrities in many ways. Talking about Bollywood actors, in particular, there is a special place that the acting community enjoys in society. Common people are always in the awe of the actors and there's always an aura around the Bollywood stars who rule the hearts of the people. In the age of social media, the popularity of these superstars can go only one way and that is upwards.

This popularity is the region behind these actors and actresses getting so many endorsements and advertisements. The environment around these celebrities is such that they act as a crowd magnet. People are always on their toes to emulate their favorite stars and in the pursuit, they tend to do anything their favorite actor or actress asks to do. This obsession or attraction towards film actors and actresses have remained the same across the generations. India is a country of over a billion and anyone rising to the highest level has the luxury of having millions of supporters and fans.

This support is the reason that many actors and actresses join politics after their acting sting. The huge fan following helps them in establishing a strong base for themselves and their parties. India has had a history of Bollywood celebrities campaigning for a political party or joining politics themselves. We've put together a list of 8 such actors.

Legendary Bollywood actress Hema Malini, who featured in some of the most famous Bollywood films including Sholay, is one of the most popular Indian film actresses to join politics. The actress has been surrounded by controversies in later parts of her career. She entered politics by joining the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2004. This was after she campaigned actively for Late actor Vinod Khanna. The legendary actress was elected as the Mathura MP in 2014 and was also a Rajya Sabha member for BJP.

Smriti Irani has been in the news for more than two decades now. The TV actress gained popularity after becoming every common household's favorite while playing the role of 'Tulsi' in Ekta Kapoor's famous TV serial 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'. The actress entered politics in 2003 and became the vice-president of the Maharashtra Youth Wing the very next year. The graph of Smriti's political career started to rise after joining BJP. After failing to emerge victorious from Congress' fortress Amethi in the first attempt, she got a historic victory in the 2019 elections from the same seat. She is also the Union Textile Minister currently.

The veteran actor is mostly known for playing negative roles in Hindi cinema. He entered politics by joining the Janata Dal in 1989. Babbar is a three-time member of Lok Sabha and a two-time member of the Rajya Sabha. A few years after joining Janata Dal, the actor switched to the Samajwadi Party. But, he was soon suspended from the party and finally joined the Congress party. He is currently the President of Congress' Uttar Pradesh unit.

From Sholay to Coolie and Deewar, Amitabh Bachchan has established himself as one of the greatest in the Indian film industry with extraordinary performances year after year. From his youth days, the actor has ruled the hearts of his supporters and it remains the same even now. It was in 1984, that the Shehanshah actor thought of trying his hands in politics. He contested the Lok Sabha election from Allahabad, his hometown. Unlike his acting, politics didn't bear any fruits for Mr. Bachchan and he resigned from his candidature after three years.

Jaya Bachchan

Amitabh may be the frontrunner when it comes to films but it is Mrs. Bachchan who performs the best when it comes to politics. After a successful career in the film industry and memorable roles in movies like Silsila, Zanzeer, and Guddi, the senior actress joined politics in 2004 and got a kick start as a Samajwadi Party MP. She represented Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha till 2006. In 2018, she was elected for her fourth term in the Rajya Sabha from the SP. Mrs. Bachchan is known for her bold statements and fiery speeches in the parliament.

Paresh Rawal is one of the most versatile and noted actors of Hindi cinema. He is also a noted theatre artist. The actor has played different roles that include dark characters as well as grey characters. The notable actor joined the mainstream politics by entering the Bharatiya Janata Party and served as the MP from Ahmedabad East Constituency in the 2014 general elections. However, it came as a shock when he opted out of the race and decided to not contest the elections in 2019.

Kamal Hassan is one of the most reputed actors of India who has worked in both Hindi as well as Tamil films. Hassan is known for his extraordinary acting in movies like Hey Ram, Dashavatar, and Vishwaroopam. The legendary actor doesn't shy away from expressing his opinions. He launched his political party Makkal Needhi Maiam in February 2018. He is going to contest 40 seats in the upcoming elections including one from Puducherry.

Sunil Dutt

Sunil Dutt can be considered as one of the tallest figures both in the Indian cinema as well as Indian politics. The late actor, producer, and director joined Congress in 1984 and was elected for five terms from the Mumbai North-West constituency. The late actor and politician also served as the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports from 2004 to 2005. Congress rode on Mr. Dutt's popularity and trust among the people to get victory several times.

Prajjval is full-time content writer who has a knack for churning out stories from the field of geopolitics, politics, defence and infrastructure. His passion for sports and travelling makes him a storyteller with the capability of transforming his experiences into words. He is an engineer by education who transformed into a content writer over time. He started his career as a freelance content writer and has been sharing his stories with the world for the past two years.

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8 Bollywood Actors Who Joined Indian Politics

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Indian celebrities, whether actors, cricketers, or athletes, enjoy a special place and position in society. People adore them, follow them, and some even try to do things like them. This limelight and public attention benefit these celebrities in many ways. Talking about Bollywood actors, in particu

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Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

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Not currently on display at the V&A

Since its release in 1957, Mother India has become a national epic. This poster was produced for a later re-release of the film. The image is taken from the film booklet where it was captioned: 'The grain of rice on your table does not tell the grim tale of the toil which grew it'. It depicts the heroine, Radha's struggle to feed her children, their screams giving her the 'strength of a man' to plough the fields and 'soften the breast of mother earth'. The poster symbolises Radha's courage, strength and sense of duty. (Quotes taken from the film booklet).

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Object type

Materials and techniques

Brief description

Physical description

The poster is dominated by an image of the film's heroine Radha (Nargis) pulling a plough across some barren land. The pain and anguish is visible on her face and this is enhanced through the technique of 'over-painting' which has been applied to the whole poster. Radha is set again a sunset and in the background we see a line of people roughly drawn leading off into the horizon. This is a key scene from the film in which the villagers are all ready to abandon their land and leave their recently flooded village. It is Radha who persuades them to stay. The entire poster is in rich shades of reds, oranges and browns.

The image is taken from the souvenir booklet which was released at the same time as the film. The original image was designed/painted by L.L. Meganee who was responsible for many early film posters and booklets. Seth Studios enlarged and enhanced this image for a later re-release of the film.

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Mass produced

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Credit line

Given by Mehboob Productions (Private) Ltd., Mumbai, India

Subject depicted

Summary

Since its release in 1957, Mother India has become a national epic. This poster was produced for a later re-release of the film. The image is taken from the film booklet where it was captioned: 'The grain of rice on your table does not tell the grim tale of the toil which grew it'. It depicts the heroine, Radha's struggle to feed her children, their screams giving her the 'strength of a man' to plough the fields and 'soften the breast of mother earth'. The poster symbolises Radha's courage, strength and sense of duty. (Quotes taken from the film booklet).

Associated objects

Bibliographic reference

Rachel Dwyer & Divia Patel, Cinema India: The Visual Culture of the Hindi Film, Reaktion Press, 2002.

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Accession number

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Mother India (1957) | V&A Explore The Collections

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Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

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Not currently on display at the V&A

The title runs across the top of the hoarding. On the left hand side is an image of the Prince and his true love hugging. On the right is a portrait of the Prince's father, the Emperor dressed in armour and in the middle ground between the two is a small scale sketch of an army.

Object type

Materials and techniques

Brief description

Hoarding for the film Mughal-E-Azam(1960) by Balkrishna Arts (India), oil paint on canvas, 2002, London.

Physical description

The title runs across the top of the hoarding. On the left hand side is an image of the Prince and his true love hugging. On the right is a portrait of the Prince's father, the Emperor dressed in armour and in the middle ground between the two is a small scale sketch of an army.

Dimensions

Gallery label

Object history

This hoarding by Balkrishn Arts was commissioned by the V&A as part of the' Cinema India: The Art of Bollywood' exhibition (25 June to 6 October 2002). Two artists from the studio, Ujjwal and Balkrishn Vaidya were invited to the V&A to demonstrate their artwork. This along with two other hoardings were completed on site between 24-30 June 2002.

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Accession number

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
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Mughal-E-Azam | V&A Explore The Collections

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Hoarding for the film Mughal-E-Azam(1960) by Balkrishna Arts (India), oil paint on canvas, 2002, London.

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Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

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Design Gallery, The Factory, West wall

Film hoarding, oil paint on canvas. The design was taken from the compact disc cover for this film. In the centre is the main male character from the film, Devdas, played by Shah Rukh Khan. On the right is a portrait of his childhood sweetheart played by Aiswarya Rai and on the left is a portait of the courtesan who falls in love with him played by Madhuri Dixit. The film title is on the left hand side in bold white lettering and the background is a vivid shade of orange.

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Brief description

Indian film hoarding for the film Devdas (2002) by Balkrishna Arts (India), oil paint on canvas, London 2002

Physical description

Film hoarding, oil paint on canvas. The design was taken from the compact disc cover for this film. In the centre is the main male character from the film, Devdas, played by Shah Rukh Khan. On the right is a portrait of his childhood sweetheart played by Aiswarya Rai and on the left is a portait of the courtesan who falls in love with him played by Madhuri Dixit. The film title is on the left hand side in bold white lettering and the background is a vivid shade of orange.

Dimensions

Height: 2m

Width: 5.5m

Proper left edge height: 2440mm

Dims above include unpainted border along upper edge of 40mm.

Gallery label

Object history

This hoarding by Balkrishn Arts was commissioned by the V&A as part of the' Cinema India: The Art of Bollywood' exhibition (25 June to 6 October 2002). Two artists from the studio, Ujjwal and Balkrishn Vaidya were invited to the V&A to demonstrate their artwork. This along with two other hoardings were completed on site between 24-30 June 2002. The portraits were done by Balkrishn, Ujjwal's father, owner of the firm and the more experienced of the two. Ujjwal did the background, lettering, overall outline and some of the details.

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