Abstract
India not only happens to be a country of 1.21 billion people (as per 2001 census; Ministry of Home Affairs, 2001) but also home to one of the most prolific film industries in the world. Despite prolific film production, not many Science Fiction (SF) films have been produced by Bollywood. The fact that the voice of the Indian nation increasingly endorses science as the panacea to all issues merely deepens this paradox. This is an essay about the general absence of SF in Hindi popular cinema, seen from the perspective of a film-lover who is also a shamelessly zealous SF fan in a culture that, for various reasons, has not shown much interest in it.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Aiyar, S. & Mody, A. (2011) The Demographic Dividend: Evidence from the Indian States, IMF Working Paper—WP/11/38, http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2011/wp1138.pdf, accessed on 7 May 2012.
Altman, R. (1984) ‘A Semantic/Syntactical Approach to Film Genre’, Cinema Journal, 23.3, 6–18.
Banker, A. (2008), ‘Comment’, ‘In Search of Indian Science Fiction’, in V. Singh, Ecstatic Days, 7 October, http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/10/07/in-search-of-indian-science-fiction-a-conversation-with-anil-menon/, accessed on 7 May 2012.
Baudrillard, J. (1981/1994) Simulacres et Simulation, S. F. Glaser (trans.), as Simulacra & Simulation (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press), http://www.uta.edu/english/timothyr/Baudrillard.pdf, accessed on 7 May 2012.
Chabria, Priya Sarukkai. Personal communication. 9 May 2011.
Lutgendorf, Philip. Personal communication. 1 March 2012.
Memsaab (2010), ‘Wahan Ke Log (1967)’, Memsaab’s Story, http://memsaabstory.com/2010/06/14/wahan-ke-log-1967/, accessed on 15 May 2012.
Menon, A. (2008), ‘Comment’, ‘In Search of Indian Science Fiction’, in V. Singh, Ecstatic Days, 7 October, http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/10/07/in-search-of-indian-science-fiction-a-conversation-with-anil-menon/, accessed on 7 May 2012.
Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (2001), Census of India 2011, http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/National_Summary/National_Summary_DataPage.aspx, accessed on 7 May 2012.
Paz, M. (2008) ‘South of the Future: An Overview of Latin American Science Fiction Cinema’, Science Fiction Film and Television, 1.1, 81–103.
Pike, J. (n.d.) ‘Indo-Pakistan War of 1965’, Forum, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/indo-pak_1965.htm, accessed on 7 May 2012.
Reati, F. (2006) Postales del porvenir: La literatura de anticipación en la Argentina neoliberal, 1985–1999 (Buenos Aires: Biblos).
Shekhar, M. (2010) ‘Review of Action Replayy’, Hindustan Times, 4 November, http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Reviews/Mayank-Shekhar-s-review-Action-Replay/Article1–622338.aspx, accessed on 15 May 2012.
Singh, V. (2008) ‘In Search of Indian Science Fiction’, Ecstatic Days, 7 October, http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/10/07/in-search-of-indian-science-fiction-a-conversation-with-anil-menon/, accessed on 7 May 2012.
Srinarahari, M. H. (2004) ‘Koi … Mil Gaya, India’s First Science Fiction Film’, The Science Fact and Science Fiction Concatenation, http://www.concatenation.org/articles/koirevised3.html\, accessed on 7 May 2010.
Tiwary, A. K. (2006) ‘No Use of Combat Air Power in 1962’, India Defense Review, 21.3, 97.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2014 Sami Ahmad Khan
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Khan, S.A. (2014). Bollywood’s Encounters with the Third Kind. In: Kishore, V., Sarwal, A., Patra, P. (eds) Bollywood and Its Other(s). Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137426505_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137426505_13
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-49085-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-42650-5
eBook Packages: Palgrave Media & Culture CollectionLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)