Popular Culture in a Globalised India

‘This riveting collection of essays on popular culture in a globalised India represents a rich tapestry of colors, patterns and textures, woven by a team of expertweavers’. -Arvind Singhal, University of Texas, El Paso, USA

'Over the last two decades, Moti Gokulsing has been tireless in his efforts to widen the understanding of popular media in South Asia, particularly Indian cinema, in the global academe. His new effort and that of his co-editor Wimal Dissanayake are an imposing effort to combine scholarship with new perspectives on the changing landscape of the popular modes of self-expression in the region. It is bound to attract the attention of both academics and general readers.' - Ashis Nandy, Centre for the Developing Societies, India

'This edited collection presents some of the most exciting interdisciplinary scholarship on popular culture in contemporary India. For over two decades, Indian popular culture has undergone rapid and decisive changes resulting from the liberalisation of the economy and the influx of transnational media. These developments have had profound consequences for the lives and aspirations of many Indians, particularly those residing in urban areas. The essays in this volume track some of the shifts that have occurred, witha sensitive eye to how these changes have implicated social and cultural life in contemporary India: its large canvas encapsulates topics ranging from food culture and cyber culture to print culture and fashion, in addition to film and television. One of the most remarkable features of this collection of essays is its sensitivity to the nuances of local specificities even as it keeps in mind the bigger picture of some of the larger changes taking place on a national and global scale. I cannot wait to read and teach this book, and draw on it for my own research.' - Purnima Mankekar, University of California Los Angeles, USA

'This is a book which stands out for its range and variety, and overall, is one which provides both students and scholars with a ready resource for the study of India’s popular culture. It is a book which should be equally accessible to researchers and the general reader.' - Sharmishtha Gooptu, Biblio, December 2009

"It is lively and authoritative and a very good read indeed" - Dr Gillian Klein in Race Equality Teaching Volume 28 No 1 Winter 2009 p.42