Contemporary Hindi Films, Indian English Literature and the Consumer Culture

Abstract

Films and literature are treated as altogether different from each other as forms of art. The difference between these two art forms relates to their techniques of representing life involving their distinct structure, potential and possibilities. The nature of their audience and the response these art forms elicit also varies. A film is supposed to be viewed collectively and is an activity of public domain whereas literature, except drama when staged, is supposed to be enjoyed privately. The success of literature as a form or art providing entertainment and aesthetic pleasure depends on the writer’s skill and ability to present the material in a specific way . On the other hand it is the competence and expertise of the actors that finally create the impact through their performance so far as films are concerned. Films carry a more immediacy of response than literary writings and the reading of literature requires a special skill in the form of ability to read. It relates to another difference in these two art forms concerning the question of quality and class distinctions. Literature concerns intellectual classes whereas films are related to the common people. The doctrine of class distinctions in Marxist perspective also relates to the division of society into two major classes high and the low or the capitalist and the workers. Each class develops and nurtures a particular form of culture and specific art forms. The upper classes are associated with works of high academic and artistic qualities whereas popular art forms like films are considered a mark of low or working class culture.