Once Upon a Time in Bollywood presents an extravaganza of essays on globalization and contemporary Hindi cinema (“Bollywood”). The wide-ranging analytic strategies in the collection–including ethnographic self-reflection, literary comparison, economic contextualization, and biographic study – bear witness to Hindi cinema’s aesthetically elaborate and politically entangled treatment of postcolonial concerns. Together, these essays invite fresh, critically informed engagements with many of the key issues and creative tensions that continue to shape the world’s most prolific film industry. For connoisseurs and critics of Hindi cinema alike, Once Upon a Time in Bollywood presents stirring insights into popular culture.

With contributions by: Usamah Ansari, Sonia Benjamin, Nitin Deckha, Radhika Desai, Susan Dewey, Ravinder Kaur, Monika Mehta, Ahmad Saidullah, Jenny Sharpe, Florian Stadtler, and Jennifer Thomas.

“Overall, this collection is ideal for the reader who enjoys Bollywood films but also has a keen desire to learn about the theories and concepts that make the industry what it is.”
—City Masala