Degree

BS (Social Sciences & Liberal Arts)

Faculty / School

School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)

Department

Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts

Date of Award

Spring 2021

Date of Submission

2021-07-29

Advisor

Dr. Shehram Mokhtar, Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts

Committee

Aliya Iqbal Naqvi, Visiting Faculty, Department of Social Sciences

Project Type

SSLA Culminating Experience

Access Type

Restricted Access

Abstract

Bollywood is vastly consumed, all around the world. This study examines the imaging and representation of Pakistan in Bollywood films. My primary focus of the film is Bajrangi Bhaijaan with Veer Zaara and Gadar used as a reference point. No scholarly work has been written on Bajrangi Bhaijaan which prompted me to fill this research gap. I have analyzed mainly nationalism in the film, first analyzing the role of emotion and then comparing hot and banal expressions of nationalism. Next, I study the gender roles in Bollywood films, centering on the masculine warrior image of the male hero while the female characters are just sidekicks to aid his journey. I also focus on the resulting savior complex from this male-centric nationalism. I found Bajrangi Bhaijaan to rely on compassion for bolstering nationalist identity and hot and banal nationalism being equally used in films. In my second chapter, I found gender roles to be persistent in the promulgation of nationalism and India represented through a masculine warrior image.

Pages

42

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