Description:
The way in which the spectator responds to the song and how narrative, lyrics, music, mise-en-scènes, all come together to accentuate sentimentality and melodrama in the Golden Age of Bollywood cinema (1951-1963) is the book's key thematic concern.
Review Quotes:
"A wonderful piece of scholarship that offers close readings of key films and songs over two decades of Bollywood's Golden Age. The textual analysis is such that not only do we learn more about the films and the cultural period of songs and images on-screen, but we are also offered an almost poetic rendition of the lyrics through the analysis. In this, the book is a real treat." --Rajinder Dudrah, Professor of Cultural Studies and the Creative Industries, Birmingham City University, UK.
"Dr. Jasmine Sofia Jannif explores how song shaped the melodramatic voice of mid-century Hindi cinema. Through rich analysis of 1950s' and 1960s' film music, she reveals how love--in all its forms--became central to cinematic storytelling. The book is a thoughtful re-evaluation of song's emotional and narrative power in classic Hindi film." --Andrew Alter, Associate Professor of Music Studies, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia.
"The author's monograph offers a detailed, insightful analysis of Hindi film music in Bollywood's Golden Age. She reveals the emotional power of songs as narrative devices and, through Rasa theory, connects cinema to ancient art forms--explaining their cultural resonance and enduring mass appeal in Indian cinema." --Makarand R. Paranjape, A.M., Ph.D. (UIUC), Sri Aurobindo Chair, Vedere University & Director of Education, AHCP LLC, Vedere University, Tampa, FL, USA.