{"product_id":"indian-art-cinema-and-its-jyotika-virdi-9781350452961","title":"Indian Art Cinema and Its Cultural Elites","description":"\u003cp\u003eRepositioning Indian art cinema as a genre that articulated an elite, middle-class social imaginary, \u003ci\u003eIndian Art Cinema and its Cultural Elites \u003c\/i\u003eexamines the form's contentious position within Indian society, at once exclusionary in its outlook and yet instrumental in bringing Indian film into global prominence in the latter half of the twentieth century. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on Bourdieu's theory of cultural production, Jyotika Virdi looks at how a closed producer-critic-consumer circuit reinforced class distinction through a presumption of superior taste. She traces the trajectory of art cinema in India from the 1950s, when new institutions under Nehru's socialist ideals catalysed its emergence, through the New Wave movement of the 1970s and 1980s, and finally to its gradual decline in the 1990s as economic liberalization once again transformed the social landscape. By examining films like \u003ci\u003eThe Apu Trilogy\u003c\/i\u003e (1955-1959) and \u003ci\u003eGodam\u003c\/i\u003e (Warehouse) (1973), she showcases the complex contradictions of the middle class, who were both the creative producers and consumers of alternative cinema, especially during the political turbulence of the late 1960s and 1970s. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCombining a meticulous examination of key auteurs such as Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Mani Kaul, and Ritwik Ghatak, with a broader study of cultural shifts and institutional frameworks, this book reevaluates the intricate relationship between art films, the state that sustains them, and the ruling cultural elite whose influence far exceeds its size.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jyotika Virdi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1350452963\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781350452961\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bloomsbury Academic\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/30\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 280\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.21h x 6.14w x 1.00d","brand":"Jyotika Virdi","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48137179988223,"sku":"9781350452961","price":115.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_12757f62-7f1a-4bff-8644-c081e27caab7.jpg?v=1770167087","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/indian-art-cinema-and-its-jyotika-virdi-9781350452961","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}