Filming the Gods

'This book will be an eye-opener for those who still think of religion as something traditional. based on a weatlth of original research, Dwyer's narrative of religion in Indian cinema tells us how the divine makes itself at home in modern technology. More than an argument about the represetnation of religion in film, her book addresses the very different ways in which Hindu, Muslim and other forms of devotion pervade adn are produced by Indian cinema as part of a distinctive modernity.' - Professor Faisal Devji, The New School University, New York'Casting new and authoritiative light on Indian cinema's religious engagements, Filming the Gods is a sparkling and perceptive intervention by a scholar with an unrivalled knowledge of her subject. A seminal and welcome antidote to Indian film studies' obsession with the nation, it will certainly have a major impact.' - Christopher Pinney, Professor of Anthropology and Visual Culture, University College London'Scholarship is at its finest when it makes you think and Dwyer's book certainly does ... For anyone who wants to understand why Indians-or at least predominantly Hindi-speaking Indians-like their entertainment the way it is, this is a book both wise and witty. Let the critics call Hindi cinema kitschy. Dwyer knows why many Indians are devoted to it.' - India Today

• Introduction 1. The Mythological Genre 2. The Devotional Genre 3. The Islamicate Film 4. The Religious and the Secular in Hindi Film 5. Concluding Remarks