Going global: Filmic appropriation of Jane Austen in India

Abstract

ABSTRACT The dual edged implications of the introduction of English literary studies notwithstanding – the presentation of a fresh cultural perspective and the complete cultural takeover of colony – the pride and fascination of the British with the works of Jane Austen has had a deep impact on cultural production in India and its diaspora. Down the years, keeping pace with changing times and backed by technological developments, the Jane Austen-facilitated coming together of the two nations and two cultures, has seen several multilingual, multicultural screen adaptations of the Austen novels for both television and the big screen: Sense and Sensibility by Tamil cinema as Kandukondain Kandukondain; Pride and Prejudice as Trishna, a serialized Hindi adaptation for Indian national television, and later, for the big screen by a British Indian in English and Hindi as the internationally acclaimed Bride and Prejudice/Balle Balle Amritsar to L.A. and more recently, Emma by mainstream Bollywood in Hindi as Aisha. The essay broaches an analysis of the nuancing that takes place in the interstices between the word and the visual art forms and of the complexities arising from this interface. The complex agenda of the adaptive engagement underlying this vibrant colloquy between two cultures, between two mediums is interesting enough, but the added dynamic of a hybrid cosmopolitanism that is sometimes gratifying and sometimes problematic, makes the study even more challenging.