How Indian cinema's ‘positive values' are winning audiences across the world
As one of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people in 2013 for using film to spotlight issues like caste discrimination, most of Khan's work delivers the very optimism to which he attributes Indian cinema's success. For example, his most recent film Sitaare Zameen Par follows a basketball coach whose outlook shifts after training a group of neurodivergent adults.
There's more to Indian cinema's success than sheer positivity, though. Actor and International Emmy Award-winning comedian Vir Das (Delhi Belly) says India's creative products are increasingly flourishing down under as perceptions around Indian culture itself shifts.
'As audience members begin to experience Indian people in places of equality, it'll change,' he says.
'I remember 10 years ago, 15 years ago, every joke about an Indian person in New York, for instance, was about them as a taxi driver, a newsagent owner, a Kwik-E-Mart guy or a doctor. Now, we'll hear jokes about Indian people, but it could be about an Indian being a CEO or about an Indian being at Harvard. It's just par for the course. As we achieve parity globally with other countries, the comedy [and cinema] around us will become more global as well.'
Loading
Perceptions will continue to shift as more Indian cinema lands on Australian screens, something that has become more achievable following the Australia-India Audio-visual Co-production Agreement, which provides filmmakers with access to shared funding and resources.
'[Indian cinema is] unapologetically emotional,' Das says. 'We also tell broad stories that offer escape that isn't all luxury escapes. What an American needs to do with CGI – Marvel and superheroes – we're able to do the same thing with the heartland story, and without CGI, but the same level of escapism, just with pure storytelling.'
Other foreign-language films have also been performing well in Australia, including China's Ne Zha 2, which is about to launch an English-language version with A24. Clearly, there's hunger for more globalised storytelling and different cinematic styles beyond Hollywood.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
6 hours ago
- Perth Now
Dakota Johnson reveals 'weird' Madonna friendship
Dakota Johnson has been "weird friends" with Madonna for years. The 35-year-old star - whose parents are actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith - has opened up on her bond with the Queen of Pop, who she first met after Madonna worked with Dakota's stepfather Antonio Banderas on Evita in 1996. Dakota told E! News: "I really love her, we've been weird friends for a while. I met her when I was really young because she did a movie with my stepfather. "Then I got to know her later because we kinda worked together on something, we've always kind of circled each other." The Materialists actress described her friend as "an energy", while she still finds it surreal that they know each other. She added: "She is an energy to be near, but it is so beautiful and so wild and it's just cool that she wants to talk to me." Meanwhile, Dakota also reflected on her blossoming friendship with Splitsville co-star Adria Arjona after they grew close while filming the upcoming comedy. She said: "We love each other very much. When you're on location, you kind of band together. "We went to a hockey game and then we drank so much tequila." Adria admitted: "We drank a lot of tequila! I thought I could hang with Dakota." Dakota is also a producer on the movie, and she recently explained how she has relished the behind the scenes role because it helps her to put together a working environment that is "fun" and "fulfilling". She told Variety: 'If there's not a healthy collaboration, if it's not a good match, then it's not a good match. We really don't move forward if it's not a good match. 'I can't waste time on toxic sets anymore, or in situations that are not fun or fulfilling or healthy. That's one of the perks of [producing], because I get to put amazing people together and make something." Dakota didn't share any details of any past "toxic" experiences but stressed she has no desire to work with 'anybody who's mean or condescending or unkind.' She added: 'I don't want to face people who are not willing to collaborate, and then there are obvious things. 'We all know what a toxic set is by now. We're artists, so there's room for expansive personalities, and we're working with emotions.'
7NEWS
18 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Aubrey Plaza speaks about husband Jeff Baena's death on Amy Poehler podcast
Actor Aubrey Plaza addressed her husband's death in an interview released Tuesday, marking the first time she's publicly spoken at length about the loss. Plaza's husband, Hollywood writer and director Jeff Baena, died by suicide in January. Speaking with former Parks and Recreation co-star Amy Poehler on Poehler's new podcast Good Hang, the 41-year-old White Lotus actor said the grief has been like a 'giant ocean of just awfulness that's right there.' 'I can see it. And sometimes I just want to just dive into it and just be in it,' Plaza said. 'And then sometimes I just look at it. And then sometimes I just try to get away from it. But it's always there. It's just always there.' Plaza also drew a comparison between her grief and a scene from the alien-filled horror movie The Gorge, which starred Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy and premiered in February. 'There's a cliff on one side, and then there's a cliff on the other side, and then there's gorge in between, and it's filled with all these monster people that are trying to get them,' she said. 'And I swear, when I watched it, I was like, 'That feels like what my grief is like.'' Plaza and Baena married in 2021. They worked together on several films, including 2014's Life After Beth, which Baena wrote and directed with Plaza in a starring role. She has made a few public comments or appearances since his death, calling his death 'an unimaginable tragedy' in the immediate aftermath. Poehler addressed Baena's death within the first 15 minutes of the episode, saying: 'On behalf of all the people who feel like they know you, and the people who do know you, how are you feeling today?' 'Right in this very, very present moment, I feel happy to be with you,' Plaza replied. 'Overall, I'm here and I'm functioning. I feel really grateful to be moving through the world. I think I'm OK, but it's like a daily struggle, obviously.' Since her role on The White Lotus, Plaza has become one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood. Throughout her career, she has received several Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, including for her role on the second season of The White Lotus. In 2023, she was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. Plaza appeared on Poehler's podcast as part of a media tour to promote her upcoming movie, Honey Don't, which premieres in cinemas this week.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
How Indian cinema's ‘positive values' are winning audiences across the world
You need only glance at the highest-grossing Indian films recently to realise many aren't Hindi (RRR and Pushpa 2 are in Telugu), and they're generally more thrilling than melodramatic. That's not to say Indian cinema no longer delivers musicals, Khan notes. Pushpa 2 itself features song and dance despite containing a fair amount of violence and gore. As one of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people in 2013 for using film to spotlight issues like caste discrimination, most of Khan's work delivers the very optimism to which he attributes Indian cinema's success. For example, his most recent film Sitaare Zameen Par follows a basketball coach whose outlook shifts after training a group of neurodivergent adults. There's more to Indian cinema's success than sheer positivity, though. Actor and International Emmy Award-winning comedian Vir Das (Delhi Belly) says India's creative products are increasingly flourishing down under as perceptions around Indian culture itself shifts. 'As audience members begin to experience Indian people in places of equality, it'll change,' he says. 'I remember 10 years ago, 15 years ago, every joke about an Indian person in New York, for instance, was about them as a taxi driver, a newsagent owner, a Kwik-E-Mart guy or a doctor. Now, we'll hear jokes about Indian people, but it could be about an Indian being a CEO or about an Indian being at Harvard. It's just par for the course. As we achieve parity globally with other countries, the comedy [and cinema] around us will become more global as well.' Loading Perceptions will continue to shift as more Indian cinema lands on Australian screens, something that has become more achievable following the Australia-India Audio-visual Co-production Agreement, which provides filmmakers with access to shared funding and resources. '[Indian cinema is] unapologetically emotional,' Das says. 'We also tell broad stories that offer escape that isn't all luxury escapes. What an American needs to do with CGI – Marvel and superheroes – we're able to do the same thing with the heartland story, and without CGI, but the same level of escapism, just with pure storytelling.' Other foreign-language films have also been performing well in Australia, including China's Ne Zha 2, which is about to launch an English-language version with A24. Clearly, there's hunger for more globalised storytelling and different cinematic styles beyond Hollywood.
