Paper short abstract:

By discussing some recent films the paper argues that the rise of politically engaged Hindi cinema in early 21st century produces a form of commodified dissent in cinema, and is the opposite of political critique.

Paper long abstract:

The first decade of 21st century saw a rise of a new wave of cinematic imagination - an alternative cinema signaling an aesthetic departure from the so-called "escapist" Bollywood, and focusing on topics relating to social, political and cultural problems. Such transformed images and transformed representations might signify a transgressive shift in representing social reality, as well as changes in the audience preferences in terms of interest in political problems. But the "return of the political" into a broad spectrum of films, ranging from mainstream films like Rang De Basanti (2006) to a more niche offbeat cinema is more complicated than it may seem. Despite the new films' appearance to interrogate political and social realities, they, and the oppositional aesthetic they evoke, become integrated into mass consumption. This paper, by discussing some recent films and by drawing upon critical theories of Marcuse and Deleuze & Guattari argues that this "return" must be viewed as integral process within the neoliberal order successfully manufacturing simulacra of free speech. This is a process that produces a form of commodified dissent in cinema, as commodification of transgressive aesthetics is an effective way to counter it. The paper argues that the rise of political critique in cinema signifies its opposite - deterritorialization of content to the point when it poses no threat to the system. Therefore, political critique evoked by cinema becomes one-dimensional commodity consumed by multiplex-going urban upper middle class - the main target audience of these films.