Office use only
School BoS / Literatures, Languages &CulturesDate of Meeting / 20th April 2011
SCQF level / 7
Credit points / 10
Contact teaching (hrs) / 22
Proposed by / Martine Pierquin (Office of Lifelong Learning)
1. Course title:
AUTEURS OF INDIAN CINEMA
2. Tutor name(s):
Piyush Roy
3. Tutor qualifications:
MSc (with Distinction) Film Studies
MA (with Distinction) International Journalism
PGDACM (Post-graduate Diploma in Advertising & Communications Management), BA (Hons.) Economics
Mumbai-based senior journalist, writer and film critic with 10 years of work experience in reporting on films, music and television
4. Rationale
This is the first Open Studies course to focus on Indian cinema’s auteur directors. 2011-2012 marks the centenary year of Indian cinema. It’s been 100 years since filmmaker Dadasaheb Phalke made the first Indian feature film, a silent mythological costume drama titled Raja Harishchandra (King Harishchandra, 1913).
Through the works of 10 filmmakers –V Shantaram, Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, Satyajit Ray, Raj Kapoor, Shyam Benegal, Gulzar, Adoor Gopalkrishnan, Aparna Sen and Mani Ratnam– the course will introduce students to path breaking, influential art house and popular Indian filmmakers from its most influential regional language cinemas and Bollywood. It will simultaneously traverse a journey of highlight movie moments from Indian cinema’s talkie era (1930s) to the present. The course will effectively complement courses in world cinema and auteur appreciation studies.
5. Course aims & objectives
Aim(s)
- To develop a critical understanding of critically acclaimed Indian auteur cinema through an analysis of the works of its most influential and path breaking filmmakers and other relatively lesser known directors.
Objectives
- To appreciate film as an art form
- To familiarise students with key Indian film directors
- To explore the socio-cultural, political and regional resonances in the work of specific auteurs
6. Intended learning outcomes
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Critically appreciate Indian auteur cinema and its historical developements
- Identify narrative diversities within Indian cinema
- Recognise the influence within Indian cinema of important global cinema movements (realism, neo-realism, expressionism, etc.)
- Discuss the importance Indian directors, no matter how aesthetically diverse, place on music and lyrics
7. Transferable skills
Art appreciation skills; critical thinkingand participation in class discussion
8. Contents
Week 1:V Shantaram (Hindi & Marathi cinema)
Praised by Charlie Chaplin for his iconic social tragedy, the Marathi film Manoos(Man, 1939), V Shantaram made his first film in 1927, beginning an illustrious career of 50 plus films as a filmmaker, director and actor spanning six decades up to the 1980s. Starting as an actor in the films of the silent era, he was one of the first Indian filmmakers to realise and exploit the use of the film medium as an instrument of social change.
Week 2:Bimal Roy(Hindi cinema)
One of the most acclaimed Hindi film directors of all time, Bimal Roy’s romantic-realist melodramas successfully balanced art house cinema’s realism imperatives with the please all demands of commercial cinema to pioneer Indian cinema’s own brand of neo-realism in the 1950s-60s. Constantly tackling social issues while still remaining entertaining, his films stood out for their strong women characters.
Week 3:Guru Dutt (Hindi cinema)
Often referred to as India’s Orson Welles, he is perhaps the only director from Bollywood’s golden era of cinema (1950s-1960s) whose every film is considered a classic today. His Pyaasa(The Thirsting, 1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool(Paper Flowers, 1959) have become a must seein most ‘Greatest Films of All Time’ listings (Time 2005, 2002 Sight & Sound Critics’ & Directors’ Poll).
Week 4:Satyajit Ray (Bengali & Hindi cinema)
A fiction writer, publisher, illustrator, graphic designer and film critic, Ray directed 37 films, after his spectacular debut with the Apu Trilogy in the 1950s. Reverberating with humanism and universality, Ray’s work has been celebrated for its unique mix of deceptive simplicity and deep underlying complexity.
Week 5:Raj Kapoor (Hindi cinema)
Bollywood’s most flamboyant story teller, Raj Kapoor remains Indian cinema’s greatest and most admired showman for his grandiose socialistic critiques, cinematic experiments and seminal involvement in the music making of his films that are still remembered for their soulful melodies.
Week 6:Shyam Benegal(Hindi, Urdu, Kannada & Marathi cinema)
A prolific Indian director and screenwriter, Benegal is credited for pioneering the second wave of realism in Indian cinema in the 1970s, heralded by the success of his four landmark ‘song less’ films –Ankur (1973), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976) and Bhumika (1977).
Week 7:Gulzar (Hindi cinema)
Noted Indian poet and lyricist, (Academy award and Grammy winner for ‘Jai ho’ in Slumdog Millionaire) filmmaker Gulzar is a pioneer in the ‘middle-of-the-road’ genre of cinema that came into vogue in Indian cinema in the 1970s.
Week 8:Adoor Gopalkrishnan (Malayalam cinema)
Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s first film Swayamvaram (1972) pioneered the new wave cinema movement in Kerala, revolutionising Malayalam cinema the way Ray’s Pather Panchalidid for Bengali cinema. Ever since Adoor’severy film has made to major international festival screenings and honours making him the second most globally feted Indian director after Ray.
Week 9:Aparna Sen (Bengali, English & Hindi cinema)
One of India’s few women directors to have carved a niche following, Aparna started her film career as an actress in Satyajit Ray’s Sampatti. A great visual storyteller, Aparna has made her mark outside the stereotypical expectations of a female filmmaker.
Week 10:Mani Ratnam (Tamil & Hindi cinema)
Mani Ratnam is widely credited for having revolutionised the Tamil cinema industry (India’s second largest film industry after Bollywood). Known for his eye for technical details, Ratnam has introduced some of the best music directors (AR Rahman), cinematographers, art directors, dialogue writers and editors working in India cinema today.
Week 11:Unseen assessment & credit essay workshop.
9. Student intake
The course is aimed at students with an interest in world cinema in general and Indian cinema in particular. No prior knowledge of world cinema or Indian film history is required though references will be made to some of the founding tenets, narrative styles and concepts of film criticism and theory.
10. Organisation of teaching
Combination of lectures, slide shows, viewing of film clips and class discussion.
11. Assessment strategy
Two components:
Assessment 1: unseen classroom assessment in the final week of the course, worth 25% of the total course mark
Assessment 2: 2000 word essay (seen assessment) submitted after the course finishes, worth 75% of the total course mark.
12. Course Readings
Essential
Hogan, Patrick. 2008. Understanding Indian Movies: Culture, Cognition, and Cinematic Imagination.Texas: University of Texas Press
Hood, John, W. 2000.The Essential Mystery: Major Filmmakers of IndianArtCinema. London: Sangam Books Ltd.
Recommended
Das Gupta, Chidananda. 2008.Seeing Is Believing. New Delhi: Viking
Cooper, Darius.2000.The Cinema of Satyajit Ray. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press
Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey (Ed.). 1997. The Oxford History of World Cinema,New York, OxfordUniversity Press.
Desai, Jigna and Kumar Dudrah, Rajinder.2008.Bollywood Reader. Maidenhead: Open University Press
Dissanayake, Wimal and Sahai, Malti.1998.Raj Kapoor’s Films Harmony of Desires. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.,
Filmography
Dr Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (The Immortal Story of Dr Kotnis, V Shantaram 1946)
Awara (The Vagabond, Raj Kapoor 1951)
Do Bigha Zameen (Two Acres Of Land, Bimal Roy 1953)
Do Ankhen Barah Haath (Two Eyes Twelve Hands, V Shantaram 1957)
Apu Trilogy (Satyajit Ray 1955-59)
Kaagaz Ke Phool (Paper Flowers 1958)
Bandini (The Lady Prisoner, Bimal Roy, 1963)
Mera Naam Joker (My Name Is Joker, Raj Kapoor 1971)
Ankur (The Birth, Shyam Benegal 1973)
Swayamvaram (Marriage Ceremony, Adoor Gopalkrishnan 1972)
Mausam (Seasons, Gulzar 1975)
Bhumika (The Role, Shyam Benegal 1977)
36 Chowringhee Lane(Aparna Sen, 1981)
Ijaazat (Permission, Gulzar, 1987)
Mathilukal (The Walls, Adoor Gopalkrishnan 1989)
Roja, Bombay, Dil Se (Mani Ratnam 1991-98)
Mr and Mrs Iyer (Aparna Sen 2002)
The Japanese Wife (Aparna Sen, 2010)
Web sources
Class handouts will be provided each week.
Course feedback & evaluation
The following procedures are applied to all OLL credit courses:
- Course Organiser visits newly approvedclass at an early stageand provides thetutor with feedback on delivery.
- Tutors are encouraged to discuss the course with students (collectively and individually), and act appropriately on responses.
- Formal feedback is gathered from students via an online student survey. Results of these are analysed and provided for Course Organisers who may take appropriate action with the tutor.
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
COVER SHEET FOR A NEW OR REVISED COURSE
Section A
Course titleAuteurs of Indian Cinema / Course code
Teaching Unit (eg Department)
Open Studies, Office of Lifelog Learning / School
Literatures, Languages and Cultures / Collaborating Body eg Department or other Institution
N/A
UG
() / PG
() / New course () / Revised course () / Replacement course
() / Yes / No
If Replacement course, give details of course (s) which this course replaces / Name of Course / Code
Credit points / No. SCQF credit points / 10 / Level eg SCQF 7
Scheduled Teaching / No. Hours per week / No. of weeks / Scheduled class hours - include day, start and finish times and term
To be arranged by OLL
Contact Teaching / 2 / 11
Other required attendance / no
Course operational with effect from (date) / 2011/12
Any costs which may have to be met by students eg materials
N/A
Give details of any Prerequisite Course(s) no prerequisite
Name of Course (s)
N/A / Course Code (s)
Give details of programme(s) for which the course is mandatory
Name of Programme (s)
N/A / Programme Code(s)
Course(s) which cannot be taken with this course and counted towards a minimum qualifying curriculum
Name of Course (s) / Course Code (s)
Short description of course Through the works of 10 filmmakers – V Shantaram, Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, Satyajit Ray, Raj Kapoor, Shyam Benegal, Gulzar, Adoor Gopalkrishnan, Aparna Sen and Mani Ratnam– the course will introduce students to path breaking, influential art house and popular Indian filmmakers from its most influential regional language cinemas and Bollywood. It will simultaneously traverse a journey of highlight movie moments from Indian cinema’s talkie era (1930s) to the present. The course will effectively complement courses in world cinema and auteur appreciation studies
URL for supporting course documentation / n/a
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
- Critically appreciate Indian auteur cinema and its historical developements
- Identify narrative diversities within Indian cinema
- Recognise the influence within Indian cinema of important global cinema movements (realism, neo-realism, expressionism, etc.)
- Discuss the importance Indian directors, no matter how aesthetically diverse, place on music and lyrics
Components of Assessment Two components:
Assessment 1: unseen classroom assessment in the final week of the course, worth 25% of the total course mark
Assessment 2: 2000 word essay (seen assessment) submitted after the course finishes, worth 75% of the total course mark.
Approval Track / Date / Authorised signature / Name / Designation
Approved by Teaching Unit or equivalent body eg department
Approved by Board of Studies (or equivalent body)
Noted/Approved by Faculty
Approved by UGSC/SPGSC /
Registry Use
/Date received
Date record created
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGHCOVER SHEET FOR A NEW OR REVISED COURSE
Section B
ALL COURSES
Course organiser, if known. If not known, give interim contact
Name: Martine Pierquin
Tel: 651 11 82 Email:
Secretarial/administrative contact in Teaching Unit
Name: as above
Tel: Email:
If the course will appear in a departmental website, please give the URL
UNDERGRADUATE COURSES ONLY
Year in which the course is normally taken in a structured Honours programme ()
1 / 1 or 2 / 2 / 2 or 3 / 3
3 or 4 / 4 / 4 or 5 / 5
Year in which the course is normally taken in a modular or non Honours programme ()
1 / 1 or 2 / 2 / 2 or 3 / 3
3 or 4 / 4 / 4 or 5 / 5 / 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5
Are class exams required ? () / Yes / No
No. of exam papers required (eg how many papers will each student be required to answer) / No. exam papers / Duration
Class Exams
Degree Exams
When are the exams to be taken ()
1st attempt / May / June / Resit / June / Sept
Has a quota for the course been approved by Faculty? () / Yes / No
If yes, what is the maximum number of students permitted?
LLC BoS 20 April 2011