4719646_monash_165912.pdf (8.4 MB)
The reception of Bollywood in Malaysia (1991-2012): a contextual study
thesis
posted on 2017-03-03, 00:23 authored by Sreekumar, RohiniBollywood films are increasingly drawing scholarly attention for their global
appeal and reception. Transnational studies have examined the reception of
Bollywood in Australia, Britain, Scotland, South Africa, Russia, the United States of
America, Bangladesh and Nepal. However, academic work on the Southeast Asian
reception of these films is scarcer. This research seeks to fill this gap by looking at
the reception of Bollywood in Malaysia from 1991-2012.
The thesis adopts a contextual approach where the reception of Bollywood is
situated within the broader Malaysian socio-political and religious contexts.
Bollywood, which reached Malaysia as early as the 1930s, has an audience that goes
beyond the nation’s Indian diaspora. The thesis uses qualitative discourse analysis to
look at the representations of Bollywood in the Malaysian media, and the broader
context of such representations. As Malaysia has a long history of screening
Bollywood movies, this thesis adopts a linear historical approach, tracing
developments in Bollywood’s appeal, which then serves as a foundation for the rest
of the study.
It is revealed that Bollywood is not only a part of Malaysian film culture, but
that it also forms a part of Malaysian socio-politics. This shows a “mainstreaming” of
Bollywood films in the Malaysian context, which, in this thesis, is termed
‘Malaysianisation’. The study shows that Bollywood in Malaysia has a dual and
contradictory image – as a religious threat and as a marketing tool to help brand
Malaysia overseas. This unique representation and reception reflects the
contradictions existing in the larger Malaysian socio-political sphere, which also
substantiates the concept of Bollywood’s ‘Malaysianisation’.
History
Principal supervisor
Jonathan DriskellAdditional supervisor 1
Sony Jalarajan RajYear of Award
2016Department, School or Centre
School of Arts and Social Sciences (Monash University Malaysia)Degree Type
DOCTORATECampus location
AustraliaFaculty
Faculty of ArtsUsage metrics
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