The Slumdog Phenomenon: A Panel Discussion

Lecture | March 14 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | Stephens Hall, 10 (CSAS Conf. Room) | Note change in time

Panelist/Discussants: Ulka Anjaria, Assistant Professor of English, Brandeis University; Ajay Gehlawat, Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and Theatre & Film, Sonoma State University; Snehal Shingavi, Assistant Professor of English, University of Texas, Austin

Sponsor: Center for South Asia Studies

Winner of numerous awards and the epicenter of multiple controversies, Danny Boyle’s 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire has fueled a series of debates regarding its depictions of India and the slum, its references to Bollywood, its global circulation and success, and its reception by critics and audiences. In this forum, Professors Ulka Anjaria, Ajay Gehlawat and Snehal Shingavi will discuss the "Slumdog phenomenon," the controversies the film has generated, and the effects the film has had on Indian cinema and broader (mis)perceptions of India and "Indianness." This talk coincides with the publication of The Slumdog Phenomenon: A Critical Anthology (Anthem, 2013), the first book-length study to examine this film. 

About the Panelists
Ulka Anjaria is Assistant Professor of English at Brandeis University, with research interests in Indian literature and popular film, postcolonial studies and narrative theory. She is the author of Realism in the Twentieth-Century Indian Novel: Colonial Difference and Literary Form (Cambridge, 2012).

Ajay Gehlawat is Assistant Professor of Theatre and Film in the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies at Sonoma State University and the author of Reframing Bollywood: Theories of Popular Hindi Cinema (Sage, 2010). He is also editor of The Slumdog Phenomenon (Anthem, 2013)

Snehal Shingavi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the author of the forthcoming The Mahatma Misunderstood: The Politics and Forms of Indian Literary Nationalism (Anthem, 2013).

About the Book: Collecting, for the first time ever, a wide range of critical essays exploring this film from a rich variety of disciplinary perspectives, "The Slumdog Phenomenon” will be of interest to readers across the academic spectrum. Rather than offering a book-length study of the film from one point of view, this collection presents a variety of shorter pieces that consider "Slumdog Millionaire” from several different angles. Featuring a dynamic combination of landmark essays by leading critics and theorists, as well as newer pieces by emerging scholars, this collection will provide readers with an assortment of critical perspectives on a film that continues to generate fascination, curiosity and controversy around the world.

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PARKING INFORMATION
Please note that parking in not always easily available in Berkeley. Take public transportation if possible or arrive early to secure your spot.Event Contact: 510-642-3608 

http://events.berkeley.edu/index.php/calendar/sn/csas?event_ID=63965