ReFocus: The Films of Zoya Akhtar
Amber Shields editor Aakshi Magazine editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Edinburgh University Press
Published:1st Jul '22
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
From her relatively small-scale feature debut Luck By Chance (2009) to her recent premieres of Gully Boy (2019) and Made in Heaven (2019) to local and global audiences via the Berlin Film Festival and Amazon Prime Streaming services, Zoya Akhtar has become a prominent figure representing change in Bollywood. As the first collection on Akhtar, this book examines how she is contributing to a shift in one of the world’s leading film industries, and through analysis of her work explores the contradictions and possibilities of the present moment in Bollywood.
Timely and engaging, ReFocus: The Films of Zoya Akhtar brings together a collection of essays that engage with Akhtar’s protean oeuvre, ranging from her star-driven Bollywood extravaganzas to her recent forays into more textured storytelling. These essays address Akhtar’s complex understanding of classed, gendered, and sexual subjectivities in India to her investments in the industry as a screenwriter and producer. What emerges through this anthology is not simply the portrait of a keenly observant artist/entrepreneur, but a snapshot of an industry undergoing enormous transformations. -- Meheli Sen, Rutgers University
Zoya Akhtar is a cultural force in popular Hindi cinema. Whether it is a critical look at the industry itself, affluent relationships and lifestyles in urban India, to the lived complexities of gully life, her cinema is on point. This fine collection of essays charts the career graph of Akhtar while offering us rich and layered readings of her key films. Including an interview with Zoya herself, we get more than academic perspectives but a lively and engaging project on modern cinema. -- Rajinder Dudrah, Birmingham City University
ISBN: 9781474476416
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
256 pages