Bipolar Identity

The first comprehensive inquiry into the origin and growth of regional language cinema in India, this book traces the development of Kannada cinema from the 1940s to the new millennium. Focusing on the role regional language cinema plays, the book examines the conflict between the 'region' and the 'nation' in the regional consciousness. Raghavendra traces the shape of Kannada cinema to its origins in a princely state under indirect British rule and inquires into the effect of the linguistic reorganization of the states in the 1950s upon the regional identity. Exploring the influence of national developments—from the ascendancy of Indira Gandhi in the 1960s to economic liberalization in the 1990s—on regional identity, the book provides first-time assessments of the Kannada star Rajkumar as a regional icon and the changing meaning of Bangalore city to the Kannada-speaking public.