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Bringing Bollywood to Bringing Bollywood to Leicester:Leicester:

Reflections on localized Reflections on localized strategies of engagement strategies of engagement between regional cultural between regional cultural economies and transnational economies and transnational cultural industries.cultural industries.

Jaideep Mukherjee

Centre for Mass Communication Research

University of Leicester

Cultural Diversity and Creative Industries Seminar

De Montfort University / 13 Dec 2004

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Genesis of the project:Genesis of the project:• Leicester, European Capital for South

Asian Media project set up in 2002;• Joint initiative of MATV and Leicester

City Council’s Cultural Strategy Unit;• Funded by EMDA & managed by EM

Screen Commission, later EM Media;• Key areas of research in the project:

1. To promote East Midlands as a hub for visiting productions,2. To investigate reasons filmmakers use foreign locations, and3. To consider potential benefits for organisations in the city and the region

• Report and recommendations launched in July 2003 – presently at the stage of implementation and further fundraising.

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Aims of this paper / Aims of this paper / presentation:presentation:

• Reflect on the findings of the Leicester Project

• Examining three key aspects:1. The region’s diaspora itself and its media consumption,2. the commercial and cultural phenomenon that is Bollywood3. Potential impact of their engagement

• Connect the streams of thinking on ‘diasporic media and cultures’ & ‘transnational cultural industries’

• Extend the scope of these debates

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Leicester and the East Leicester and the East Midlands?Midlands?

• Brief history of Leicester• Key phases of migration into

Leicester• What is the East Midlands region• Leicester’s diasporas• Leicester’s ‘successes’ –

multiculturalism, diversity.• Diasporic media in Leicester –

consumption, production & distribution

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Asian diasporic media in Asian diasporic media in the UKthe UK• Key consumption indicators• Origins of media production

- Recycled content - Original content

• Television• Radio• Press• New media

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Conceptualizing ‘Bollywood’Conceptualizing ‘Bollywood’

• A problematic nomenclature• Popular understandings• Aspects of engagement with

the Asian diaspora: - the diaspora as consumers - the diaspora as a source of

popular narratives - diaspora using Bollywood to

negotiate identities- diasporas as producers of these texts

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Commerce, Content and Commerce, Content and Context in Bollywood Context in Bollywood CinemaCinema• Outline of size & impact• Business practices• Production and distribution

networks• Impact on content• Recognition as an ‘industry’• Changing scenarios in finance• New technologies, new

markets and new strategies• Is this the panacea?

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Bollywood’s view of the Bollywood’s view of the foreign:foreign:‘By Leicester, do you mean Leicester ‘By Leicester, do you mean Leicester Square?’Square?’Research background & methods.

Key findings:• Proliferation of ‘fantasy’ narratives• Demands of ‘realistic’ narratives• Going ‘foreign’ as a practical

necessity• Facilitation• Equipment• Production finance• Visa, immigration & Customs

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Reflections on the Leicester Reflections on the Leicester FILMPUR Project:FILMPUR Project:

• Linking with regional economies and regional cultural economies:- problems & prospects

• Linking with transnational cultural industries:- problems & prospects

• Recent developments & on-going initiatives

• The road ahead…

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Conclusions:Conclusions:

• Directions for further research:- Is the ‘global’ and the ‘local’ still

an useful paradigm? - Are cultural economies better

understood in terms of ‘flows’?- Changing perspectives in the

study of cultural economies,- Understanding new transnational

cultures and cultural industries.