21st mainstream Hindi fiction film and advertising

In this manner, UCLA Asian American Studies Professor Purnima Mankekar says, “the commodities that (dominate) the city's visual landscape (are) also irrevocably shaping its social landscape.” (Mankekar 2004: 414). In the 21st century, these spaces have transformed from the delineated urban streetscape to a gated community of the multiplex and mall, further marking class privilege. This new development is beneficial for both filmmakers and retailers in producing the identity of consumers of desire. Multiplexes and malls serve as anchor businesses for one another and their symbiotic relationship regulates the clientele that participate in both spaces. Real estate developer Rashesh Kanakia says, “If I make my multiplex on the third floor, my first and second floor rent for a very high premium rate because people see that at least 2000 or 3000 people are surely going to come into the mall” (Ganti 2011: 461). The design of the multiplex and mall are characterized by what Ganti refers to as “aesthetics of intimidation” that prevent low class audiences from entering the space (Ganti 2011: 463). The prime consumer base for both multiplexes and malls thus become “call-center workers, I-T professionals, families, college students, and members of the film industry” (Ganti 2011: 463). The relationship between these two spaces dictated by the cosmopolitan impulse demonstrates how the space of cinema has come to play a key role in creating and regulating an identity of consumers of desire.

The spaces in the multiplex and cinema are potential sources of advertising revenue and are used to send messages to the imagined audience. Advertisers aid filmmakers in cultivating the lifestyle of consumers of desire through the use of key visual signals a...

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...peal in 21st mainstream Hindi fiction film and advertising and what filmmakers and advertisers aim to produce in society by using it as a tool. Amidst pushback from the Hindi Rite, traditionalists, feminists, and the Censor Board, filmmakers must negotiate its importance. The 2006 on-screen kiss between Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan was subject to scandal, but also received immense support from mainstream audiences in India and the diaspora. Ultimately the decisions made by filmmakers and advertisers will be regulated on the terms of what is most profitable and most keeping with the promotion of modernity. The representations of Indianness, Indian modernity, what it means to be a viewer of this medium, and to what extent will it be internalized in society are all subject to debate as the use of sexual appeal in mainstream film and advertising is negotiated.