Film, Fashion and Food in India - Essay Example

FILM, FASHION AND FOOD IN INDIA Introduction India is a country that constitutes the largest part of the sub-continental land mass of South Asia. The country has highly variable landforms, and with it comes great history, tradition and culture. Indian history and culture concerning film, fashion and food is known all over the world for being unique. Indian film industry famously known as Bollywood dates back to half a century ago. The films have the characteristic of song and dance that makes the films unique from other movies. The Indian fashion choice dates back to many centuries ago. The famous dressing for women, Sarees, has been adopted by many other women around the world due to admiration. The country has unique cuisines that are hot with chili pepper. These three Indian identities are unique, and one cannot miss to identify them with India. The article is going to focus on three of the most modern Indian cultures identified all over the world, film, fashion, and food. Body Fashion and Design Indian Painting as well as its fashion sense, from history, may generally have a division into three great religious divisions- Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic. The Hindu type of painting has a reference to as Rajput. The reason is that it has a connection with the Hill Rajput of the Punjab and Rajputana. The Islamic art is known as Mughal, as its existence is due to the support it had from the existing dynasty. Rajput and Buddhist paintings were representative in showing practically the religious life of India. Buddhist had a representation by the turban on their heads. The main message of both the paintings was religion, and the chief characteristic of the paintings was mysticism. Mughal painting, on the other hand, had true sophistication, and in nature diverse and realistic. Indian court paintings and designs are famous for Mughal court paintings of the 16th Century. The rise of Mughal court paintings had a fusion of Islamic, Indian, Persian and somehow European influence.1 The combination of all the materials led to the creation of something new and unique which the current generation distinguishes as Mughal Art. The Mughal kingdom was however not the first Islamic empire, and its paintings on the courts were not the first paintings in India. Understanding of the sources of the court paintings requires one to study the arts and history of India before the Mughal Empire. The different paintings had an influence on the current fashion trends in India. The fashion trends go back that long, and there is little change in the fashion of India. Indian designs and its foundation started in the Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra during the 5th Century. The caves have paintings and sculpture that people believe to be masterpieces of the Buddhist religious art. The drawings in the caves are the earliest substantial evidence of the study of paintings seen in India. The scenes that get an illustration in Caves one and two are mostly, devotional, instructive, and decorative. The themes of the designs and the paintings are from the Jataka stories. The 11th century and the 12th century saw the final flourish of Buddhist paintings in the caves. The other major body of art that developed in the Buddhist paintings in India was Jainism. The religion had its development around the same period as Buddhism and still lives on in the country. The people from the painting have a unique fashion sense. The Jainism style of painting had its development in western and central India. Paintings that have a discovery from that period had drawings on palm leaves. It is because the paper had not yet had an introduction into India. Paper, as a writing material, was not known in India before and during the 11th century AD. The Jane painting has the main characteristic of a distinct Jane 3rd eye. It is an extended eye that is a drawing even if they have an illustration of a profile face. The fact shows that the people that did the paintings and the designs were trying to illustrate different angle views of one image.2 The styles of Jane paintings are similar to early Persian paintings in many different ways. India has an ethnic fashion that is dynamic. The fashion of Indian wear is forever evolving, but remaining the same, being able to keep its originality. The fashion still manages to retain the unique characteristic that enables us to differentiate it from other communities. There are, however, changes that are brought by globalization and thus India have divisions into three distinct categories of ethnic individuality. Each category is unique and considers itself to be the dominant Indian identity. The changes took place after the British Era, and there were problems accepting the western culture. The emphasis on the different fashion sense is on the colors, derivations of the cultural history, style of clothing, and how the different characteristics believe their sense of fashion depicts them as Indians. Under the British rule in India, there was the introduction of cotton mills to the economy, and they were a major threat to the traditional hand industry. After India achieved independence in 1947, the Indian government was aware of the fading industry. India became a large exporter of mill-made clothing. Locally, Indians did not care much for the exports, and the garments as a majority of them included trousers, shirts, and skirts. The men had acceptance of the western clothes more quickly because of the ease of the fits, but the women continued wearing the traditional saris for the next two or so decades.3 Because this was not just because of cultural differences; it also had to do with the fact that the clothing during that era lacked individuality. Until the 1960s, the local fashion industry consisted largely of tailors and textile industries. Women would buy the fabric that was hand woven and hand embroideries by tailors or printed out in their textile mills. Everything during that time was custom made, and the level of style and uniqueness depended on the talent of the tailors. Eventually, younger women started to drift towards Western clothing, particularly the skirt. Tailors were not able to produce the perfect fit like the factory that was available in ready made clothing stores.4 They, however, managed to survive since they were still creating unique fashion and designs, using different kinds of textiles and embroidery in their hand-made clothing. A majority of India’s population is people under thirty years of age. It accounts for 60% of the population. The calculation equals roughly 160 million teenagers and young people. It ensures that India’s population will have a growth in the future. It has been estimated that within 2016, young people will constitute more than 55% of India’s population. From the statistics and the numbers it is quite obvious that the youth has a definitive role in the socioeconomic conditions of society. However, research shows that not everyone is influenced by western culture. SenGupta, an associate professor at the National Institute of Fashion Technology discovered that you can put the youth into three distinct groups: The traditional, the semi-modern and the modern. The young people are the main buyers of the fashionable items and designs. They include bags, shoes and clothing. India as a country and as people has an ancient clothing design tradition, yet also has an emerging fashion industry. There were a handful of designers that existed in India prior to the 1980s, but the sprout of major artists happened in the late 80s and the 1990s. The emergence of new artists was as a result of an increase in exposure to global fashion. The economic boom that occurred after the economic liberalization in 1990 also is a factor in the rise of designers.5 The new millennium has firmly established fashion as an industry, all over India. Indian Fashion Industry at the moment is in its infancy, and it has a high potential to have a recognition on the world fashion stage. Fashion in India has a history of thousands of years of tradition. India has a varied and rich heritage in textile where every region of India has its particular traditional costumes and native dresses. Fashion Industry in India is having its growth at a fast pace with new international developments, like the India Fashion Week which has gained popularity. There are also annual shows by fashion designers that are in different major cities of India. In the culture of India, the body has various meanings and has a reflection in its sculptural and rich tradition. Decorating the body is a way of conveying personality and sense. In Indian, the kinds of accessories and costumes that people wear is part of fulfilling two criteria: opulence and simplicity. In these two instances, the type of clothing one chooses on an individuals wealth, status, and religious orientation. In the ancient days in India, the information about the fashion choices is available from the sculptures people view in museums as very few costumes, jewelry and textiles survived over time. During the Indus Valley Civilization, the dress code had a tendency of being simple. Men wore loin-clothes while the women wearing were bare to the waist. The status of the women had a reflection of the kind of jewelry they wore. The high-ranking women covered their bosoms sometimes, with jewels. Aryans was the cause of complication in Indian clothing that consists of the introduction of the upper and lower garments. A cloak was an addition to the clothing later on during the years. , the fashion had pieces of cloth draping over the body in a style that is common in many of the Indian costumes today. Indian Dhoti, a scarf worn by many women, and the turban are still part of Indian fashion. After independence, the Indian Fashion industry was part of the witness to the effects of globalization. It led to changes in the dressing style of many Indians; that also resulted in the fusion of Indian and western kind of fashion. Examples of the fusion include wearing spaghetti tops with sarees and kurtis on jeans. The fashion statements show the effect western culture has in Indian fashion. The works of several Indian designers have a high appreciation across the globe.6 Western brands and their cultures are also becoming part of Indian fashion weeks, as the labels see potential in the market. The Fashion Industry covers a broad range of clothing from ornate clothes that have their design for wedding ceremonies to sports, prêt lines, and casual wear. The industry also includes the traditional techniques that Indians use for embroidery. They include crewel, chikhan, and zardosi. These traditional fabrics and weaves are part of Indian designers’ creations for Indo-western clothing in a fusion of the best of East region and the Western world. The sarees have the designs in cotton, silk, and artificial fibers. Mysore, Kanjivaram, Paithani, Jamdani, Pochampalli, Balucheri, Sambalpuri, Benarasi, Bandhini are some of the varieties of beautiful sarees from different parts of India. In Gujarat and Rajasthan, the men wrap and twist a length of fabric in the form of a dhoti around their lower legs and match it with a shirt-like kurta. Colorful turbans for the men complete the picture of the Indian people and their fashionable style. In the urban part of India, the women have a habit of wearing the churidar kameez and salwar kameez. Women who go to workplaces wear the clothes and wear the saree on formal occasions. The men dress in pajamas and kurtas and dress in a sherwani as formal wear. Western type of clothing such as shirts and trousers are a standard part of the men wear all over India. T-shirts, jeans, bermudas, and capris, are the casual clothes that the young and the young at heart wear in India. The clothes are part of the trendsetters of fashion in India. For the last ten years, the Indian fashion industry has shifted from the embryonic stage it was stuck at a blossoming take-off. Fashion designers have an immense contribution to fashion spreading as a driving force, both among Indian consumers and select parts of the Western markets. India as a country and as an economy can now have accreditation to having dozens of fashion designers that are leading in the world.7 The artists can match any of the Western and European fashion designers in their styles, concepts, and designs. Examples of artists include Rohit Bal, Ritu Beri, Abraham and Thakore, Indira Broker, Deepika Govind, Ritu Kumar, Gitanjali Kashyap, and Manoviraj Khosla. Other designers that are on the list of growing designers in India include J. J. Valaya, Ravi Bajaj, Lina Tipnis, Pavan Aswani, Payal Jain, among others. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, action films and romance movies had star actors like Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Sanjeev Kumar among others and actresses like Sharmila Tagore, Asha Parekh, and Mumtaz. In the mid-1970s, romantic films made way for violent, gritty films that were about gangsters and bandits. The actor, Amitabh Bachchan, was known for his "angry young man" roles. He starred in his roles with people like Anil Kapoor, Sunny Deol, and Mithun Chakraborty. The characters were familiar in the Indian films up to the early 1990s. Actresses from this era of the movie include Hema Malini, Rekha and Jaya Bachchan. The 1970s saw a rise in the commercial cinema due to criticism in the form of enduring films such as “Sholay” (1975). A crime movie, of a policeman brother against another gangster brother that was portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan, was described as being “key to Indian cinema" by Mr. Danny Boyle. The Hindi film, Mira Nairs Salaam “Bombay!” (1988) Received a critical acclaim and won the Camera dOr at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. It also received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.8 The twenty-first century saw a growth in Bollywood films popularity across the world. The production upgraded and was of high quality. The Hindi film industry has had films that appeal to all audience segments and has had resistance to making films that target narrower audiences. The industry believes that aiming for a broad spectrum is a way to maximize box office audiences. However, there are filmmakers that may be moving towards acceptance of some box-office segmentation. It includes films that appeal to urban and international audiences and the ones that appeal to rural Indians. The films have characteristics of music and dance, and it is rare to have a film that will not have music and dance as part of the story line. The aim of the music is to engage the audience more into understanding the plot and the flow of the film. The films feature much traditional Indian fashion. Commercial Hindi cinema was at its peak and was thriving between the 1940s and 1960s. The 1950s, however, saw the emergence of a different kind, new Parallel Cinema movement. Bengali cinema was the leaders of the movement, and as time went by, it started to gain prominence in Hindi cinema. Examples of Hindi films that were in the movement include Bimal Roys Do Bigha “Zamin” (1953) and Chetan Anands Neecha “Nagar” (1946). The movies were a commercial success and “Nagar” had critical acclaim. The recognition of the films paved the way for Indian New Wave and Indian neorealism. The Hindi filmmakers that had an involvement with the movement and received international critical acclaim include; Kumar Shahani, Govind Nihalani, Ketan Mehta, Vijaya Mehta and Shyam Benegal. Bollywood during the golden ages also had much fashion features. The characters in every film were dressed in the traditional attire. The dressing in the traditional Indian attire was their identity. The ladies are famous in wearing flat, open shoes as well as the men. The ladies, however, wear much makeup and accessories as opposed to the men. The social realization film “Neecha Nagar” was very successful and won the Grand Prize at the first ever Cannes Film Festival. The movie made Hindi films to be frequently in competition for the prize of Palme dOr at the Cannes Film Festival in the 1960s. Some of the films that were in the competition were winning major prizes at the festival. Guru Dutt, one of the greatest Asian filmmakers, and who people had an overlook on during his lifetime, generated recognition in the international market in the 1980s. The most famous and epic films of Hindi cinema were also under production during the time. They include; “Mother India” by Mehboob Khan (1957), which is a film that had an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. “Mughal-e-Azam” by K. Asifs (1960), and “Madhumati” (1958), a film directed by Bimal Roy, are films that popularized the reincarnation theme in Western popular culture.9 All these had one common feature, the traditional Indian attire for men and women. Conclusion India is a country endowed with rich in culture and tradition when it comes to film, fashion, and food. The three are unique and distinct from other regions in the world. Their movies command an Indian presence, as their fashion design is unique. The food is recognizable anywhere in the world due to the spices. The Indian people have maintained their culture over the years despite many cultures being sucked by the Western culture. References Bhachu, Patni. Dangerious Designs: Asian Women Fashion the Diaspora Economies. New York: Routledge. 2004 Chishti, Jain. Hand crafted Indian Textiles. New Delhi: Lustre Press. 2000 Crane, David. Approaches to material Culture: The sociology of fashion and clothing. Poetics, 34(1), 319-333. 2006 Rocca, Federico. Contemporary Indian Fashion. Distributed Art Pub Incorporated. ISBN 978- 88-6208-100-9. 2009. Ganti, Tejaswini. Producing Bollywood: Inside the Contemporary Hindi Film Industry. North Carolina: Duke University Press. 2012 Boroian Michael and Poix Alix. India by Design: The Pursuit of Luxury and Fashion. John Wiley & Sons. 2009 Raj, Aditya. "Bollywood Cinema and Indian Diaspora" in Media Literacy. New York: Peter Lang. 2007 Ramesh Prasad Mohapatra. Fashion Styles of Ancient India: A Study of Kalinga from Earliest Times to Sixteenth Century Ad. New Delhi: B.R. Publishing Corporation. 1992 Read More