Swapnil Rai

Networked Bollywood provides an interdisciplinary analysis of the role of the stars in the transformation of Hindi cinema into a global entertainment industry. The first Indian film was made in 1913. However, filmmaking was recognized as an industry almost a hundred years later. Yet, Indian films have been circulating globally since their inception. This book unearths this oft-elided history of Bollywood's globalization through multilingual, transnational research and discursive cultural analysis. The author illustrates how over the decades, a handful of primarily male megastars, as the heads of the industry's most prominent productions and corporations, combined overwhelming charismatic affect with unparalleled business influence. Through their “star switching power,” theorized here as a deeply gendered phenomenon and manifesting broader social inequalities, India's most prominent stars instigated new flows of cinema, industrial collaborations, structured distinctive business models, influenced state policy and diplomatic exchange, thereby defining the future of Bollywood's globalization.

Examining the impact of streaming on the global production and flow of television and film, this book provides an innovative theoretical framework to conceptualize how asymmetric dynamics of power play out in the era of global streaming. This book analyses Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, two tech-based digital native streamers, and compares them to Disney+ and Max (Warner Bros. Discovery), two legacy Hollywood studios with cable TV, and broadcasting operations, now pursuing global streaming. The book compares their different models of operation and specifically explores how these four streamers, particularly Netflix, are co-producing and commissioning television programs and films in an increasing number of countries and how this is creating new opportunities for independent producers and soft power for the producing nations. It also considers the direct algorithmic targeting of individuals by their genre tastes across boundaries of culture, language, and nation that previously protected national and regional television markets, creating a new flow of data colonialism. At a more local level, the book also examines some of the national and regional streaming platforms emerging in some of the key players in the Global South: Brazil, India, and Mexico. This is essential reading for students, researchers and academics interested in media studies, global media, and global television studies.

Examining the impact of streaming on the global production and flow of television and film, this book provides an innovative theoretical framework to conceptualize how asymmetric dynamics of power play out in the era of global streaming. This book analyses Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, two tech-based digital native streamers, and compares them to Disney+ and Max (Warner Bros. Discovery), two legacy Hollywood studios with cable TV, and broadcasting operations, now pursuing global streaming. The book compares their different models of operation and specifically explores how these four streamers, particularly Netflix, are co-producing and commissioning television programs and films in an increasing number of countries and how this is creating new opportunities for independent producers and soft power for the producing nations. It also considers the direct algorithmic targeting of individuals by their genre tastes across boundaries of culture, language, and nation that previously protected national and regional television markets, creating a new flow of data colonialism. At a more local level, the book also examines some of the national and regional streaming platforms emerging in some of the key players in the Global South: Brazil, India, and Mexico. This is essential reading for students, researchers and academics interested in media studies, global media, and global television studies.

Networked Bollywood provides interdisciplinary analysis of the role of the stars in the transformation of Hindi cinema into a global entertainment industry. The first Indian film was made in 1913. However, filmmaking was recognized as an industry almost a hundred years later. Yet, Indian films have been circulating globally since their inception. This book unearths this oft-elided history of Bollywood's globalization through multilingual, transnational research and discursive cultural analysis. The author illustrates how over the decades, a handful of primarily male megastars, as the heads of the industry's most prominent productions and corporations, combined overwhelming charismatic affect with unparalleled business influence. Through their “star switching power,” theorized here as a deeply gendered phenomenon and manifesting broader social inequalities, India's most prominent stars instigated new flows of cinema, industrial collaborations, structured distinctive business models, influenced state policy and diplomatic exchange, thereby defining the future of Bollywood's globalization.