Maqbool and Bollywood Conventions

Authors

  • Amrita Sen Michigan State University

Abstract

Cluster: Asian Shakespeares on Screen: Two Films in Perspective

Edited by Alexa Huang

Vishal Bharadwaj sets Maqbool (Kaleidoscope Productions, 2004), his adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, against the backdrop of Mumbai's underworld. Maqbool deftly blends the basic plot structure of Shakespeare's play with the increasingly popular genre of Bollywood gangland films. Bharadwaj's adaptation traces the rise and betrayal of Miya Maqbool (Macbeth), whose love interest, Nimmi, combines the ferocity of Lady Macbeth with the desperation and marginalization characteristic of female leads in Bollywood thrillers. Bharadwaj's film belongs to a long tradition of Shakespeare adaptations in India, both on stage and the silver screen. Echoes of Shakespearean dialogues in Bharadwaj's film co-exist with staple Bollywood song and dance sequences, creating a heady postcolonial mix.

Author Biography

Amrita Sen, Michigan State University

Amrita Sen is a graduate student at Michigan State University, pursuing a Ph.D. in English. Her current research revolves around the representation of the East Indies in sixteenth and seventeenth-century England. Her areas of interest include material culture as well as depictions of gender and race in early modern England.

ssue Cover text: B&L, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2009. Image: Two dancers from a still from The Banquet pose with their faces close together.

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Published

2009-05-01

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 2 (2009): Spring/Summer

Section

Articles