AM launches new AV resource, Hindi Cinema: Histories of Film-making
Sourced from the private collection of renowned author and documentary film-maker Nasreen Munni Kabir, this AV resource features unedited interviews with leading Indian film personalities who helped shape the ‘Golden Age’ of Hindi cinema.
The interviews offer a unique insight into the Hindi film industry and total more than 70 hours of footage, with additional hours of actuality footage from film sets as well as set photography from Peter Chappell. The collection is further supplemented by nearly 130 film posters sourced from the British Film Institute (BFI).
Many interviews were commissioned for Kabir’s Movie Mahal series for Channel 4 television in the UK, which played a significant role in introducing British audiences to Indian cinema. The interviews reflect on many aspects of the film-making process including the experiences of those working during the ‘Golden Age’ of Hindi cinema.
The interviews are engaging and fascinating. As well as hearing from prominent figures like key directors and actors, the user can explore less public figures such as choreographers, costume designers, lyricists, composers and film critics. Hindi Cinema: Histories of Film-making is a rich resource with engaging content with huge research and teaching opportunities across the scholarly community.
The interviews are in English, Hindi and Urdu with all recordings featured in their original language with English-language closed captions and transcripts available alongside. The Hindi and Urdu interviews also feature original language transcripts with the content being fully site searchable as well as supported with rich metadata increasing their browsability.
Providing context alongside the rich primary source content, the resource also includes an interview with Nasreen Kabir, a range of contextual essays, a timeline situating Hindi cinema in the wider Indian cinematic traditions, series guides introducing the original framework of the interviews and highlighting key figures, search categories allowing users to browse by director, and a searching guide to support user pathways into the material.
Find out more about the collection or request your free trial at Hindi Cinema: Histories of Film-making
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