Cinematizing Shakespeare: A Study of Shakespearean Presence in Indian Cinema

Abstract

The ‘Glocal’ cinematizing of the plays of William Shakespeare in India has been an outstanding and ground-breaking venture. The literary corpus of Shakespeare is galvanic, and an inexhaustible source of inspiration for countless people across the globe. When Shakespeare’s writing is adapted on celluloid, it sets it ablaze, and transfers the audience to a cinematic utopia. Indian adaptation of both Shakespearean tragedy and comedy can be comprehended as an amalgamation of ‘videsi’ and ‘desi’, a synthesis of East and West, and an Oriental and Occidental cultural exchange. Shakespeare’s ‘androgynous’ mind, the complexity of his narrative, music, story-telling, and aesthetic sensibility categorizes him as an ace literary craftsman.