Bollywoodization of foreign policy: How film discourse portrays tension between states

Abstract

As the nexus between film industry and state apparatus has grown critical and complex in the wake of war on terror, academic circle have paid attention to identify the patterns of relationship between entertainment industry of a country and its foreign policy. To understand the role of the soft power in assisting governments to secure their interests at international level, this article examines the relationship between Bollywood and the Indian foreign policy through the lens of critical political economy of communication approach. Popular films portraying tension and cooperation between the South Asian neighbors were critically analyzed, and the results indicated that Bollywood closely followed the foreign policy initiative of the Indian government.