Putting Indian Soft Power at the Cusp of Globalization

Every time the author goes to see an Indian film, with its fanciful, high octane dance moves, he wonders why this particular genre, so prolific in absolute terms, have not made a bigger splash on the global stage.  Contrary to what many people say, many Bollywood films are not particularly plotted narrowly for the comprehension of only an Indian audience, and indeed have simple straightforward good-guy-vs-bad-guy story-lines that are so tantamount to Hollywood's success in places where knowledge of American culture and English language is still sorely lacking.

If anything, many high-caliber (and high spending) Bollywood movies of late are really starting to resemble Hollywood films not just in story lines, but also graphics and narrative methodologies, allowing an entirely foreign audience a combination of familiarity on the surface, while simultaneously experiencing the exotic nature of its typical musical-like dance numbers in the middle of the films.  The musical numbers themselves would be good fits in any modern Western-themed dance clubs anywhere in the world, and not necessary because it is unusual and different.

The author's foray into an Indian IMAX theater showing the new Hindu blockbuster "Dhoom: 3" further confirmed the above sentiments regarding Bollywood.  The stuff is, by all means, global material, accessible to any audience anywhere with a little help of subtitles or voice-overs, and of course, some high spending on marketing in the same way it has done on the streets of Mumbai, with gigantic posters of its stars decorating the major roads.  It is ready for globalization, but has yet to really take that step (aside from major Indian population centers like Malaysia)

So why not?  The author's previous discussion of potential inferiority complex within the Indian psyche may be playing a major role in lack of effort.  Major film studios here have certainly not spent enough effort and cash talking to non-Indian film distributors and media outlets to screen Bollywood films outside of Indian enclaves.  The lack of effort very much betrays the belief that the material will not be accepted anyways, so there is no point wasting time and money on foreigners, when efforts can be concentrated on the already massive Indian market.

But the bigger factor here may very much be the lack of collective realization among Indian government, politicians, and people that Bollywood films, as a deliberate, sanitized portrayal of Indian society, can be anything other than just a simple vehicle for corporate profit.  They do not see that Bollywood could very much be the main force to push Indian soft power abroad, just as kung fu movies have done for Hong Kong, pop music has done for South Korea, and anime has done for Japan.  This is highly unfortunate for a country still rather negatively perceived abroad in news outlets.

To push Bollywood as a source of soft power, there needs to be significant government involvement to set strategies for deliberate diffusion.  With irreconcilable differences in mindset between Indians and those with no experiences in Indian culture, there will undoubtedly be failures and ridicules for certain government-initiated pushes, just as Korean pop music has experienced so many times before.  But even such failures are beneficial in that it makes what used to be a completely foreign matter familiar and usual for the general audience, imprinting it into their daily lives and consciousness.

Ultimately, cultural power makes a country seem more benign and not harmful.  There is nothing violent about the typical Bollywood film.  There are surely bad guys who commit spectacular crimes (as was the case in Dhoom: 3) but it is without the sinister conniving and blood-soaked violence in Hollywood thrillers and Hong Kong gangster films.  And it is the trendy dances and comical relief even in the most conflicting of situations within these Bollywood films that may help foreign audiences perceive India as a culture of peace, friendliness, and well, overall non-threatening nature.

And that perception is extremely important as India returns to its historical greatness through rapid economic ascendance.  It needs to avoid the general negativity associated with China's rise.  In the midst of ignorance for its culture, China, in the eyes of India and most countries in the world, tarnished its own image, becoming a symbol of aggressive rising power seeking to break international rules for national interests rather than public good.  Bollywood, among others, can help India prevent a similar fate.  Indian government should take note on this.