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  • Essay / 21First mainstream Hindi fiction film and advertisement

    In this way, Purnima Mankekar, professor of Asian-American studies at UCLA, states that "the products that (dominate) the visual landscape of the city also shape irrevocably its social landscape.” (Mankekar 2004: 414). In the 21st century, these spaces have evolved from the bounded urban landscape to a gated community of multiplexes and shopping malls, further marking class privilege. This new development is beneficial to both filmmakers and retailers by producing the identity of consumers of desire. Multiplexes and shopping centers serve as anchors for each other and their symbiotic relationship regulates the clientele that participates in both spaces. Real estate developer Rashesh Kanakia says, “If I build my multiplex on the third floor, my first and second floors will be rented at a very high rate because people see that at least 2,000 or 3,000 people will surely come to the center commercial” ( Ganti 2011 : 461). The design of the multiplex and shopping center is characterized by what Ganti calls the “aesthetics of intimidation” that prevents lower-class audiences from entering the space (Ganti 2011: 463). The main consumer base of multiplexes and shopping malls is therefore “call center workers, IT professionals, families, students and members of the film industry” (Ganti 2011: 463). The relationship between these two spaces dictated by the cosmopolitan impulse demonstrates how the space of cinema has become a key role in the creation and regulation of an identity of consumers of desire. Multiplex and cinema spaces are potential sources of advertising revenue and are used to send messages to imagined audiences. Advertisers help filmmakers cultivate the lifestyle of consumers of desire through the use of key visual cues middle of paper...... sound in 21st mainstream Hindi fiction film and advertisement and what the Filmmakers and advertisers aim to produce in society using it as a tool. Amid reprisals from the Hindi rite, traditionalists, feminists and the Censor Board, filmmakers have to negotiate its importance. The 2006 on-screen kiss between Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan was the subject of scandal, but also received immense support from the general public in India and the diaspora. Ultimately, the decisions made by filmmakers and advertisers will be regulated in terms of what is most profitable and most consistent with the promotion of modernity. Representations of Indianness, Indian modernity, what it means to be a viewer of this medium and to what extent will it be internalized in society are all up for debate while the use of sexual appeal in films and mainstream advertising is negotiated..