Mad Tales from Bollywood: Portrayal of Mental Illness in Conventional Hindi Cinema

This is the first book to investigate how mental illness is portrayed in Hindi cinema. It examines attitudes towards mental illness in Indian culture, how they are reflected in Hindi films, and how culture has influenced the portrayal of the psychoses. Dinesh Bhugra guides the reader through the history of Indian cinema, covering developments from the idealism of the 1950s to the stalking, jealousy and psychopathy that characterized the films of the 1990s. Critiques of individual films reveal the culture's approach towards mental illness and reflect the impact of culture on films and vice versa. Subjects covered include: Cinema and emotion Attitudes towards mental illness Socio-economic factors and cinema in India Indian personality, villainy and history Psychoanalysis in the films of the 1960s Mad Tales from Bollywoodwill be of interest to psychiatrists, mental health professionals, students of media and cultural studies and all those withan interest in Indian culture.

Dinesh Bhugra is Professor of Mental Health and Cultural Diversity at the Institute of Psychiatry.