The cultural hegemony of bollywood in South ASIA: De-popularizing Bangladeshi cinema Towfique-E-Elahi Md. Ph.D Candidate, Department of Human Sciences, Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Japan. Online published on 3 November, 2012. Abstract If ‘hegemony’ is considered to be rule exercised by winning consent, it suggests that hegemonic power has a distinct ability to influence culture on a mass scale. With this in mind, I consider Bollywood to be not only a cultural construction: it is also a production of power, and power of persuasion. Employing such ideological perspectives, this paper deals with the domination of the film culture of South-Asian countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, or Sri Lanka by Indian popular cinema known as Bollywood. In this discussion, I examine how Bollywood has become not only a producer of cultural artifacts but also a power of cultural construction that dominates local film industries among the South Asian nationals. Focusing in the case of Bangladesh, this paper examines how Bollywood has won audience choice and taste in Bangladesh. How could Bollywood become so persuasive? At the same time, I argue that the impact of Bollywood domination over local cinema is one of the main reasons for the decline of the Bangladeshi national film industry. Top Keywords Cultural Hegemony, Bollywood, South Asia, Bangladeshi Cinema. Top |