Cinema India: The global perspective

Poster for 'Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India', written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker for Aamir Khan Productions, music by A R Rahman, lyrics by Javed Akhtar, Bombay, 2001, Museum no. IS.91-2001

Influenced by the new global culture of MTV, Hollywood and the internet, the Indian film industry went through major changes in the 1990s. A younger generation of film directors, actors, costume and set designers began to create films with more professional production values. They also have new themes which depict the modern, affluent consumerist lifestyles of the growing middle class in India.

Despite these changes, films retain their Indian identity through the use of music and their projection of traditional cultural, family-oriented themes and values.

The change in film is also reflected in film advertising. Today, more than ever before, star portraits have become the single major component of any advertising campaign. New technology has also resulted in a new look to poster designs. They are no longer designed by hand but on the computers. Photographic stills are manipulated on computer screens to give seamless superimposition, juxtaposition, reduction, enlargement and colour contrasting of images and text. The result is a slick, sophisticated, contemporary design – a reflection of Indian cinema's arrival on the international scene.