Bollywood in the Indian-American Diaspora: Part 1

The essay begins by describing the importance of Indian cinema to the Indians that have migrated to other countries. Punathambekar argues that these movies serve as a major "cultural unifier" and "keeper of the flame." However, in recent years, Indian cinema has begun to decline in many countries due to technological advancements. "Hindi cinema reduced drastically with the arrival of the video cassette recorder in the early 1980s." Instead of going to the theatre and paying to watch a movie, people could "get a tape for $2 and watch it at home with your family and friends." Unfortunately, this cuts out the majority of the social aspect of viewing a Bollywood movie because there are no longer the large crowds of people socializing at the theatre. Will this trend continue as technology improves?