Nov 12, 2008
Media contact: Kim Lawrence
Cell: 604-302-6257
Office: 604-864-4611
kim.lawrence@ufv.ca
Visiting prof speaks on Shakespeare in Bollywood, Nov 17 & 18 at UFV
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| Dr. Shormishtha Panja |
As early as the 1770s, Shakespeare was being performed in India by visiting English acting troupes. In fact, the bard’s work influenced India in a more in-depth and complex fashion than any other non-Western country over the years. During the Indian Renaissance of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, for example, creative engagement with Shakespeare spurred artistic innovation and helped transform values in an increasingly modern India.
His influence continues today in the form of modern movies and stage plays. One recent example is the Bollywood film Omkara – based on Shakespeare’s Othello – by noted writer, director, and music director Vishal Bhardwaj. Bhardwaj has said that “the power of [Shakespeare’s] narration lies in the fact that his characters are so real and human that they can be made relevant to any time and era."
Learn more about this international influence of literature with Shormishtha Panja, Professor of English at the University of Delhi, who is visiting the University of the Fraser Valley to deliver two free public lectures on November 17 and 18.
Dr. Panja has a PhD from Brown University and was, until recently, head of the department of English and dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Delhi. She has also taught at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and at Stanford University. Her publications include “Many Indias, Many Literatures: New Critical Essays,” “Critical Theory Textual Application,” and “Signifying the Self: Women and Literature,” in addition to numerous articles on Renaissance studies and gender studies. Dr. Panja is the president of the Shakespeare Society of India. She is currently adding the finishing touches to two manuscripts, tentatively titled “Shakespeare and Class” and “Word, Image, Text: Nature and Time in Literary and Visual Culture.”
Join Dr. Panja on Monday, November 17, at 6:30 p.m. at UFV’s Abbotsford campus, room B101 for a talk on “Shakespeare in Bollywood Today,” which will feature film clips from Bhardwaj's movies. On Tuesday, November 18 at 2 p.m. in the Theatre on UFV’s Chilliwack campus, attend her second presentation, entitled “Shakespeare on the Indian Stage.”
These public presentations are made possible through the sponsorship of the UFV English and Theatre departments, the Faculty of Arts, UFV International, and the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies at UFV. For more information, contact Dr. Melissa Walter, UFV English department, at melissa.walter@ufv.ca .
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