Discontents of Modernity: Space, Consumption and Loss in Hong Kong New Wave and Bombay Parallel Cinema

Abstract

This comparative chapter uses the term “New Wave” as a conceptual category to refer to the film works produced by rising young directors in Hong Kong and Bollywood during the 1970s and 1980s. It focuses on the rising trend of cinematic realism in both cinemas against the backdrop of anxieties brought on by modernization and urbanization. Despite the vast institutional differences between the two cities, the cinematic expressions of popular dissatisfaction were very similar in these films.