1960s Bombay Cinema: A global cultural configuration An EU-funded project that explored Indian cinema’s transition to colour in the 1960s when the country witnessed major developments in aviation, railways, auto mobility and the tourism industry. The intersection of colour with such infrastructural developments led to a new perceptual regime, transforming the landscape of popular Indian cinema. Digital Economy © Thinkstock It was not until the second half of the 1960s that cinema in India made its full transition to colour. Colour was a luxury few filmmakers could avail of since film stock was imported and in a climate where severe restrictions on foreign exchange existed, import of stock was very expensive for most filmmakers. 'Bombay cinema's encounter with the 1960s' (1960s BOMBAY CINEMA) project mapped direct connections between Indian cinematographers and those from other countries in Europe at the time. The infrastructural developments in the country and the context of the global sixties created a vibrant context for the expansion of film culture in India. This was the moment when new kinds of touristic sites, location shooting, fashion and objects exploded on screen with colour photography. Marked by an experiential drive for sensation, hedonism, musicality and constant mobility, the decade has often been catalogued in conventional film history as escapist. This project revisits the transformative power and potential of the 1960s offering a new interpretation of the recent past. Knowledge obtained through project findings will be useful for the international academic community as well as for society at large. It will provide information and analysis on the cultures of globalization and therefore help the European cultural industry and European policymakers to draw comparisons with current globalisation trends. Keywords Indian cinema, colour, international tourism, filmmakers, sensation, space
