Indian Cinema and the Presentist Use of History: Conceptions of “Nationhood” in <i>Earth</i> and <i>Lagaan</i>

Abstract

Abstract This article critically assesses Deepa Mehta's Earth (1998) and Ashutosh Gowariker's Lagaan (2001) as cultural outputs of recent political and historical debates over the nature of India's nationhood. The article argues that the films politicize history, constructing an innocent past with the aim of advocating a more inclusive Indian society.