The connection between Bollywood and the Arab world is undeniable.Add places like Abu Dhabi who like such movies Racestarring Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif, and the 2015 Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol starrer Dilware is filmed, and the connection between the Gulf and its Indian cousins betrays a true love story.
It is no surprise, then, that Louvre Abu Dhabi should devote its entire exhibition to the Indian film industry, focusing on the history, art and events that have created one of the world’s healthiest film businesses. It speaks about 20 languages and performs all over the world.
From traditional 19th-century shadow theater and early silent films to 21st-century screen gods, like King Khan of course, this exhibition explores the richness of India’s image-making traditions, as well as its storytelling, dance and theatrical performances. , and a close relationship with mythology and religion.
The exhibition, which is free for visitors of Louvre Abu Dhabi with an admission ticket, will run from 24 January to 4 June 2023 and will be available at the Quai Branly Jacques Chirac Museum, Louvre Abu Dhabi, French Museum and Bollywood Supermarket. Hosted by Stars. Julien Rousseau and Jacques Chirac, Heads of Asian Collections at the Quai Branly Museum, co-curate with anthropologist and South Asian film specialist Hélène Quessu. The exhibition includes a wide range of loans, highlighting early storyteller props, shadow puppets, photographs, Mughal armor, daggers, mythology, and religious lithographs.
The duo Quesus and Rousseau will also give a curatorial talk on the opening day of the exhibition on the theme ‘Through the Historical Lens of Indian Cinema’. During that time, they ask the audience questions such as, “Have you ever seen a Bollywood movie unfold on canvas, or just by ear?” It promises to “return to a time when the richness of stories could only be told through painters, singers, performers or storytellers with handcrafted props.”
Together they discuss the living traditions of traveling storytellers, traditional dances, theater of shadows, and magic lanterns, taking you on a journey through time.
The works featured in the exhibition are drawn from the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Quai Branly Museum – Jacques Chirac, the Military Museum, the Asian National Gallery – Guimet, the Al Sabah Collection, the Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation and the Priya Collection. pole collection.
For more information, please visit the Louvre Abu Dhabi website.
