'This is a pioneering study of the entangled histories of Indian and Pakistani cinema. Analysing the film industries in Bombay and Lahore in the run-up to the partition of colonial India and in the years after, Salma Siddique has done groundbreaking work. The book showcases innovative research on key genres such as the Muslim social film and the adaptation of Hollywood genres such as 'screwball', draws attention to the remarkable charba films that remade Bombay films through a Pakistani lens, and casts light on the ambiguities of Prithviraj Kapoor's progressive theatre practices. Evacuee Cinema is based on careful research in a range of archives. It is a compelling, indeed indispensable work that suspends national historical approaches to capture the complex interweaving and separating out of cultural forms and practices.' Ravi Vasudevan, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
Introduction; 1. The All-India Ambitions of Lahore; Part I. The Secular Stance of Bombay: 2. 'Hindu Camera, Muslim Microphone': A Periodical and Two Memoirs; 3. The Stages of Partition: The Early Years of Prithvi Theatre; Part II. Between Bombay and Pakistan: 4. The Partition wish; 5. The Partition Romance; 6. The Partition Doppelgänger; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.
