Indian decentrings of Macbeth: postmodern creativity in filmic adaptations by Vishal Bhardwaj and Jayaraj
Abstract
The never-ending contemporaneity of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is established by the experimental adaptations of the play that have transcended time and space. The filmic adaptations, in particular, have recontextualized the original dramatic text in several innovative ways. This paper sets out to analyse from certain postmodern angles the creative and innovative adaptation of a classic literary text from a Scottish setting to two completely different Indian settings (geographically, culturally and politically) and also from 16th century Scotland, United Kingdom to two different time periods in India – Maqbool (director Vishal Bhardwaj, 2003) being a reimagination of Macbeth set in the 21st century underworld of Mumbai, India and Veeram (director Jayaraj, 2016) being an attempt to link the play with 13th century Kerala, India. The transmutations occur at multiple levels and this lends new interpretations to the text in two entirely different temporal and spatial contexts, though both of these adaptations are Indian.
Santrauka
Williamo Shakespearre’o Makbeto nesenkantį šiuolaikiškumą steigia pjesės ekperimentinės adaptacijos, peržengiančios laiką ir erdvę. Filmų adaptacijose visų pirma keletu inovatyvių būdų buvo atnaujintas originalus dramos tekstas. Iš tam tikrų postmoderniojo požiūrio taškų straipsnyje siekiama išanalizuoti klasikinės literatūros teksto škotiškojo varianto bei dviejų visiškai skirtingų indiškųjų versijų (geografine, kultūrine ir politine prasmėmis) kūrybines ir inovatyvias adaptacijas, taip pat pasitelkiant XVI amžiaus Škotijos (Jungtinė Karalystė) du skirtingus laikotarpius apimančias indų interpretacijas – Makbulą (režisierius Vishalas Bhardwajus, 2003), kuris yra Makbeto varianto naujas pervaizdavimas XXI amžiaus Mumbajaus (Indija) pogrindinio pasaulio kontekste, ir Viramą (režisierius Jayaraj, 2016), kuriame bandoma susieti pjesę su XIII amžiaus Kerala (Indija). Šie perkeitimai įvyksta daugeliu lygmenų ir inspiruoja naujas teksto interpretacijas dviejuose visiškai skirtinguose laiko ir erdvės kontekstuose, nors abi šios adaptacijos ir yra indiškos.
Reikšminiai žodžiai: adaptacija, drama, filmas, postmodernizmas, rekontekstualizavimas, Williamas Shakespeare’as.
Keyword : adaptation, drama, film, postmodernism, recontextualisation, William Shakespeare
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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