New book examines video culture in India since analogue days of 1980s

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) A new book by writer-researcher Ishita Tiwary explores India's diverse media history of the analog video era and reconstructs the 1980s 'video decade' through interdisciplinary approaches, including oral histories, archival resources, and discarded tapes.

Published by Oxford University Press (OUP), "Video Culture in India" narrates the history of video technology in India since its introduction in the 1980s, locating the moment within the country's socio-political context.

It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of video technology in post-1980s India: "one that speaks to its global history and context and fills the lacunae in the existing literature of the field".

"This book is the result of 10 years of dedicated labour. At first, I was hesitant because I thought the 80s was an era of bad movies and pirated, sleazy content. While this may be partially true, I was particularly interested in knowing how people saw video as a medium of innovation — how they used it to create wedding videos, erotic thriller films, promote socio-religious ideas, and even voice resistance through video news magazines, a form unique only to India," Tiwary said in a statement.

Besides looking at the widespread popularity of the marriage video, the book also delves into the little-known history of the video-film, the intensity associated with the video-news magazine, and the explosive imagination attached to the religious video.

Talking about her research, Tiwary said it includes building an archive by tracking down videotape collectors, gathering oral histories, and piecing information from several archival resources.

"The book seeks to illustrate how deeply media histories intertwine with political and socio-cultural contexts, and that digging archives can be a fun and rewarding way to uncover forgotten histories", she added.

Tiwary is assistant professor and Canada Research Chair at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, Concordia University, Montreal.

The book, priced at Rs 1395, is currently available for sale across online and offline stores. PTI MG MAH MAH