Bollywood and the Indian Diaspora: Reception of Indian Cinema among Hindustani Youth in the Netherlands

Cinematic itineraries and identities: Studying Bollywood tourism among the Hindustanis in the Netherlands

“…The younger respondents not only relied on cinema for comfort, but also appropriated it to their present context by utilizing Bollywoodized elements in their current cultural expression. Many respondents greatly adopt cultural codes concerning the 'Indianness' from cinema and practice rituals, clothing and religious festivals (Verstappen and Rutten, 2007).…”

“…Existing research shows that the cultural (and religious) expressions associated with India grant the Dutch Hindustanis the visibility and distinctiveness among the various communities in the Netherlands, a very multicultural country in itself (Bal, 2012). As Gowricharn (2009Gowricharn ( , 2016 notes, travels to India are popular among the Hindustani community which are often a combination of pilgrimage, tourism, the quest for tracking their roots and also shopping while also helping them retain their language, fashion, identity, gender patterns and social intercourse (Verstappen and Rutten, 2007).…”

“…Cinematic identities: homeland, hostland and the land inbetween Verstappen and Rutten (2007) note that the Dutch Hindustanis identify with India and the Netherlands and consider both countries to be their home. Gowricharn (2009) also indicates the growing absence of Suriname in the self-perception of Hindustanis.…”

“…This article aims to take a first step in bridging this gap, by empirically exploring the connections between Bollywood consumption, image-building and the creation of travel itineraries among the Dutch Hindustani community. Moreover, barring a few key studies such as Gowricharn and Choenni (2006a), Verstappen and Rutten (2007) or Gowricharn (2009), very less has been deliberated on Bollywood’s relationship with the second- and third-generation Hindustanis. Gowricharn (2009), for instance, discusses how Bollywood constitutes a powerful ‘source culture’ and enhances transnational ties between second-generation Hindustanis and India, supporting the idea that Bollywood is a powerful transnational force which influences cultural bonding among the Hindustani diaspora, its influence on their everyday lives and how they watch more Bollywood movies over Western cinema while living in Europe (Gowricharn, 2009).…”

“…Consequently, after Suriname gained independence in 1975, there was a wave of migration of this community to Holland (Hira, 2008). This pattern of double migration led them to be connoted as the 'Twice-migrants' (Verstappen and Rutten, 2007). Decades of spatial detachment later, they still actively maintain a keen interest in their distant homeland-India.…”