Sameer Raichur, SV Srinivas
Whether it’s catching the morning show at Majestic or a rare English film at Rex, cinema halls hold a special place in Bangalore’s unique cosmopolitan culture. In fact, Bangalore once had the largest concentration of independent movie theatres anywhere in India. Given the increasing popularity of OTT platforms, single-screen cinemas may seem like relics of the past in the urban cityscape today.
Questioning this idea, photographer Sameer Raichur and cultural theorist Prof. SV Srinivas talk about the relevance of these iconic spaces in the city – their role in sustaining a prevailing cinema culture, as public spaces and more.
This event is in collaboration with Heritage Beku.
This event is fully booked.
Photographer
Sameer Raichur is an independent Indian photographer based out of Bangalore and a member of Diversify Photo and Native Agency. He graduated with distinction from the Hallmark Institute of Photography; Turners Falls, MA in 2012 – necessary course correction after a brief stint practicing as a corporate lawyer.
He has an affinity for anachronistic socio-cultural practices, and memory and nostalgia are frequent themes in his work. He is particularly drawn to documenting ignored traditions and subcultures hiding in plain sight and is deeply interested in and continues to explore the thorny notion of masculinity and all its accompanying baggage through his work.
He is especially interested in portraiture, documentary photography and relies on editorial commissions to further his personal practice. His clients include Caravan Magazine, FT Weekend Magazine, Geo Magazin, GQ, The Indian Quarterly, Libération, Lonely Planet, LiveMint, Sueddeutsche Zeitung and Time Magazine.
Professor
S.V. Srinivas is a professor at the School of Arts and Sciences, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. He has been associated with the Bengaluru-based Centre for the Study of the Culture and Society (CSCS) in various capacities since 1998 and is now one of its trustees. He also held visiting positions at National University of Singapore, Indian Institute of Science and University of Hyderabad. He was the ICCR Chair Professor at Georgetown University, Washington DC in 2012-13. His research focuses on the intersections between popular culture and mass politics. His books Megastar (Oxford University Press, 2009) and Politics as Performance (Permanent Black, 2013) trace the simultaneous emergence of the film industries, fan cultures and star-politicians in South India. He is the co-editor (with Adrian Athique and Vibodh Parthasarathi) of the two-volume collection of essays titled The Indian Media Economy (Oxford University Press, 2018).
He has also written commentaries and opinion pieces for The Indian Express, The Hindu Business Line, Outlook, Frontline, Man’s World, The Caravan, wionnews.com, firstpost.com and Mumbai Mirror.
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