Reel Duniya Real Duniya: Cinema, Memory, and Leisure in Laggere

About the book

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Reel Duniya Real Duniya: Cinema, Memory, and Leisure in Laggere is a photo-illustrated essay book that explores how cinema is experienced by those for whom it is at once a place of leisure, livelihood, and community. Emerging from six months of place-based research in Laggere, a predominantly working-class neighbourhood in Bengaluru with rich cinema culture and infrastructure, the book reflects on the many shapes cinema can take in everyday life beyond the screen. It explores how cinema slips into the life of garment workers, who synchronize the sound of the sewing machine with the hum of their favourite romantic hits. It asks what does one of Bengaluru's surviving single-screen theatres mean to the many people whose work sustains it? Through conversations with garment workers, theatre employees, fan club members, neighbourhood residents, and lifelong cinema lovers, Reel Duniya, Real Duniya reflects on cinema as it accompanies everyday routines, nurtures friendships, and finds expression in both ordinary acts of care and grand gestures.

Photographs from the personal archives and field work (as they appear in the book)

Authors

Eshwari R

I’m a word wrangler trying to make sense of narratives; some days writing to stay grounded, other days to get wonderfully lost. My work sits between writing, research, and paying attention to places and the people who inhabit them. I work across place-based contexts, with a curiosity for intersectional and feminist ways of seeing. Outside of work, I’m usually watching films, reading, writing, wandering, and often failing to befriend a cat.

Mahima Gowda

My name is Mahima. My practice lies at the intersection of language, ethnography, and archival methods. I am also a cinema enthusiast who dabbles in filmmaking, writing, and curation. I'm particularly interested in film criticism and curation that explore the intersections of gender, class, and caste in cinema, and how these dynamics shape the experience of watching films. When I'm not obsessing over a book in a quiet corner of a café, you'll probably find me hunting for an obscure film or anime to add to my concerningly long watchlist.

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This book is exclusively available at LLN Press. We do not keep any margin or the copyright. LLN Press was created to support authors and creators to share their work with the world and monetise to continue the work they love to do most.

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This book is an outcome of the project carried out by the authors as part of Project 560 program 2024-25 of India Foundation for the Arts supported by  BNP Paribas India Foundation. Learn more about the project here.