Amar Akbar Anthony

Bombay Cinematic City

This fall series of screenings and discussions explores the changing cinematic representations of Bombay (the official name until 1995) now known as Mumbai.

Amar Akbar Anthony
Directed by Manmohan Desai

Thursday, September 28, 6 pm

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“Like a lens that refracts the past onto the present.” —William Elison, author of Amar Akbar Anthony: Bollywood, Brotherhood and the Nation

Released after censorship restrictions were lifted by a more liberal Indian government, Amar Akbar Anthony indulged audiences in a story with loose morals and visual excitement. The film is focused on a comedy of errors involving the brothers named in the film’s title.

Abandoned in a park by the father as infants, the three are adopted separately and without knowledge of each other. Brought up in different religions—Hindu, Muslim and Christian—the brothers are reunited in preposterous and hilarious circumstances. Filled with jaw-dropping coincidence, furious action sequences and glorious songs, the film shows a culture ready to embrace a more diverse future. 1977, India, video, in English and Hindi with English subtitles, 184 minutes.

Introduction and post-screening discussion by Dr. Lisa Björkman, Assistant Professor, Urban and Public Affairs, UofL.

Co-presented with UofL’s Urban and Public Affairs and the Commonwealth Center for Humanities & Society with support from the Liberal Studies Project.