{"id":993,"date":"2026-06-17T07:28:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T07:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/?p=993"},"modified":"2026-06-18T08:54:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T08:54:10","slug":"9788197513022-04","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/9788197513022-04\/","title":{"rendered":"Spatial (Re)orientations and Epic Structures of the Urban in Fareeda Mehta\u2019s Kali Salwaar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elroy Pinto <\/i><\/span><\/a> <\/i><\/a> <\/span><\/strong>
\nIndependent Filmmaker, researcher and writer. <\/p>\n

\"DOI\"10.21659\/9788197513022.04<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Kali Salwaar<\/em> (2001) is Fareeda Mehta\u2019s directorial debut and is based on a short story by revolutionary writer Sadat Hasan Manto. The film follows the life of a couple of migrants from the North, Sultana, a sex worker, and her partner, Khudabaksh, a pimp and dilettante with photography. Sultana navigates the streets of Bombay with the help of several stereotypical characters, including sex workers, bhai<\/em>, grifters, and auto-mechanics. Similarly, their spaces are portrayed as vibrant sites of politics, power, and commerce that operate within working-class localities.  In the film, structural elements of cinema- gesture, lensing, sound, music, dialogue, lighting, colour, and movement- form distinct sequences crafted to reveal an \u2018inner drama\u2019 that transcends the narrative. By centring the experiences of the migrant labourer and sex worker, the film’s form constructs the spatial relations of the city with its inhabitants into an ever-changing labyrinth. The essay begins by historically locating the role of Muharrum in the life of the working classes of Bombay. Drawing on the work on epic cinema by Alex Koutsouraki, I ask, what does infusing the everyday lives of the working class with modernist epic structures do for our understanding of urban life?  Utilising neuroscience studies conducted by Vittorio Gallese & Michelle Guerra on movement in cinema and Bregt Lameris\u2019s study on colour, I argue that Mehta tweaks these structural elements of cinema and increases the possibilities of urban spaces. Finally, I analyse the cinematic processes by which Fareeda Mehta transforms the spaces realised in Manto\u2019s Bombay stories into the visual language of cinema. <\/span><\/p>\n

Keywords<\/strong>:<\/em> Epic cinema, Indian cinema, Fareeda Mehta, Sadat Hasan Manto, Kali Salwaar.<\/span><\/p>\n

Full-Text Chapter PDF<\/a> Full Text Book PDF<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

\"DOI\"10.21659\/9788197513022<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Table of Contents<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Front Matter<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature: An Introduction<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Neethu P Antony and Dr. Arpana Venu<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

City as Micro-Narratives of Senses and Everyday Experiences: An Analytical Study of Selected Stories from People Called Kolkata<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Olivia Joseph<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

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Multilingual Metropolis: The Politics of Language and Belonging in Guwahati Through Sheelabhadra\u2019s Fiction<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Sangeeta Bhagawati<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

Spatial (re)orientations and Epic structures of the urban in Fareeda Mehta\u2019s Kali Salwaar<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Elroy Pinto<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

Between Tramline and Traffic Jam: Mapping Indian City through Satyajit Ray\u2019s Mahanagar<\/em> and Anurag Basu\u2019s Life in a\u2026Metro<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Trisha Sengupta & Dr. Sanghamitra Baladhikari<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

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Reimagining Kolkata: Subaltern Narratives and the Colonial Urban Dystopia in Kallol Magazine\u2019s Literature<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nandini Gayen<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

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Walking, Writing and Resisting the City: Spatial Tactics and Postcolonial Reimaginings in Janice Pariat\u2019s Everything the Light Touches<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Parvin Sultana<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

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Mimesis, Montage and Mapping: A Spatial Analysis of Gangtok City Scapes in the Select Works of Satyajit Ray and Prajwal Parajuly<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Sudakshina Bhattacharya, Dr. Sulagna Mohanty, and Dr. Ankusha Bandyopadhyay<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elroy Pinto    Independent Filmmaker, researcher and writer.  10.21659\/9788197513022.04 Abstract Kali Salwaar (2001) is Fareeda Mehta\u2019s directorial debut and is based on a short story by revolutionary writer Sadat Hasan Manto. The film follows the life of a couple of migrants from the North, Sultana, a sex worker, and her partner, Khudabaksh, a pimp and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,11,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-chapter","category-edited-volume","category-urban-imaginaries-and-indian-cities-in-literature"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=993"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1068,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993\/revisions\/1068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}