ABSTRACT
Purab Aur Pachhim (PAP for short), the East and the West, brought Indian immigrants to the screen for the first time. PAP was the third-time filmmaker Manoj Kumar tried a theme that no other Indian filmmaker had attempted until then. Fortunately for him, even with such a non-formulaic and unconventional subject, PAP emerged as the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film in 1970, beating many other films with established plotlines, actors, and directors. Its underlying message, articulated primarily through its melodious songs and unique narrative about the Indian encounter with a former colonial ruler and emphasising the cultural uniqueness and superiority of Hindu culture, makes the film relevant for study even though 50 years have passed since its release. While the post-1990 films about NRI characters (NRI refers to non-resident Indians, i.e. Indians living abroad) such as Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, and Kal Ho Na Ho targeted the NRI audience, proclaiming the arrival of a resurgent India as a soft power and garnered new respect for the diasporic Indians, the earlier films made in Europe looked at Indians settled abroad through the disparaging gaze of a ‘deserter’. Of this, PAP is a striking example.
