Bollywood and slum tours

Poverty tourism and the Indian cultural industry

Bibliographic Data

ID12236239
AuthorsC Clini (0000-0003-0841-9714, Institute of Media and Creative Industries, Loughborough University London, London, UK, corresponding author), Deimantas Valančiūnas (0000-0001-8347-7020, Vilnius University)
Year2023
Volume32
Issue4
Pages366-382
Publication date2023-05-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCultural Trends (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0954-8963 • E-ISSN: 1469-3690
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09548963.2023.2212618
OpenAlexW4376891752
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited42

An article published on India Outlook in July 2019 stated that Dharavi, Mumbai’s biggest slum, has now beaten the Taj Mahal as the most popular tourist destination in India, having “received a push by Hollywood and Indian films alike” (2019). Following Hesmondalgh’s observation that cultural industries reflect the inequalities of capitalist societies (2007), we examine precisely the relationship between poverty tours, cinema and Bollywood as a cultural industry. Through the analysis of literature on poverty tourism and film-induced tourism in India, and the thematic analysis of entries in a Tripadvisors page dedicated to Bollywood and slum tourism in Mumbai, we argue that the combination of Bollywood and slum tours speaks of the parallel trajectories which lead towards the perception of the slum and Bollywood as the two most prominent symbols of authentic India in the global marketplace, and that this promise of authenticity makes slums popular as tourist destinations

Advertising · Archaeology · Art history · Business · Destinations · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Media studies · Movie theater · Political science · Poverty · Slum · Sociology · Tourism · Tourist destinations · History · Socioeconomic Development in Asia · South Asian Cinema and Culture · Urban and Rural Development Challenges

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