Abstract
Traditional textiles are more than decorative fabric they are embroidered myths, historical prints, and cultural signifiers. Rajasthani textiles - Kota Doria weaving, Handblock Printing, Embroidery, and Tie & Dye have for long been used as powerful narratives in cinema, luxury branding, and digital communication. This paper examines their visual, cultural, and commercial representation, from traditional craft to contemporary media phenomenon. This research is a semiotic and aesthetic analysis of Bollywood movies like Rudaali, Paheli, Dor, Jodhaa Akbar, Padmaavat, and Bajirao Mastani where textiles are used to achieve historical truth, to enrich the narrative of characters and reinforce cultural symbolism. Costumes in movies these pictures are not just visible details but cultural symbols of heritage, status, and regional originality. Similarly, to the global market, luxury cocoons have creatively embedded Rajasthani textiles into Premium Fashion clothing, which elicits connivances of elitism and craftsmanship for global consumers. Also, the study explores the new rise of digital Rajasthani textiles with social media and online exhibitions making artisans more visible. Though social media enhances engagement, it perpetuates exotic branding that mutates traditional textiles into mere static objects instead of living cultural expressions. This study challenges how advertisement media, placing an Orientalist gaze, realize the Rajasthani textiles as exotic artifacts as opposed to living heritage. Through analyzing the nexus of cinema/ branding/ digital narratives, this paper argues for the authenticity of craft tradition and making. As Rajasthani fabrics shift from loom to screen, can the media protect cultural integrity without sacrificing modernity?
Presenters
Suman PandeyAssistant Professor, Design Department, Gujarat Law Society University, Gujarat, India
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Craft identity, Textile in Cinema, Authenticity in Branding
