Wikipedia

Draft:Anustup Basu

Anustup Basu (born 1971) is an Indian-born scholar of media studies, postcolonial theory, and political theology. He is Professor of English, Media, and Cinema Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Basu is known for his work on Indian cinema, globalization, and the intersections of political theology and Hindu nationalism, especially his books Bollywood in the Age of New Media (2010) and Hindutva as Political Monotheism (2020).[1][2]

Career

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Basu studied at Jadavpur University in Kolkata and received his PhD from the University of Pittsburgh. He joined the faculty of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where he is Professor in the Department of English with affiliations in Media and Cinema Studies.[3]

Works

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  • Bollywood in the Age of New Media: The Geo-televisual Aesthetic (Edinburgh University Press, 2010)
  • Hindutva as Political Monotheism (Duke University Press, 2020)

Filmmaking

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In addition to his academic work, Basu has been active in film production and screenwriting. He produced the Bengali feature film Herbert (2005), directed by Suman Mukhopadhyay, which won the National Film Award for Best Regional Film in 2006.[4] He also co-wrote the screenplay for the Hindi feature Nazarbandh (2019), directed by Suman Mukhopadhyay, which was an official selection at the 2020 Busan International Film Festival.[5]

Reception

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Basu’s scholarship has been discussed in a number of scholarly reviews. In a review of Hindutva as Political Monotheism for boundary 2, Amit R. Baishya described the book as “a path-breaking attempt” to trace the genealogy of Hindutva through the conceptual lens of political theology.[2] In Pacific Affairs, Shefali Jha noted that the book “both draws on and marks a departure from” prior literature on Hindu nationalism, highlighting its attention to shifts from “Hindutva 1.0” to “Hindutva 2.0.”[6]

The European humanities review journal H-Soz-Kult placed the book within broader discussions of political theology and nationalism, emphasizing its comparative potential.[7] Swapna Gopinath in Cultural Politics summarized the scope of the study and critiqued some emphases, while acknowledging its significance for understanding Hindu nationalism and political theology in India.[8] A more extended engagement appeared in a review essay by Bishnupriya Ghosh in boundary 2, which situated the work as a major intervention into the study of Hindutva and examined its methodological implications at length.[9] The Journal of Muslim Philanthropy and Civil Society also published a review addressing the book’s analysis of Hindutva in relation to political theology.[10] An extended interview with Basu was also published in Political Theology (2021), in which he elaborated on his argument about “Hindutva 2.0” and reflected on the intersections of sovereignty, religion, and media.[11]

Basu’s earlier book, Bollywood in the Age of New Media (2010), was reviewed in the film journal Screen by Sudhir Mahadevan, who noted its contribution to understanding Bollywood in relation to neoliberal reform, digital infrastructures, and global media economies.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Mahadevan2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Baishya2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Anustup Basu Faculty Page". University of Illinois. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  4. ^ "National Film Awards 2006". The Hindu. 2006-02-25. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  5. ^ "Film entry: Nazarbandh". Busan International Film Festival Archive. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jha2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Barbosa2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gopinath2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ghosh2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Abdullah2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference PoliticalTheology2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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  1. ^ Baishya, Amit R. (2022). "Review of Hindutva as Political Monotheism." boundary 2, 49(2): 203–207. Duke University Press. doi:10.1215/01903659-9716251.
  2. ^ Jha, Shefali (2021). "Review of Hindutva as Political Monotheism." Pacific Affairs, 94(2): 392–394. University of British Columbia. doi:10.5509/2021942392.
  3. ^ Barbosa, Thiago Pinto (2021). "Anustup Basu, Hindutva as Political Monotheism." H-Soz-Kult (H-Net Reviews), Berlin. Online review.
  4. ^ Gopinath, Swapna (2022). "Review of Hindutva as Political Monotheism." Cultural Politics, 18(3): 484–486. Duke University Press. doi:10.1215/17432197-9864720.
  5. ^ Ghosh, Bishnupriya (2023). "The Making of the Hindu Normative." boundary 2, 50(2): 207–218. Duke University Press. doi:10.1215/01903659-10511462.
  6. ^ Abdullah, I. F. S. (2022). "Review of Hindutva as Political Monotheism." Journal of Muslim Philanthropy & Civil Society, 6(1): 137–141. doi:10.2979/jmpcs.6.1.09.
  7. ^ Mahadevan, Sudhir (2012). "Review of Bollywood in the Age of New Media." Screen, 53(2): 224–228. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/screen/hjs011.
  8. ^ Banerjee, Mou (2021). "Ghostly Presences and Hindutva 2.0: An Interview with Anustup Basu." Political Theology, November 5, 2021. Online version.
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