Institutional partners and collaborating organisations
DETAILED REPORT
TWO-DAY INTERNATIONAL INTERDISCIPLINARY ONLINE CONFERENCE
INDIAN CINEMA IN CENTRAL ASIA
HISTORY, CULTURE AND CULTURAL DIPLOMACY
मध्य एशिया में भारतीय सिनेमा: इतिहास, संस्कृति और सांस्कृतिक कूटनीति
Official announcement and programme of the two-day international conference
Contents
1. Executive Summary
2. Background and Rationale
3. Organising Institutions and Conference Leadership
4. Objectives
5. Conference at a Glance
6. Proceedings: Day One - 18 September 2026
7. Proceedings: Day Two - 19 September 2026
8. Major Academic Themes and Research Contributions
9. Participation, International Reach and Academic Engagement
10. Key Outcomes and Recommendations
11. Official YouTube Video Archive
12. Conference Photo Gallery
13. Acknowledgements and Conclusion
Annexure A: Dignitaries, Chairs and Coordinators
Annexure B: Session-wise Paper Presentations
Annexure C: Video Links and Durations
1. Executive Summary
The Two-Day International Interdisciplinary Online Conference on “Indian Cinema in Central Asia: History, Culture and Cultural Diplomacy” was successfully held on 18 and 19 September 2026. The conference created an international academic forum for examining the long and many-layered relationship between Indian cinema and Central Asian societies. Scholars, teachers, researchers, cultural practitioners and students from India, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka and other locations discussed Indian cinema not merely as entertainment, but as a historical archive, a vehicle of cultural memory, a site of social representation and an important instrument of cultural diplomacy and soft power.
The conference was jointly organised through the academic and institutional cooperation of the Maharashtra Rajya Hindi Sahitya Akademi, K. M. Agrawal College, Kalyan (West), the International Institute for Central Asia Studies (IICAS), Samarkand, and Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies (TSUOS), Tashkent. Conducted online in Hindi and English, it combined an inaugural session, four technical sessions, structured interactions and a concluding/valedictory segment. The programme brought senior scholars into conversation with emerging researchers and treated Central Asian reception as a serious field of interdisciplinary inquiry spanning history, cinema studies, Hindi studies, translation, international relations, sociology, digital media and cultural diplomacy.
Across the two days, the deliberations moved from the popularity of Raj Kapoor and the historical circulation of Hindi films in the former Soviet cultural sphere to the continuing memory of songs, stars and stories in Uzbekistan and neighbouring regions. Presentations also addressed marginality and subaltern representation, Dalit questions, regional and Bhojpuri cinema, the transformation of spectatorship in the OTT era, language and translation, women and identity, diasporic and cross-cultural connections, and the emerging possibilities of India-Central Asia academic and cultural collaboration. Five parts of the official video archive are linked in this report, and selected conference photographs are included as documentary evidence of the proceedings.
2. Background and Rationale
Indian cinema has enjoyed a distinctive cultural presence in Central Asia for several generations. Films featuring Raj Kapoor, Nargis, Mithun Chakraborty and other Indian stars travelled across linguistic and political borders, entered popular memory and generated an affective familiarity with India. Their songs, moral narratives, family structures, images of struggle and aspiration, and emotionally accessible storytelling often reached audiences more directly than formal diplomacy. The widespread remembrance of films such as Awaara and Disco Dancer illustrates how cinema became a shared cultural vocabulary.
The conference was conceived to move beyond celebratory accounts of popularity and to examine the phenomenon critically. It asked how films circulated, how Central Asian audiences interpreted them, how dubbing and translation shaped reception, how memories of Soviet-era viewing relate to contemporary digital consumption, and how cinema participates in India's cultural diplomacy. It also widened the frame by considering the internal diversity of Indian cinema, including marginalised voices, regional industries, changing technologies and new media platforms.
3. Organising Institutions and Conference Leadership
Official inaugural-session poster featuring the distinguished dignitaries and conference leadership
4. Objectives
To document the historical reception and continuing cultural memory of Indian cinema in Central Asia.
To study Indian cinema as an instrument of soft power, cultural diplomacy and people-to-people contact.
To examine the roles of translation, dubbing, songs, star images and popular narratives in cross-cultural circulation.
To connect classical film history with contemporary OTT platforms, digital media and changing audience practices.
To include critical questions of subalternity, caste, gender, regional cinema, identity and marginalisation in discussions of cinematic diplomacy.
To strengthen collaboration among Indian and Central Asian universities, research institutes, academies and individual scholars.
To create opportunities for established scholars, early-career researchers and students to exchange research and develop future projects.
5. Conference at a Glance
6. Proceedings: Day One - 18 September 2026
6.1 Inaugural Session
The conference opened at 11:00 a.m. IST with a formal online inaugural session. Mr. Parveen Kumar coordinated the proceedings and introduced the theme, participating institutions and distinguished guests. Dr. Manish Kumar C. Mishra, Conference Convener, outlined the intellectual background of the conference and emphasised that the study of Indian cinema in Central Asia deserves sustained academic attention beyond anecdotal accounts of popularity. He highlighted the need to combine film history, reception studies, language research, cultural memory and international relations.
Dr. Anita Manna, Principal of K. M. Agrawal College, delivered the welcome address and underlined the value of international academic cooperation. The inaugural session was chaired by Mr. Evren Rutbil, Director of IICAS, whose participation represented the importance of Central Asian institutions in shaping the research agenda. Prof. Shitla Prasad Dubey joined as Chief Guest, while Prof. Nirmal Kumar delivered the keynote address. Dr. Nilufar Khodjaeva offered a special address rooted in her experience of Hindi teaching, translation and Indo-Uzbek cultural engagement.
Prof. Nirmal Kumar's keynote address provided a broad historical and interpretive framework for understanding cinema as a form of cultural contact. The inaugural deliberations established that the popularity of Indian films in Central Asia must be studied through archives, audience memories, translation, political history and changing media technologies. The programme also made space for critical questions of social exclusion and representation; in Technical Session I, Sanjay Jagannath Bahare's paper, “Beyond the Glamour: Subaltern Realities, Dalit Marginalisation and the Evolution of Indian Cinematic Soft Power,” placed caste and marginality within the discussion of cinematic diplomacy.
Inaugural deliberations: Prof. Nirmal Kumar, Dr. Manish Kumar C. Mishra, Mr. Parveen Kumar, Prof. Shitla Prasad Dubey and Dr. Amali N. Perera
6.2 Technical Session I
The first technical session was chaired by Prof. Ulfat Mukhibova. The session examined the historical and cultural reception of Indian cinema in Central Asia, especially in Uzbekistan. Discussion drew attention to the importance of Raj Kapoor in Central Asian cultural memory, the circulation of Hindi film songs and the ways in which cinema generated familiarity with Indian social life. A striking visual moment occurred when a publication connected with Raj Kapoor was displayed, demonstrating how cinematic memory has also entered local-language print culture and scholarship.
The papers and discussion treated spectatorship as an active process of interpretation. Participants noted that Central Asian audiences did not simply consume Indian films; they adapted songs, remembered dialogues, associated stars with ethical and emotional values, and incorporated cinematic images into local cultural memory. This made the session particularly valuable for reception studies and oral-history approaches to film culture.
Prof. Ulfat Mukhibova displaying a publication associated with Raj Kapoor and Central Asian reception
6.3 Technical Session II
The second technical session continued the interdisciplinary exploration under the chairmanship of Prof. (Dr.) Manjeet Maan, with Dr. Amali Nisansala Perera as coordinator. Presentations expanded the geographical and conceptual frame by addressing Indian cinema's circulation across South and Central Asian cultural spaces, its relationship with language and literature, and its ability to mediate identity, social experience and intercultural understanding.
Contributions during the first day collectively demonstrated that cinematic soft power is not created only by state-sponsored activity. It grows through repeated encounters with stories, music, performance and recognisable human emotions. At the same time, speakers stressed that cultural diplomacy should be studied critically, with attention to unequal representation, commercial circulation, translation choices and the social histories carried by films.
6.4 Day-One Academic Synthesis
Day One established the historical foundation of the conference. It showed that the India-Central Asia cinematic relationship is sustained by memory, emotion, translation and repeated cultural contact. Raj Kapoor emerged as a foundational symbol, while later film personalities and genres revealed that the relationship has continuously changed. The day's sessions also demonstrated the value of analysing cinema through social justice, subaltern studies and critical cultural diplomacy rather than treating popularity as a self-explanatory achievement.
7. Proceedings: Day Two - 19 September 2026
7.1 Technical Session III
The second day began with the third technical session chaired by Prof. Satish Pandey and coordinated by Dr. Usha Alok Dubey. The session explored the diversity of Indian cinematic production and its relevance to transnational audiences. Papers considered regional cinema, language, popular culture and the changing modes through which viewers encounter Indian stories. Bhojpuri cinema was discussed as an important component of India's regional screen culture, demonstrating that cultural exchange cannot be reduced to mainstream Hindi cinema alone.
The session also connected literary and linguistic scholarship with visual culture. Presenters discussed how subtitles, dubbing, translation and cultural explanation influence the reception of films outside India. Such mediation determines which emotions, idioms, social references and historical contexts remain available to Central Asian audiences. This discussion opened a useful space for future collaborative research involving Hindi departments, translation scholars and Central Asian language specialists.
Prof. Satish Pandey chairing a technical session on 19 September 2026
7.2 Technical Session IV
The fourth and final technical session was chaired by Shri Bhanudas Mahajan and coordinated by Dr. Usha A. Dubey. It brought the discussion firmly into the contemporary media environment. Dr. Swati R. Joshi's theme, “Beyond the Big Screen: Indian Cinema in the OTT Era - Digital Transformation, New Media and Emerging Audiences in Central Asia,” drew attention to streaming platforms, mobile viewing, algorithmic discovery and the fragmentation of audiences. These developments are reshaping the older model in which cinema reached Central Asia through theatres, television, film clubs or physical media.
Another important line of inquiry was captured in the theme “Disco Dancer to Tajik Jimmy: Beyond Soft Power and Cultural Diplomacy in Central Asia.” This formulation suggested a shift from one-way influence to local reinterpretation and cultural adaptation. The discussion recognised that Central Asian engagement with Indian cinema generates new performances, memories and identities; audiences become cultural participants rather than passive recipients.
7.3 Concluding and Valedictory Reflections
The concluding phase was chaired by Dr. Anita Manna, Principal, K. M. Agrawal College. Mr. Evren Rutbil delivered the valedictory address, and Dr. Manish Kumar C. Mishra presented the conference report. Mr. Sitesh Kumar, Second Secretary (Commerce), Embassy of India, Bucharest, Romania, joined as Chief Guest, while Ms. Shweta Pandey, Trustee, K. M. Agrawal College, participated as Special Guest. The session was coordinated by Dr. Parveen Kumar. The organisers emphasised that the conference should lead to continuing research collaboration, scholarly publication and future programmes on Hindi cinema, Russia and Central Asia.
The vote of thanks recognised the institutional leadership of Dr. Anita Manna, the support of the partner organisations, the academic guidance of the session chairs, and the sustained coordination of the organising team. Special appreciation was expressed for the presenters who remained engaged across sessions and for the technical team that enabled the proceedings to be streamed publicly on YouTube.
8. Major Academic Themes and Research Contributions
Cinema as cultural memory: Indian films have remained in Central Asian public memory through songs, stars, printed material, family recollection and personal narratives. This memory is a legitimate field for oral history and reception research.
Raj Kapoor and the historical foundation: Raj Kapoor functions as a key symbol of Indo-Central Asian cinematic connection. His image and films provide a starting point for studying post-war and Soviet-era cultural exchange.
From Disco Dancer to local adaptation: Mithun Chakraborty and Disco Dancer represent a later phase of popular reception. Local adaptations such as the idea of a “Tajik Jimmy” show how transnational cinema is reinterpreted within new cultural contexts.
Soft power and cultural diplomacy: Cinema creates familiarity, goodwill and curiosity about India. The conference nevertheless treated soft power as a complex social process rather than a simple measure of popularity.
Subaltern and Dalit representation: The paper and related discussion insisted that cultural influence must be read alongside questions of caste, marginality, voice and representational justice.
Regional and Bhojpuri cinema: Attention to regional cinema widened the idea of “Indian cinema” and opened avenues for comparing multiple languages, industries and audience communities.
Translation, dubbing and language mediation: Cross-cultural reception depends upon linguistic choices. Future research should document translators, dubbing practices, subtitling and the movement of songs and film vocabulary.
OTT platforms and new audiences: Digital streaming, social media and mobile access are transforming discovery, circulation and audience formation in Central Asia, especially among younger viewers.
Gender, identity and social change: Several contributions connected cinematic representation with gendered experience, family, social aspiration and changing identities.
Interdisciplinary research methodology: Film archives, interviews, audience surveys, translation analysis, digital ethnography, historical documents and comparative textual study can be combined to build the field.
9. Participation, International Reach and Academic Engagement
The conference's international character was visible in the active presence of scholars connected with India, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka and the wider Central Asian region. Senior professors, institutional leaders and cultural specialists shared the platform with assistant professors, researchers and emerging scholars. This layered participation helped combine historical testimony, academic analysis and new research questions.
The paper presenters represented a notably wide academic spectrum. They included scholars from Indian and Central Asian universities, journalism and mass-communication departments, history, Hindi, performing arts, commerce, political science, film and new-media studies, translation and cultural studies. Contributors from Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka enriched the comparative dimension, while presenters from several Indian states brought regional, linguistic and disciplinary diversity. A complete session-wise list of presenters and paper titles is provided in Annexure B.
The online format also extended access beyond the formal list of presenters. Live streaming preserved the sessions as a public academic resource and allowed students, teachers and cinema enthusiasts to view the proceedings beyond the scheduled hours. The video archive therefore constitutes an important outcome in its own right and may support teaching, research orientation and future conference planning.
10. Key Outcomes and Recommendations
Prepare an edited bilingual or multilingual volume of selected peer-reviewed conference papers.
Develop an oral-history project recording Central Asian memories of Indian films, songs, stars, theatres, television broadcasts and family viewing practices.
Create a digital archive or annotated bibliography on Indian cinema in Uzbekistan and the wider Central Asian region.
Encourage joint research among K. M. Agrawal College, TSUOS, IICAS and other interested institutions.
Undertake comparative studies of Soviet-era circulation and present-day OTT/platform-based viewing.
Document dubbing, subtitling and translation histories, including the contribution of Hindi and Central Asian language scholars.
Include regional Indian cinemas, women filmmakers, marginalised communities and non-mainstream traditions in future programmes.
Conduct audience surveys among different Central Asian age groups to study generational change in film reception.
Organise the proposed follow-up conference on “Hindi Cinema in Russia and Central Asia” and maintain the international network created by this conference.
Use the official video archive in classroom teaching, research methodology sessions and institutional outreach.
11. Official YouTube Video Archive
The proceedings were streamed and preserved on the YouTube channel “Hindi Language & Literature | हिन्दी भाषा व साहित्य” (@Manishmuntazir). The following official links provide access to the conference recordings:
Day One - Part I (18 September 2026) | Duration: 3:15:57
https://www.youtube.com/live/eevZ_6v6dtw?si=DZ4Ts8xhvefhLxVm
Day One - Part II (18 September 2026) | Duration: 1:29:14
https://www.youtube.com/live/LpiGbgxCqFI?si=cK2giwuXgAdqaTem
Day Two - Part I (19 September 2026) | Duration: 2:02:54
https://www.youtube.com/live/QOe0Xk4vCVk?si=GW8aTgsOQwqzSUUw
Day Two - Final Technical Session (19 September 2026) | Duration: 2:35:36
https://www.youtube.com/live/aCjP5gO-BbI?si=7zfnS8QLoqAh-I9A
Valedictory Session (19 September 2026) | Duration: 1:00:21
https://www.youtube.com/live/Mlgfu7Glzn8?si=Zr8OCUv18W-08mkk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@manishmuntazir
12. Conference Photo Gallery
13. Acknowledgements and Conclusion
The successful completion of the conference was made possible by the collective effort of the organising institutions, patrons, conveners, co-conveners, organising committee, session chairs, coordinators, keynote speaker, chief guest, special guests, paper presenters, participants and technical support team. The conference particularly benefited from the sustained international academic connections developed by the Department of Hindi, K. M. Agrawal College, with scholars and institutions in Uzbekistan and the wider Central Asian region.
The conference confirmed that Indian cinema remains one of the most durable and emotionally resonant bridges between India and Central Asia. Its importance, however, lies not only in nostalgia or the popularity of individual stars. Cinema provides evidence about historical exchange, public memory, social representation, language contact, identity and the changing technologies of cultural circulation. By bringing these perspectives together, the conference transformed a familiar story of cinematic affection into a substantive academic field.
The two-day programme concluded with a clear sense of continuity. The discussions, recordings, photographs and proposed publication can support future research and institutional collaboration. The event therefore stands as both a successful conference and the beginning of a longer scholarly conversation on Indian cinema, Central Asian reception and cultural diplomacy.
Annexure A: Dignitaries, Chairs and Coordinators
Annexure B: Session-wise Paper Presentations
Technical Session I
Technical Session II
Technical Session III
Technical Session IV
Annexure C: Video Links and Durations
1. Day One - Part I (18 September 2026) (3:15:57)
https://www.youtube.com/live/eevZ_6v6dtw?si=DZ4Ts8xhvefhLxVm
2. Day One - Part II (18 September 2026) (1:29:14)
https://www.youtube.com/live/LpiGbgxCqFI?si=cK2giwuXgAdqaTem
3. Day Two - Part I (19 September 2026) (2:02:54)
https://www.youtube.com/live/QOe0Xk4vCVk?si=GW8aTgsOQwqzSUUw
4. Day Two - Final Technical Session (19 September 2026) (2:35:36)
https://www.youtube.com/live/aCjP5gO-BbI?si=7zfnS8QLoqAh-I9A
5. Valedictory Session (19 September 2026) (1:00:21)
https://www.youtube.com/live/Mlgfu7Glzn8?si=Zr
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