The costume vault

Colonialism is a term often thrown around whenever we westerners adapt or reimagine tales and stories of other cultures; be it Asia or Africa. Most of these adaptations tend to impose a very western view on the source material and, therefore, "colonize it". But it's very rare to talk about this process in the inverse direction. 2004's adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's novel; Vanity Fair is one of those rare instances where an oriental filmmaker (Mira Nair in this case) colonizes a western work, adapting it through the scope and views of an Indian reader. The relation between England and India has always been a rocky one and through a long process of colonization spanning from the 18th century to the mid-20th century, India has been forced to adopt English literature. Most schools study it even more than their own. This has translated into a lot of loose adaptations in Bollywood cinema. For instance; the amount of their films that use the Rome...