Something to whet the Bollywood appetite. You can mention EGO if you want but we do not endorse or otherwise vouch for anything written below.
- Sumita Sheth

Attention all writers of Epico-Mythico-Tragico-Comico-Super-Sexy-High Masala-Art ...
The Masala Trois Collective enthusiastically invites scholarly and literary submissions for Divas and Dusham! Dusham!, an upcoming anthology (Toronto: TSAR, 2006) that creatively and critically engages Bombay/Mumbai Cinema, or Bollywood.

Sensationally popular in South Asia and the South Asian diaspora, but by no means limited to those audiences, Bollywood films are screened in over thirteen thousand Indian cinemas, exported to over one hundred countries, and seen by over eleven million viewers, everyday. Most Bollywood films are hyper-stylized musicals, saturated with dialogues and dance sequences that liberally mix classical finesse with a shot (or two. . . or three) of campy flair. Blending the sublime with the stylish, the epic with the slick, Mumbai cinema produces films in a range of genres, from vaudeville romances to gangster thrillers.

Writing that engages some feature of Bollywood's fantastical aesthetics, lush poetics, shady economics, dicey politics, and intense celebrity would be well suited for this collection. Ideally, submissions should be as focused as possible - that is, they should critically consider, or be inspired by, particular films, actors, cinematic movements, influences, conventions, or techniques.

Salman Rushdie nimbly described Bollywood as "Epico-Mythico-Tragico-Comico-Super-Sexy-High-Masala-Art." Divas and Dusham! Dusham! strives to gather writing that critically traces, unravels, or stylistically evinces elements of this tangled élan.

Finding films inspired by literature is common. Finding literature inspired by film, much less so. Divas and Dusham Dusham challenges this "imbalance." Film, especially Bollywood film, can be a compelling muse.

Deadline: January 31, 2006.

For more information on Divas & Dusham Dusham, please visit:
www.masalatrois.com. Submissions can be sent to:
submissions@masalatrois.com.