With a deep, booming voice, guest speaker Iftikhar Dadi explained the struggle between social classes in Pakistan to a small circle of eager listeners.

“South Asia is very complicated socially,” Dadi said. “You have various communities. It can be religious or ethnic, or it can be language-based or caste-based. It is meant to be that everyone is equal. But in reality, some people have privilege over others.”

Dadi, an associate art history professor at Cornell University, spoke about Pakistani cinema during the 1950s in Eggers Hall at noon on Tuesday.

He had straggly bobbed hair and a pair of black, round eyeglasses that complemented his all-black attire. Dadi is also a practicing artist with an interest in modernity, globalization and urbanization.

About 12 faculty members and students attended the lecture, but everyone stayed immersed in Dadi’s speech and fascinated by the South Asian cinema culture he spoke about. Every once in a while, there were bursts of laugher when Dadi cracked jokes, and the audience raised questions during animated discussions after the speech.

Film clips from Pakistani cinema of the late 1950s and 1970s are extremely rare nowadays, making Dadi one of few scholars who study it. He argues that film analysis can help understand the transformation of Pakistani culture and society.

He mentioned that language was a significant issue in both Pakistani cinema and in general society. Urdu is the official and predominant language in Pakistan even though only 7 percent of people speak it. The rest of the population speaks Punjabi, a spoken native tongue, and other languages.

Dadi screened “Anari” from 1975. The main character, Farmoo, who is “highly gullible and good for nothing,” but speaks Urdu, makes fun of other Punjabi passengers on the train. He also reflects the ethnic conflicts in Pakistan of the time period.

There was a dramatic change of languages in Pakistani cinema, Dadi said. Because of the loss of eastern Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, speaking Urdu in cinema decreased.

Alicia Wright, a graduate media studies major who takes South Asian studies classes, attended the talk.

“Most my studies are about India — it is what I show interest in,” Wright said. “I have done some studies on Indian media, and I want to see more about Pakistan media.”

The other film shown was called “Armaan” (Desire, 1966). Dadi identified this type of film as a social film — one that tried to individualize bigger social issues.

“Cinema is a core reflection of reality,” Dadi said.

During his speech, Dadi also disagreed with the common comments about Pakistani cinema being an imitation of Indian cinema.

“Before 1947, there was no Pakistan. They were all Indians,” Dadi said. “My question is how can you say this is India and this is Pakistan, which are totally different. I mean, they have the same root. They share formal ways to make films and also teams.”

Susan Wadley, a South Asian studies professor, said she enjoyed the speech. She was interested in the ways languages were used in the cinema of Pakistan, making special note of her interest in Punjabi.

She said Urdu was imported to Pakistan from where India is now. Urdu speakers immigrated to Pakistan and imposed their language in the country.

Said Wadley: “The way in which languages negotiate in the film is the most interesting part to me, because I teach culture and languages as well.”

Published on November 28, 2012 at 12:11 am

Contact Ruth: jli64@syr.edu