Designing a visual palimpsest through film: A critical examination of Jodhaa Akbar and the nationalist narrative

Abstract

The article critically analyzes how historical narrative redesigns the past to serve the needs of present and construct a palimpsest that is subject to constant erasure and revision. The study chooses Jodhaa Akbar as one of the example to examine whether the cinematic representation is able to fully articulate the historiography of the past on to the postcolonial present and provide a linkage to the audience to identify and personalize the history. The findings graphically summarize the impersonation of the past on the screen by using Atlas.ti; a qualitative data analysis tool that put forth a holistic design of the History film as a mode of historical thoughts which in case of Jodhaa Akbar is attempted in the form of the nationalist narrative and as a measure bridging the communal cynicism. © 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.