This thesis examines the relationship between visual spectacle and narrative engagement in the films of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Karan Johar, two of the most influential figures in contemporary mainstream Hindi cinema. The central argument is that spectacle in Hindi popular cinema should not be treated merely as ornamentation or excess; rather, it frequently performs crucial narrative, emotional, and ideological functions. Through a comparative qualitative textual analysis, the study investigates how mise-en-scene, colour design, architecture, costume, choreography, music, lighting, and spatial composition participate in the construction of meaning and audience engagement. The selected corpus includes Devdas (2002), Bajirao Mastani (2015), and Padmaavat (2018) from Bhansali, and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), and My Name Is Khan (2010) from the Johar/Dharma authorial universe. The analysis finds that Bhansali transforms spectacle into an operatic language of emotional externalisation, while Johar mobilises spectacle through polish, glamour, aspirational settings, and emotionally direct musical sequences. The thesis concludes that both filmmakers represent two distinct but interrelated modes the baroque-operatic and the glossy-melodramatic, both of which challenge the simplistic binary of 'style versus substance' by demonstrating that style itself produces narrative meaning, emotional alignment, and cultural imagination.
Kar et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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