Maria Tatar's Blog, page 37

Aladin in Bollywood

Here's Bollywood's update of "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp," a story added to the French translation of the Arabian Nights by Antoine Galland, who had the tale from a Syrian storyteller. Aladdin may have his origins in Arabic cultures, but he is actually Chinese, though living in an Islamic culture in China. Note that the press copy for this film describes India as the "land of myths and legends"–a not so subtle effort to claim that Aladin is really an Indian hero. Is the new spelling part o...