Citation :

Ved Chuckarbutty, "Spices and Screens Across the Straits: Food, Cinema, and Post-1990s India–Malaysia Cultural Exchange," International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 130-138, 2026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23942703/IJHSS-V13I3P112

Abstract

This research paper investigates the unfolding of cultural exchange between India and Malaysia from the 1990s to the present day. It focuses specifically on the cultural artefacts concerning cinema and diasporic food practices, and seeks to explore the relationship between cinema and dietary practices among diasporic Indians in Malaysia as part of the broader idea of identity perception and formation. This paper has explored shifts in genre preferences and audience composition for Tamil cinema, while also examining the effects of film fandom and star power on the process of identity formation. Furthermore, the paper explores how diaspora food spaces act as places where cinema and the sense of “Indianness” are forged and experienced by linking food identity with film fandom and community belonging. The research deploys a qualitative approach, interviewing members of the diaspora and conducting ethnographic observations, with descriptive analysis of secondary data. Findings highlight that cinema plays a crucial role in shaping quotidian culinary practices and ritualised consumption. Furthermore, it is evident that diasporic food spaces are cultural hubs for identity negotiation. Audiences’ inclination towards ‘larger than life’ cinema and a stronger cultural affiliation with India due to their preference for Indian Tamil cinema over Malaysian Tamil cinema is also noted in the study.

Keywords

Tamil Cinema, Cultural Exchange, Diaspora, Food Culture, Identity.

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